At WIPO, Water Entrepreneurs Meet Investors 13/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Entrepreneurs with innovative water technologies came to the World Intellectual Property Organization last week to find new partnerships and investors. The urgent need to work together and build partnerships in the water sector was the overall message of the event. “Nobody can do the work alone,” Nicholas Niggli, Republic & State of Geneva’s Director General, Economic Development, Research & Innovation, said, referring to the many existing water challenges.
Speakers Look At Artificial Intelligence For Sustainable Living 13/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A panel of experts on artificial intelligence last week agreed that there are many opportunities for artificial intelligence to encourage a common good and sustainable living. And they set out several ways to get there.
WHO Members Take Steps Against Global Rise In Sales Of Human Body Parts 09/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Assembly last week adopted ten guiding ethical principles for the donation and management of medical products of human origin – that is, the rising market for body parts.
Artificial Intelligence: No Clear Roadmap For The Future 09/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment “Artificial intelligence is as a weapon” and we have to deal with it “as we deal with other weapons,” Cindy Smith, director of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), said during a panel discussion at an artificial intelligence summit in Geneva this week. The panel discussion focused on preparing a roadmap to ensure that artificial intelligence develops in “a safe, responsible and, an ethical manner” that benefits all the different segments of our society.
Human Rights Council Speakers: Right To Health Underlies All Other Rights, Access To Medicines Key 09/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment If governments have the obligation to help keep their citizens healthy, many of them are struggling to strengthen their health systems. A variety of hurdles is in the way, and lack of access to medicines is one of them, as underlined by the World Health Organization director general in her address to the United Nations Human Rights Council yesterday.
US Ends Post-Sale Patent Rights 08/06/2017 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On 30 May, the US Supreme Court handed down yet another in a long series of rulings that cut back on the rights of patent owners. This time, the high court made it far more difficult for patentees to impose post-sale restrictions on the use or resale of their patented goods. The ruling should boost parallel imports into the US, increase competition throughout the American economy, lower prices for US consumers, and hurt the bottom line of many companies.
Summit: Artificial Intelligence Is Humanity-Changing, Build Safeguards Now 07/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment For artificial intelligence enthusiasts, the future is bright. Soon intelligent machines will help humankind solve most problems, and according to one speaker at an artificial intelligence summit in Geneva this week, humans will be outsmarted by robots in the foreseeable future, in an artificial intelligence bliss. For others, artificial intelligence is far from delivering a fully positive outcome, and for several United Nations representatives, such as the World Health Organization, the world should not be entrusted to robots just yet.
Security, Privacy, Trust Remain Challenges For The Internet Of Things 07/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment It is “amazing” what can be done via the internet and the Internet of Things is a “game changer,” a speaker said during the Internet of Things Week currently taking place in Geneva. Ninety percent of the data in the world has been created in the last two years. And the speed of data creation is still increasing, another speaker said.
WHO Members Mixed On Evaluation Of Director General Election Process 07/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The opinions of the World Health Organization member states on the just-completed election process for a WHO director general showed divisions, according to statements at last week’s meeting of the WHO Executive Board.
World Health Assembly Adopts Resolution Supporting Tax On Tobacco, Alcohol, Sugar 02/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Cancer, diabetes, heart disease and chronic respiratory diseases are killing millions of people each year, making noncommunicable diseases the leading global cause of human deaths, many of them premature. This week, the World Health Assembly endorsed an updated set of policy options for countries to help them with the prevention and control of those diseases. On the list is a suggestion for tax increases on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, and the reduction of salt intake. Supported by many countries, it was resisted by the United States and Italy.