TTIP Could Lead To Jobs, Access To Better Drugs, Says Pharma 25/09/2015 by Marianna Drake for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The trade negotiation between Europe and the United States relating to a wide range of trade and investment policies could lead to greater job creation and access to innovative medicines, according to senior European and American pharmaceutical business leaders and academics.
USPTO Director Addresses ‘Unacceptable’ Gender Gap In Sci/Tech Fields 23/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The alarming statistic that women hold less than 25 percent of science and technology jobs in the United States, despite making up nearly half of the workforce, brings home the extent to which women are underrepresented in this domain, says US Patent and Trademark Office Director Michelle Lee.
WIPO: Progress On 2016-2017 Program/Budget, But Final Work Left To Assembly 21/09/2015 by William New and Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Members of a World Intellectual Property Organization committee last week reached some tough agreements on issues relating to the next two years’ program and budget, but had to pass on unfinished work to the full WIPO membership, which will meet in two weeks.
WIPO Committee Narrows Definition Of Development Expenditure 18/09/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment After four years of talks, committee members at the World Intellectual Property Organization have agreed on a definition for what constitutes an expenditure on development in the UN agency.
Cutting-Edge Energy Tech Presented At Swiss Energy And Climate Summit 18/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment BERN – Everybody knows how annoying it is to run out of battery power for mobile devices. In the same way, storing energy is a continuing issue for renewable energy due to its non-continuous nature. A number of innovations presented at this week’s Swiss Energy and Climate Summit in Bern sought to address that problem. The yearly event invites Swiss and international speakers to put forward the latest in technology. And according to some participants from start-ups, intellectual property is key, but their IP strategy relies more and more on both patents and trade secrets.
WIPO HR Report Shows Effort At Geographical Diversity, Gender Balance 16/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization has fewer staff overall but more senior staff, according to an annual report on human resources at the United Nations agency. In addition, while efforts at WIPO are continuing to expand geographical diversity among staff, the number of countries represented fell last year. Western Europe provides half of all staff. Meanwhile, women make up about a quarter of senior posts.
WIPO Continues Honing Its Audit And Oversight Functions 15/09/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The UN World Intellectual Property Organization has been working in recent years to improve its audit and oversight functions under the watchful eye of its member states. On the opening day of its meeting this week, the influential Program and Budget Committee (PBC) took several actions to advance the process, with some key positions in flux.
Switzerland Backs Renovation Of UN Offices In Geneva 14/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The government of Switzerland has decided to give a CHF 400 million interest-free loan toward renovation of the Palais des Nations, the United Nations headquarters in Europe. The CHF 837 million project is expected to begin in 2017 and be completed in 2023, the UN said.
Subscriber Update: Workplan For WIPO Program And Budget Committee 14/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The tentative workplan for this week’s World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee (PBC) has been circulated. The PBC is meeting from 14-18 September. Documents are available here. The tentative plan for addressing the agenda items is available here [pdf]. This is subject to change during the week. WIPO members have already adopted the […]
WIPO To Tackle Lisbon Financing, External Offices, Development Expenditures 10/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee meets next week to address several substantive issues. Among the issues to be discussed is the financing of the system of protection of geographical indications, which has been called into question by non-members of the system. Other topics are external WIPO offices, and if the WIPO coordination office in New York should be closed, what constitutes development expenditures in the budget, and how to implement a recommendation by the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit.