Stop Treating Symptoms And Start Curing Diseases: The End Of Graduated Response 18/09/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Rene Summer writes: The debate about copyright enforcement – whether rights holders’ unshakable conviction in the effectiveness of graduated responses is rational – has reached a watershed. This is not to say that there aren’t any ongoing, well-funded lobby campaigns around the world aimed at convincing policy makers to revert to the practice of some form of graduated response. Nor am I saying that there aren’t any other important considerations, such as the rights of citizens and intermediaries, to be weighted in when debating copyright enforcement, lessening the case for such practices. Rather, what I am saying is that arguing for graduated responses can no longer be done on efficiency grounds without at the same time being intellectually dishonest.
Experts Chart How To Take Open Knowledge Success To Next Level 18/09/2013 by Alessandro Marongiu for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The process of opening up data from the public and private sectors has achieved relevant success in recent years, but many challenges are still to be overcome to make data really accessible and usable by the public. These were the main ideas that emerged from a meeting of open knowledge experts in Geneva yesterday.
Paper Looks At Human Rights Side Of IP And Medicines Access 17/09/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new report released by the Yale Global Health Justice Partnership looks at the use of human rights to improve access to medicines by reducing the barriers that intellectual property laws create to such access.
Oficina de patentes dominicana se prepara para lanzar base de datos 17/09/2013 by Luis Gil Abinader for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment La Oficina Nacional de Propiedad Industrial (ONAPI) de la República Dominicana “está trabajando” en una base de datos que facilitaría el acceso a información sobre las solicitudes de patentes presentadas en el país. Actualmente, obtener esa información puede ser costoso y complicado.
Infojustice: Peruvian Legislators File Motion Seeking Public Debate On Trans-Pacific Partnership 16/09/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Infojustice.org writes: On August 28, a group of members of the Peruvian legislature – the Parlamentario Acción Popular-Frente Amplio – proposed a motion that asks for greater transparency in the Trans Pacific Partnership Negotiations. Specifically, the motion seeks “a public, political, and technical debate on the proposals of the Trans-pacific Partnership” and requests “the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism and the technical team in charge of the Trans-pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations to report on the matter.”
Open Knowledge In The Spotlight This Week In Geneva 16/09/2013 by Alessandro Marongiu for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Experts from all over the world are gathered this week in Switzerland to discuss open data initiatives, trends and future developments in the context of the 2013 Open Knowledge Conference, an annual event organised by the Open Knowledge Foundation.
SMEs, Innovation Division, External Offices Capture Attention At WIPO 12/09/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The proposed establishment of new World Intellectual Property Organization external offices gave way to a lot of discussion today (11 September) in the WIPO committee overseeing programmes and budget. Other targets of debate: small and medium-sized enterprises, accountability for the WIPO Global Issues Division, implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty on copyright exceptions for the blind, and potential treaty negotiations in the next biennium – all with no decisions yet.
Dominican Republic Prepares To Launch Patent Database 11/09/2013 by Luis Gil Abinader for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The National Industrial Property Office of the Dominican Republic (ONAPI) is working on a database that would make information about patent applications filed in the country readily available. Currently, obtaining such information can be costly and complicated.
Paper Finds Little Success In ‘Three-Strikes’ IP Enforcement Programmes 10/09/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new paper by an Australian academic assesses the “graduated response” programmes set up in recent years to enforce copyrights online through escalating penalties for repeat offences, finding little benefit from the programmes.
WHO Now Charging Fees For Drug Prequalification, Raising Access Fears 10/09/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization, the United Nations health agency in persistent financial straits, has announced it must begin charging a fee to manufacturers seeking prequalification of their vaccines and diagnostics. The announcement stirred concern among public health advocates that it might have a negative effect for procurement and access to life-saving medicines.