WIPO Assembly To Wrap Up Early; Budget Issues Wait For December 26/09/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New and Kaitlin Mara Member governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization completed their annual General Assemblies earlier than scheduled this year, but some of the most difficult decisions – such as the budget – will be addressed at a special session in December. Issues tackled in the final two days included the […]
WHO Asserts Global IP And Health Strategy Progressing But Offers Few Details 25/09/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara Work is ongoing within the World Health Organization on a member-mandated global strategy on public health, innovation and intellectual property, a WHO official said Tuesday. But little information about that work has been forthcoming since the strategy was approved in May. The “silence of the WHO doesn’t mean we haven’t been doing […]
“IP5” Biggest Patent Offices Meet As WIPO Assembly Proceeds On Policies 25/09/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New Top officials from the world’s five biggest patent offices met Wednesday night in Geneva to discuss ways to further harmonise their activities, United States Patent Commissioner John Doll told Intellectual Property Watch. Meanwhile, members of the World Intellectual Property Organization gave direction to committees on enforcement, copyright, and traditional knowledge and genetic […]
Idris Bids WIPO Farewell; Newly Appointed DG Gurry Outlines Initiatives 22/09/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments By William New Australian Francis Gurry became the next in a short list of leaders of the World Intellectual Property Organization Monday, and promptly signalled a programme of increased multilateralism and bolstered global and local relevance for the United Nations body. Gurry’s appointment to director general followed an emotional farewell to WIPO by Kamil Idris, […]
Naming DG Tops List Of Policy, Administrative Issues For WIPO Assembly 22/09/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The 2008 annual assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization likely will be remembered for some time, as the choices member governments make there this week may have a profound effect on the future of the United Nations organisation. Topping the list is the appointment of a new WIPO director general, who […]
Public Interest Groups Sue US Trade Representative Over ‘Secret’ Enforcement Treaty 18/09/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara Perhaps no topic over the past year has been cause for more uneasy speculation within the intellectual property community than the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), primarily because the negotiating process for this treaty has been behind tightly closed doors. Now two US-based public interest organisations have filed suit against the US trade […]
US Says China To Sign Bilateral Cooperation Deals On IP Enforcement 17/09/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara High-level officials from China and the United States on Tuesday reiterated their joint commitment to “strategic cooperation” on copyright and trademark protection and enforcement, and agreed to hold further meetings of a joint intellectual property working group in the near future. The 19th United States – China Joint Commission on Commerce and […]
Industry Still Wary Of ICANN Plan For New Top-Level Internet Domains 15/09/2008 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has not adequately explained to the world the need for more generic top-level domains (gTLDs – such as .com), industry representatives said last week. As the time nears for ICANN, the internet’s technical oversight body, to publish draft […]
Officials Urge Progress On Law To Boost Science, Innovation In Thailand 15/09/2008 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch BANGKOK – Recently enacted legislation establishing a national plan on science, technology and innovation is expected to boost Thailand’s competitiveness in science and technology, according to government officials. But it needs a renewed commitment and a budget, they told a conference here. “We shall see more scientific research […]
Open Business Systems Fill Gap In Mainstream Entertainment Industry 12/09/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By Kaitlin Mara Outside the realm of mainstream proprietary entertainment, owned by big studios and protected by brand names, lay large numbers of artists without audiences looking for the means to distribute their creativity, and groups of people who yearn for art reflective of experiences not touched upon by the mainstream movies and music. These […]