WTO TRIPS Council Considers Workshop On Public Health Amendment 02/03/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Trade Organization group on intellectual property rights met today and ended early, discussing a potential workshop on an amendment intended to ease access to cheaper generic medicines in countries without a pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, a new proposal from Bolivia and three separate longstanding IP issues with no major changes.
Efficacy Of TRIPS Public Health Amendment In Question At WTO 01/03/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments World Trade Organization members this week will hear a report on an informal meeting on an amendment to intellectual property trade rules intended to allow easier access to medicines, which some argue has had a flawed design from its inception.
GIs Can Help Development, But Key Ingredients Are Needed, FAO Says 01/03/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Geographical indications (GIs) can be a tool for sustainable development in rural areas and are attracting a rising interest from developing country producers, but some ingredients must be taken into account, such as an effective legal framework and collective management of the GIs, according to a recently released guide produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Tough IP Health Provisions In Europe’s Colombia/Peru Trade Deal 25/02/2010 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Far-reaching provisions on the patenting of medicine have been inserted into a controversial free trade agreement between the European Union and Colombia and Peru.
Technologies Of Dissent: A Primer From Yale A2K4 Conference 22/02/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Leaps forward in technology can bring with them dramatic social changes; in particular the expansion of digital and social media has both democratised the power to record information and to be heard, but it has also simultaneously made it easier than ever before for public institutions to intrude upon private lives.
Conference: Access To Knowledge, Human Rights Can Learn From Each Other 19/02/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A treaty on copyright exceptions for visually impaired readers, open educational materials, use of the internet without surveillance, and early human rights movements around access to electricity were among issues debated at a recent academic conference on access to knowledge.
US Business Calls For IP Enforcement “Surge”, Seeks New Legislation This Year 18/02/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The United States’ largest industry association today laid out an aggressive legislative agenda on intellectual property, calling for a dramatic increase in enforcement activities including pumped up customs and border authority.
ACTA Negotiators: Maximal Protection Proposals Unlikely In Final Text 18/02/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The chapter on copyright protection in the digital environment under negotiation in the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is still in an embryonic state, said negotiators coming back from the recent ACTA negotiations in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Contradictory Court Rulings, Continuing Tension On Internet Liability In EU 17/02/2010 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In its 2010 digital music report, the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said that despite the availability of 400 legitimate online music offerings worldwide and significantly higher 2009 revenues, the music sector remains hard-hit by peer-to-peer and emerging forms of copyright infringement.
Biotech Marathon: Vaccines And Open Innovation, But Less IP? 16/02/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In a mad-dash 34-hour marathon, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry professionals met on 1-2 February in Geneva in what was intended to be a hearth of partnering opportunities. About 600 participants debated future trends and current challenges along with open innovation, global health and vaccines.