US Ambassador In Geneva Defends Secrecy In UN Pandemics Negotiations 17/12/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva this week offered a frank assessment of the UN system of dealing with pandemic diseases, and defended the need for governments to negotiate in secret to work out remaining differences.
Efforts To Limit Effects Of TRIPS In India Might Not Be Working, Study Says 17/12/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Strategies may be failing to ensure developing countries’ implementation of global trade rules for intellectual property protection does not squelch access to affordable medicines worldwide, according to a study presented this week.
WIPO’s Gurry Says ‘Crisis In Multilateralism’ Bringing Changes To IP 17/12/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The rapid pace of technology and dramatic shifts in the global economy will bring change to the multilateral structure set up after the Second World War, and these changes will affect the intellectual property system, World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry said this week.
UN Climate Talks Find Make-Do Solution; IP Rights Dismissed 14/12/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The United Nations climate change conference closed at dawn last Saturday, with a make-do package of decisions advantageously labelled the “Cancun Agreements”. Intellectual property rights have all but disappeared from the texts as Bolivia stood alone in disagreement and was shush-gavelled.
Europe Told Of Obligations On Virus Benefit-Sharing 14/12/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In what may be the first legal reference to newly adopted international rules on sharing the benefits of and access to genetic resources, non-governmental groups have sent letters to top European health officials reminding them of these obligations in the context of influenza viruses and access to vaccines – a topic under debate this week at the World Health Organization.
WIPO Members Move To Detailed Talks Toward Folklore Treaty 11/12/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Delegates negotiating early stages of a treaty on traditional cultural expressions this week got down to details of what to protect, from whom and how in late-night drafting sessions at the World Intellectual Property Organization, and found a work plan for the immediate future on genetic resources as well. Meanwhile, indigenous groups continued to raise concerns about the process.
IP Issues In Shadows At Climate Change Conference 10/12/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment As delegates in Cancun, Mexico, neared the end of their search this week for consensus on how to stop climate change, intellectual property issues were being set aside for later.
Does EU-India FTA Serve Mutual Interests? Policymakers, NGOs Disagree 10/12/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The proposed European Union-India free trade agreement was one of the top issues at the 11th EU-India Summit held in Brussels today. But two sides of the story are being told about who will benefit or lose.
Some Processes For Plant Production Banned From Patentability In Europe 10/12/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The European Patent Office Enlarged Board of Appeal yesterday gave its decision on the so-called “broccoli” and “tomato” cases, and excluded “essentially biological processes for the production of plans (or animals)” from patentability.
Caribbean IP: Ensure Unending Local Protection Of Traditional Knowledge 07/12/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments In the Caribbean, issues of traditional knowledge in intellectual property are hardly considered to be of special significance to the majority of policymakers and, except for a few pockets of interest groups such as a group of Rastafarians in Jamaica, the average citizen is uninformed on the subject. The protection of the cultural heritage of the region through a normative system of law is exceedingly necessary for the survival of our unique brand of cultural expression, writes Abiola Inniss.