Chile Urges WIPO To Act To Protect Public Domain 12/01/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The government of Chile this week submitted a proposal to an upcoming meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s new committee on the development agenda that calls for positive steps to protect information in the public domain. The first meeting of the new Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to a WIPO Development Agenda will be […]
Intellectual Property Issues Kept Off WSIS Agenda 30/11/2005 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The issue of intellectual property did not make the headlines during the concluding session of the five-year-long UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis. And some critics are concerned it was intentional. Discussing the future of the information society without talking about intellectual property seems […]
US Privatisation Plan For Open-Access Journal Challenged 16/11/2005 by Steve Gibb for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Steve Gibb for Intellectual Property Watch Washington, DC–A US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) plan to privatise a prestigious open-access environmental science journal is drawing criticism from Democrats in the US Congress and activists who say public funding provides key information in environmental debates. But some environmental science experts say the journal […]
US ‘Pulls Out All Stops’ As UNESCO Backs Culture Treaty 17/10/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Paris—The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) today approved a treaty for the protection of cultural diversity despite an all-out drive by the United States to get governments to change their minds. “We really pulled out all the stops” in the past week to try to change the outcome of this treaty, a US […]
US, Japanese Calls For Cultural Treaty Change Meet With Resistance 17/10/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment PARIS — Attempts by the United States and Japan to reopen negotiations on a UN draft treaty on cultural diversity today are meeting with firm resistance from developed and developing countries alike. While most nations’ ministers present at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s annual General Conference are not mentioning the United States by […]
Experts Debate Access To Knowledge 15/02/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual property experts from a wide range of backgrounds are finding common ground in informal proposals to ensure the right of individuals to access knowledge, including possibly through a negotiated treaty at the U.N. The issue has come of age in the digital era, as intellectual property owners have sought to protect their rights in […]