WIPO Members Advance Draft Texts On Copyright Exceptions, AV Protection 23/06/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment After a week of substantive discussions about potential international instruments on the protection of broadcasting and audiovisual rights, and on providing limitations and exceptions to copyright for visually impaired people, pressure is building at the World Intellectual Property Organization as the end of the negotiating session draws near.
UNITAID Executive Secretary To Step Down 22/06/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The head of Geneva-based UNITAID, an innovative drug purchasing system for the global poor, will leave the post this month.
Copyright Vital For Authors, Adaptable For Wide Access, WIPO Panellists Say 17/06/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Copyright is necessary to allow authors to live from their trade and to guarantee their independence, and exceptions should be decided by authors and publishers, according to panellists on a copyright dialogue held at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week.
Possible Treaties Brewing At WIPO Committee On Copyright 14/06/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Potential international legal instruments will be discussed this week at the World Intellectual Property Organization where delegates will try to find common language to address the protection of audiovisual performances, the protection of broadcasting organisations and agree on a set of exceptions and limitations to copyright for visually impaired people.
New Brussels Lobbying Group Communia Works For A Stronger Public Domain 13/06/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch and William New 2 Comments A new association is being launched this week in Brussels with the mission to promote the digital public domain. The move comes in the face of heavy lobbying for stronger copyright protection.
Targets, TRIPS Flexibilities In UN HIV Meeting Declaration; Brazil’s Health Minister Hails Outcome 10/06/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NEW YORK – The declaration from the United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS, which concluded today, set targets for responding to the disease and contained clear references to flexibilities to intellectual property law intended to assure needed medicines can be obtained affordably, according to Brazil’s health minister.
Drug Access Issues In Spotlight At UN High-Level Meeting On HIV, WIPO Event 08/06/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments This week the United Nations meets in New York with the possibility of finding a way to end the HIV crisis that in the past two decades spread like wildfire and decimated societies in many developing countries, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa.
UN Expert: No Government Internet Restrictions For Political Reasons, IPRs 07/06/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Governments should refrain from restricting the flow of information on the internet, and the private sector should not be in charge of policing it, a United Nations adviser on freedom of opinion and expression said last week in a report. He also criticised disconnection of users on intellectual property rights grounds.
Proposed EU Customs Regulation May Not Dispel Fear Of Wrongful Drug Seizures 31/05/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Commission has issued a new draft customs regulation that it says addresses past concerns over wrongful seizures of generic drug shipments transiting through European ports. But the new regulation does not substantively change existing rules, it said, and civil society groups say it does not go far enough. The EU regulation is the subject of a World Trade Organization dispute settlement case.
UN Project Examines Better Access To Drugs For The Poor Through Local Production 27/05/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Improving access to medicines in developing countries through local pharmaceutical production is at the centre of a project involving several institutional actors working on health and trade. Technology transfer is key to local production, but some prerequisites like a favourable policy environment and the ability of developing countries to use technology transfer are essential to encourage local production, according to panellists at a recent event.