WSIS Forum Addresses Future Of Information And Communication Technology 13/05/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The 2013 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum opened today to address the future of information and communication technologies (ICT). This meeting of the WSIS Forum marks ten years since the first phase of the summit was held in Geneva in 2003.
Experts Review UNEP Report On Green Economy And Trade 09/05/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has released a new report focused on the issue of green economies and international trade. The report examines six sectors – agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry, manufacturing, renewable energy and tourism – that are of particular interest to developing countries.
Cuba Files WTO Dispute Against Australia Over Tobacco Plain-Packaging 06/05/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Cuba has joined several other World Trade Organization members in filing a dispute settlement case against Australia over its new rules requiring tobacco products to be sold in plain packages. The measure was instituted this year as a means of reducing use of tobacco products.
UNCTAD Handbook: IP And The CBD Protocol On Genetic Resources 30/04/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Nagoya Protocol, adopted under the Convention on Biological Diversity, provides a set of rules to prevent misappropriation of genetic resources. As such, it crosses paths with the international intellectual property system. This interface is the subject of a handbook to be published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Industry List Of Potential US GIs Released Ahead Of WIPO Meeting 27/04/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A producers’ group lobbying in favour of geographical indications has issued a preliminary list of candidate GIs in the United States. The list, released just prior to a World Intellectual Property Organization negotiation on a possible instrument on GIs, takes a particular look at American wines.
Rethinking The Role Of Innovation In The Green Technologies Context 23/04/2013 by Tiphaine Nunzia Caulier for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment European Union (EU) Commissioner for Environment, Janez Potocnik, during a recent visit to Geneva, elaborated on the global challenges the world faces and on the strategic choices they impose, with a regional focus on Europe. He said the rise in human population that we will observe in the upcoming years raises questions regarding the management of natural resources. In that respect, Potocnik explained the need to rethink our current economic system and the way innovation is carried out.
UN Economic Commission For Europe Looks At Innovation 19/04/2013 by Tiphaine Nunzia Caulier for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Last week’s event on the “the role of innovation in creating a dynamic and competitive economy,” held at the 65th session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), gave an opportunity to a panel of experts to discuss the role of innovation in the current European economic circumstances as a tool to improve productivity and competitiveness by different means.
African Regional Plant Variety Protection Draft Legislation Raises Protest 05/04/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A draft protocol for the protection of new varieties of plants proposed by an inter-governmental African regional economic community is provoking the ire of civil society concerned about the potential impact of the protocol on small farmers, and the lack of consultation of farmers.
GI Experts Speak Of Value But Concede International Accord Hard To Reach 01/04/2013 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Bangkok, Thailand – Experts on geographical indications ended two days of discussions here by acknowledging greatly the benefit of GIs to national economies and cultural heritages, but conceded that it has been tough to reach a multilateral agreement on the protection of this type of intellectual property. [Updated]
Report Analyses Fast-Track Green Patent Applications 28/03/2013 by Tiphaine Nunzia Caulier for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new report finds that an overview is needed of the fast-tracking patent system on “green” technologies in the countries where this mechanism is in place – in seven industrialised and two developing countries.