WIPO Patent Committee Chair’s Text Shows Possible Future Work 15/10/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The chair of World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) today circulated a text reflecting possible elements of future work for the committee. The text, which is now the subject of informal discussions, includes key parts of proposals put forward earlier in the week.
WHO Report: Progress On Neglected Tropical Diseases 14/10/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new report released today by the World Health Organization found that 17 neglected tropical diseases can be controlled. If strategies set out in the report are implemented widely, “they can substantially reduce the disease burden, breaking a cycle of infection, disability and lost opportunities that keep people in poverty, WHO Director General Margaret Chan said in a press release.
WIPO Members Search For A Negotiating Agenda On Patent Law 14/10/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Patents aren’t what they used to be at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Discussions to come up with a work plan at the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) this week and in recent meetings point to the possibility of a sea change in thinking over what matters about intellectual property policy and law.
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.
ACTA: No More Negotiating Rounds Planned; Latest Text To Be Released 04/10/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 8 Comments The round of negotiations in Tokyo last week on the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will be the last in the several-year long process to come to a final agreement, negotiators have said. The latest text – along with highlighted issue areas on which certain countries still have reservations – will be released before the end of the week, negotiators told Intellectual Property Watch.
An Eventful Week For IP Policymaking In The United States 02/10/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States’ search for ways to spark its job growth has led to a focus on intellectual property rights, and this week several significant developments boiled over.
First Patent Holder Grants Licences To UNITAID 01/10/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States National Institutes of Health has become the first patent holder to join the newly created Medicines Patent Pool, a project of drug purchasing mechanism UNITAID. Public health organisations hailed the move as key step in the right direction but said there is still much work to do.
Study Shows Climate Change Innovation Concentrated In Few Nations 30/09/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The adoption of 1997 landmark environmental agreement the Kyoto Protocol caused a surge in environmental innovation, but the countries which are innovating and the licensees of this technology are limited, finds a newly released study making use of patent data to track where technological responses to climate change are coming from as well as the licensing practices of the technology owners.
Burdened With Brackets, Biodiversity ABS Protocol Needs Political Will To Survive 28/09/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Substantive progress eluded the negotiators of a draft protocol on biodiversity access and benefit sharing last week in Montreal, according to participating sources. The third attempt at finding consensus on key aspects of the text was unsuccessful and negotiations will carry on at the major United Nations meeting on biodiversity next month in Japan.