ITU Plenipotentiary Outcome Limiting UN Agency Role In Internet Governance Deemed “Success” 10/11/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments US Ambassador Daniel Sepulveda on the eve of the final celebration of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference last week said he was “happy” about the results. Asked what he thought was the most important resolution of the three week conference, he told Intellectual Property Watch he would not name one resolution, but rather considered the achievement of overall consensus by the ITU member states on the final documents “a success.”
Expect Strong IP Push From Global Pharma Industry Next Year; WHO Prescribes Dose Of Reality 07/11/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment NEW YORK – Strong intellectual property rights will be a top priority for the pharmaceutical industry internationally in the coming year and arguments over IPRs versus medicines access are false, a top representative said at a high-level industry event this week. But views at the event differed on expectations of industry in light of the Ebola crisis, hepatitis C drug costs or other medicines access questions.
ITU Plenipotentiary Conference: Internet Governance Diplomacy On Display 05/11/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The much belaboured takeover of the internet by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union again has not taken place. Instead, ITU member states gathered at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan, South Korea, this week rather smoothly passed a set of internet-related resolutions that will, once the closing plenary adopts them, preserve the limited status quo of involvement of the UN organisation responsible for telecommunication and radio frequencies in internet-related public policy issues.
Limitations And Exceptions To Patent Rights Discussed In WIPO Committee 04/11/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee this week is addressing a range of issues including patent quality, technology transfer for medicine production, limitations and exceptions to patents, and the confidentiality of communications between clients and their patent advisors.
WTO Works To Make Vast Store Of TRIPS Information Easier To Use 03/11/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Trade Organization is taking steps to make the vast store of information shared by WTO members in the Council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) easier to use.
UK Opens Access To 91 Million Orphan Works, UKIPO Says 29/10/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The United Kingdom today launched a new licensing scheme aimed at opening access to more than 91 million creative works whose owners or copyright holders are not known or not found.
Draft Revision To Provide Higher Protection To GIs Fine-Tuned At WIPO 28/10/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The contracting parties of the agreement protecting appellations of origin at the World Intellectual Property Organization are meeting this week to fine-tune a draft revision of this agreement to include geographical indications. The end of the week is scheduled to be devoted to a preparatory committee of a high-level negotiating meeting in 2015 to adopt the revision.
WHO Ebola Vaccine Meeting Draws Commitment From Pharma, Donors; MSF Sees Need For Concrete Actions 24/10/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A high-level meeting convened by the World Health Organization yesterday on the issue of access to and financing of Ebola vaccines resulted in a set of commitments, though not with sufficient urgency for those working on the ground. The pharmaceutical industry committed to scale up production, while donors pledged funds without disclosing how deep their pockets might be.
New To Copyright: Canada’s Idea For Political Advertising Exception 24/10/2014 by Simon Doyle for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Canadian Conservative government is considering a new copyright exception for political advertising that would be unique in the world and address an issue already covered by Canada’s constitutional rights, copyright experts said.
The Indian Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 And Its Functioning So Far 23/10/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments It’s been a little over two years since the Copyright Act, 1957 was extensively amended in 2012 with far-reaching ramifications for all categories of stakeholders. The amendments purported to introduce a level playing field for different categories of right holders in the entertainment industry, recognise the access needs of users of the copyrighted works in general and visually impaired population of the country in particular, align the copyright regime of the country with rapid advances in technology and streamline copyright enforcement and administration. To gauge the influence of the amendments on copyright regime in India as well as to see if their implementation so far has been in sync with the legislative intent, this article seeks to evaluate the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 as well as their working, writes Abhai Pandey.