In 2012: Are Biotech, Ethics And Biodiversity Friends or Foes? 08/02/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With food demand and prices rising as the world crosses the threshold of 7 billion people, the need to find new medicines, concerns about the shrinking biodiversity and the effects of climate change may designate biotechnologies as the main response. Opinions differ on the way to address those issues, in particular about intellectual property rights attached to biotechnologies. Legislative questions are being discussed on both sides of the Atlantic around the scope of patentability, and intellectual property rights on plants, seeds, molecules or methods, as well as exemptions that some think should be applied. The year ahead will see some decisions that might impact the biotechnology industry both in the United States and in Europe.
Geographical Indications Register Gains Ground Outside WTO 30/01/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A private sector-led effort to compile a global register of geographical indications is gaining support, topped by a sizeable donation from the Italian government. The effort is being undertaken outside the World Trade Organization in spite of an agreed – but long stalled – mandate at WTO to create a register.
WHO, Gates, Industry And NGO Leaders Elevate Attention To Neglected Diseases 30/01/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A range of some of the world’s top public and private partners in public health today announced an “unprecedented” level of cooperation to fight diseases primarily afflicting poorest populations worldwide for which there is insufficient research and development and inadequate health systems. But how the initiative will tie in with governments’ efforts at the World Health Organization to craft a global framework to address these issues remains to be seen.
SOPA, Piracy, Pharmaceuticals May Dominate US IP Policy Discussions In 2012 23/01/2012 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Online piracy, patent reform and intellectual property issues relating to pharmaceuticals are among the top legislative and regulatory priorities for many stakeholder groups in the United States this year, but given that 2012 is an election year, chances are slim that Congress will push through anything that isn’t a top priority or that could cause too much partisan rancour.
The Year Ahead 2012: Top IP Legal Issues In The United States 13/01/2012 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments This year could bring major changes in US intellectual property law. Congress and the nation’s courts will be confronting a variety of issues that have broad ramifications for copyrights, trademarks and patents. Here are some of the top developments to watch in 2012.
Book: Shape Up International Reforms To Address Food Security 11/01/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Current global institutional reforms of agricultural innovation systems and the commodification of crop diversity are not answering concerns regarding international equity in access to plant genetic resources, the handling of agricultural research, and the sharing of benefits arising from this research, according to a new book by Claudio Chiarolla, research fellow at the Paris-based Institut du développement durable et des relations internationales (IDDRI).
Most-Read IP-Watch Posts Of 2011 Tell Story Of International IP Policymaking 03/01/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The most-read Intellectual Property Watch stories of 2011 demonstrated the versatility and range of our readers from around the globe, from an intense focus on international and national copyright issues to bilateral and plurilateral free trade agreements, to issues in India and Brazil, patent laws, patents in agriculture, scientific knowledge, and of course, policies emerging in Geneva at the World Intellectual Property Organization, World Trade Organization, World Health Organization and elsewhere at the multilateral level. Most of all, they tell the story of the year gone by, with clear signals of what’s to come in 2012.
GIs A Candidate For The Exclusive Club Of Appellations Of Origin At WIPO 19/12/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Intellectual Property Organization members last week debated a possible new instrument to protect products with specific origins and characteristics.
WIPO Patent Committee Agrees To Continue Discussions On All Issues 10/12/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee ended its meeting this week with status quo on all issues, after lively deliberations and new proposals but with all discussions left for further debate in 2012.
New Guide Issued To Help Developing Countries Embrace GIs, As WTO, WIPO Meet 10/12/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Two European-based organisations working in agriculture and development will launch a joint publication next week that will provide a guide for developing countries to consider geographical indications. The guide comes as the World Trade Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization hold meetings next week.