Change Coming To Quiet UN Plant Variety Protection Agency? 26/10/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Two new civil society observers were admitted last week to the Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) though whether that represents a cultural shift for the organisation or simply a procedure that has now been followed depends on who you ask. Meanwhile, a new vice secretary general prepared to take over for the first time in nearly 10 years.
Climate-Ready Crop Patents Present Danger For Biodiversity, Group Says 26/10/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments NAGOYA, JAPAN – A civil society group this week warned government officials gathered here against patents on “climate-ready” crops and what they characterised as an attempt to obtain an exclusive monopoly over plant gene sequences. The group asked states at the United Nations biodiversity conference to recognise that such patents are a threat to biodiversity and to the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources.
Negotiators Persist On Biodiversity Benefit-Sharing Treaty Despite Slipping Deadlines 24/10/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NAGOYA, JAPAN – The monumental statue in the courtyard of the Nagoya Congress Center, featuring a warrior on his horse, could be an illustration of the work of the group of officials charged with negotiating a much-anticipated international treaty to protect genetic resources from misappropriation and justly reward provider countries. Meeting over the weekend, they could not find consensus on the text and will have to request another deadline from the United Nations meeting on biodiversity on Monday.
New Draft Biodiversity Treaty Text Shows Much Work Remains; Co-Chairs Hopeful 23/10/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NAGOYA, JAPAN – In weekend attire, delegates in charge of negotiating an international binding instrument protecting countries against misappropriation of their genetic resources arrived at Nagoya Congress Center on Saturday afternoon to take up a new draft text with a day and a half to solve remaining issues.
Biodiversity Negotiators Move Treaty Text Forward; Deadline Pushed To Monday 22/10/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NAGOYA, JAPAN – Officials negotiating this week on an international agreement to stop misuse of genetic resources appear to have reached minimal consensus on additional articles of the draft text under negotiation, though many specific areas of disagreement were resolved, they said. A Friday deadline for completion was pushed to Monday in the hope they can resolve deeper differences on fundamental issues such as traditional knowledge and compliance.
Indigenous Groups Allege Canadian Obstructionism To Biodiversity ABS Protocol 21/10/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NAGOYA, JAPAN – With the clock ticking and less than a day to go before a draft of a legally binding instrument to prevent biopiracy is due to be presented to the assembly of a major United Nations meeting on biodiversity, delegations kept trying to find acceptable language, with different echoes coming from the negotiating room. Meanwhile, Canadian indigenous people convened a press briefing today (21 October) to charge that Canada was trying to block the negotiations and deny their human rights.
Delegates See UN Protocol Against Biopiracy Within Reach 19/10/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NAGOYA, JAPAN – Prospects for completing and approving a protocol protecting natural resources from biopiracy and providing equitable sharing of benefits derived from the commercial use of those resources are promising, according to delegates. But hard negotiations lie ahead if they are to meet a deadline to present an agreed draft protocol to the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by the end of this week.
As Negotiators Launch Talks On Biodiversity, Industry Requests IP Protection 15/10/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week, global attention will be focussed on hopes to reach an international agreement aimed at giving the world a better chance to reduce the loss of biodiversity and ensure benefits are being shared. Intellectual Property Watch will be in Nagoya, Japan to report on the negotiations.
Sign Up For Email Alerts Of IP-Watch Briefs! 13/10/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Now available for Intellectual Property Watch readers: Email alerts for the IP-Watch Burble microblog, our breaking news briefs. A free service available to all, just sign up for email alerts here if you don’t already receive them. If you already receive IP-Watch email alerts, just scroll to the bottom of any email you receive (like this one) and click the link under “If you would like to modify the settings of your subscription,” which takes you to your individualised settings. Then add Burble to your categories. And of course you can also follow us on Twitter or by RSS feed, see www.ip-watch.org. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ip-watch.ch.
A Rights-Poor Protocol For Biodiversity Access & Benefit-Sharing 08/10/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A leading indigenous negotiator for a UN protocol on biodiversity access and benefit sharing says the process will likely yield a highly diluted, rights-poor protocol and that Indigenous Peoples’ negotiating leverage is slipping.