WHO Negotiations To Continue On Non-State Actors 21/07/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Third World Network reports: New Delhi, 20 July (K M Gopakumar) – Member States of the World Health Organization have decided to continue the negotiations on a Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA) as several key issues remain unresolved.
UNCTAD Official: Need For Policy Coherence In Local Pharmaceutical Production 17/07/2015 by Ani Mamikon for Intellectual Property Watch and Rishi Dhir for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Despite progress in recent years to boost local pharmaceutical production in developing countries, policy coherence across the countries is lacking, according to an official at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
TISA Stocktaking Meeting Reveals There Is Still Ground To Cover 16/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The ambassadors for the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) have endorsed a deadline of notifying any additional new annexes by 31 July, and submitting completed offers by 15 September. This is the result of the most recent meeting of negotiators of the 25 TISA parties, according to a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australia hosted the TISA round from July 6-10 in Geneva.
A Geneva Look At Jurisdiction, Dispute Resolution And The Internet 15/07/2015 by Eimear Murphy for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A conference on jurisdiction and dispute resolution in the age of the internet raised topical issues of concern to internet-based public policy, such as the notion of how jurisdiction and internet governance is a question of power, and an update on the International Law Association guidelines project. In addition, a debate arose as to the state of the patent system.
New ARIPO Plant Protocol: Conflict Of Farmers’ And Breeders’ Rights? 10/07/2015 by Hillary Muheebwa for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments KAMPALA, UGANDA — Member states of African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) have adopted a protocol for the protection of new varieties of plants. The measure is aimed at modernising African agricultural practices, but some say it comes at the expense of age-old traditional farming practices, such as saving and re-using seed.
Study Documents Public Domain’s Importance To Innovation And Creativity 10/07/2015 by Eimear Murphy for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments An academic research project on the value of the public domain has documented its importance to innovation and creativity. In one empirical study in the project, it was shown that use of the public domain boosts crowd-funding efforts by innovators. The study was discussed recently at the World Intellectual Property Organization.
EU Parliament Adopts Reda Report On Copyright Reform 09/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The European Parliament during its last plenary meeting before the summer break today adopted a non-legislative report on copyright reform prepared by Pirate Party Member Julia Reda. The report calls for an adaptation of the EU 2001 Copyright Directive to the digital market.
3D Printing And Public Policy 09/07/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 12 Comments John Hornick writes: Although legal principles apply to 3D printing the same as they apply to any other technology, 3D printing has the unique potential to upset the legal status quo. It is the potential scale of 3D printing that may have profound effects on the law. 3D printing cuts across many areas of law, most types of technology, and almost all types of products. Eventually, anyone may be able to make almost anything. No one else will know they made it or be able to control it, which I call 3D printing away from control.
Paper: Commons Approach To European Knowledge Policy Could Yield Better Outcomes 09/07/2015 by Ani Mamikon for Intellectual Property Watch and Rishi Dhir for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new paper released earlier this month finds that the commons perspective, which embraces knowledge as a shared resource and its management a joint responsibility, could contribute to EU policy discussions and yield better policy outcomes in areas such as health, environment, science and culture, and the internet.
European Parliament Decides In Favour Of TTIP Mandate And “New ISDS” 08/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 10 Comments The European Parliament today voted in favour of its own mandate for the negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a broad free trade agreement between its 28 member states and the United States. With 436 yes versus 241 no votes (32 abstentions), the Parliament adopted a resolution that also gives green light to the hotly debated investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), albeit a new version of it.