India Ratifies Nagoya Protocol On Biodiversity Access And Benefit-Sharing 05/10/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Union Cabinet of India has approved ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing, a measure that provides a tool against biopiracy. The 4 October action comes on the eve of the 11th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
WIPO Assembly Moves To Fast-Track Copyright Exceptions For Visually Impaired 04/10/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch and William New 2 Comments The majority of member states of the 185-strong World Intellectual Property Organization have thrown their support for the fast-tracked negotiation of a new treaty or other instrument that sets limitations and exceptions to copyright for the benefit of the visually-impaired and those with print disabilities
Delay Of Pirate Parties’ WIPO Observer Status Raises Questions 04/10/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 8 Comments Member governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization yesterday approved all but one application for international non-governmental observer status at the UN agency: Pirate Parties International. This is likely to lead to a discussion of who can be an observer, sources say.
CERN: Free Access To Scientific Journals In Physics In 2014 03/10/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Geneva-based European Organization for Nuclear Physics (CERN) has collaborated with funding agencies and libraries of 29 countries to make freely available access to otherwise expensive scientific articles in the field of particle physics.
MSF Launches Patent Opposition Database 02/10/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors without Borders) today announced the launch of the “Patent Opposition Database,” an online resource to help patient groups or others to oppose wrongful patent applications as a way to ensure access remains open for affordable generic drugs.
On TPP Secrecy, US And Five Others Decline To Answer UN 01/10/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The nine countries asked by a United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur to respond to a complaint over the alleged secret and bureaucratic negotiations for the draft Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement either failed to respond or defended the backdoor talks, according to the advocacy group Knowledge Ecology International (KEI).
Industry Analysis: Print Sales Still In Decline; New Copyright Law Not A Solution 28/09/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new industry analysis highlights the continued decline in print advertising revenues, but offers a glimpse of possibilities for the recovery of the industry in light of the various technology-driven changes and developments in the global media market. New laws or new exceptions to copyright laws, however, are not seen as ways to save the print industry, at least in Europe, according to the report.
WIPO Director Calls For Efforts To Boost Viability Of Copyright 27/09/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry has issued a call for new efforts to ensure copyright remains viable and to win the hearts and minds of the public toward intellectual property rights. The comments came in a broader context of maintaining the relevance of the organisation on the eve of the annual WIPO General Assembly.
Move Toward New Pan-African IP Organisation Alarms Observers 27/09/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A seemingly remote African Union proposal to create a Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization appears to have gained momentum and will come before African science and technology ministers for review in early November, according to sources. A copy of the final draft statutes shows how the new body would operate, and for some observers, how it would elevate African IP standards well above current levels, with “disastrous consequences” for access, development, and human rights.
Google’s Neutrality Stance Tested Yet Again In Brazil 27/09/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The arrest of the president of Google’s operations in Brazil is the latest in a string of court decisions to test the neutrality stance of the search giant. Since its beginnings, Google has seen itself as an internet middleman, insisting that it should not be held legally liable for any defamatory or infringing content posted by its users.