UN Report On Innovative Tech To Achieve SDGs Highlights Role Of E-Commerce, Big Data 13/07/2017 by Peter Kenny for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Access to artificial intelligence, big data, FinTech, eHealth, and digital connectivity are increasingly providing individuals around the world with access to vital resources such as employment opportunities, online banking and healthcare, according to a United Nations report released today.
WIPO’s Gurry: Artificial Intelligence, Gene Editing Latest ‘Winners’ In Innovation 13/07/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The main winners of innovation are technologies that enable market application, with gene editing and artificial intelligence as two examples, Francis Gurry, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, told a panel discussion last week. Thomas Cueni, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), said at the same event that everybody benefits from innovation.
WIPO Budget First Reading: SDGs, External Offices, Possible Treaty Negotiation 12/07/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization members this week have discussed the first draft of the budget of the organisation for the biennium 2018/2019. Questions have been asked about how WIPO is contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, how much WIPO committees and external offices will cost, and how WIPO can help developing countries increase their IP development.
G20: 19 Against 1 On Climate Change; Affordable Antimicrobials, Vaccines Planned 08/07/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The G20 governments against some odds passed a joint communique today, but had to accept differences on climate and in one point also on free trade. The US delegation remained firm in their decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and continue to support conventional energy resources, instead of renewable ones. German Chancellor Angela Merkel in her press conference explained that there was a clear division in the climate chapter of the G20 2017 Declaration.
G20: Security, Trade, Climate, Trump Diplomacy Overshadow Health, IT, Innovation 07/07/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On the eve of the G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, German politicians described positions on free trade and climate as the most difficult issues. Expectations from civil society groups in the G20 results are modest at best and the 6 July protest march “Welcome to Hell” was cancelled after clashes between the police and parts of the protestors.
WIPO Patent Law Committee Agrees On Future Work: Exceptions, Quality, Health, Confidentiality, Tech Transfer 06/07/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment General satisfaction was expressed today at the World Intellectual Property Organization as members of the patent law committee agreed on a future work programme. That is an exercise that they could not complete in December 2016. Included in the work programme is a half-day information exchange on cooperation between patent offices on search and examination, a half-day information exchange on publicly accessible databases on medicines and patent information, and a reference document on exceptions and limitations to patent rights.
EU Parliament Adopts Marrakesh Treaty; Blind Union Prepared To Fight Publisher ‘Compensation’ 06/07/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The European Parliament today with over 600 votes adopted the legal instruments to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty on access to reading material for the visually impaired. The treaty, adopted by the members of the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2013 and effective since last year, has been subject of controversies due to lobbying from publishers in the European Union, members of Parliament said today in Strasbourg before the vote. EU member states after today’s vote have one year to implement.
Enter The African Medicines Agency, Continent’s First Super-Regulator? 03/07/2017 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An African medicines agency, the continent’s first super-regulator, could be approved as soon as next year.
Remote Sensing And (Geo-) ICTs, Prime Tools To Achieve SDGs, WSIS Forum Hears 29/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Remote sensing and geo-ICT are prime technological tools to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, according to VITO, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research. But technology should not be considered as “deus ex machina,” a speaker added during the recent World Summit on the Information Society Forum (the WSIS Forum 2017).
Joint Effort Required To Expand Local Online Content And Broadband Access 28/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The lack of content on the internet in local languages and the lack of local digital skills, especially among women and girls, remain central challenges for the digital economy, speakers said during a panel discussion at the recent World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2017 (WSIS Forum 2017).