Margaret Chan Of Hong Kong Chosen As Next WHO Director General 08/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Margaret Chan of Hong Kong (China) has been elected the next director general of the World Health Organization by a large majority of member governments, according to sources. “It is not a surprise that Chan was chosen but with such a big margin – that is a surprise,” a source […]
Developed Country Strategy On WIPO Development Agenda, Governance Revealed 07/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen and William New The report from a September meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) developed country group reveals its behind-the-scenes strategy for handling a proposed development agenda at WIPO. The WIPO General Assembly decided in October to extend the discussions on a proposal for a development agenda, which […]
WHO Short-lists Five Candidates For Director General Post 06/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a short list of five candidates for the post of director general, sources said. The list includes: China, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico and Spain. A number of sources have indicated to Intellectual Property Watch that the candidates who are most likely to replace Lee […]
“Dynamic Coalitions,” The New Sword In Internet Governance Debates 05/11/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New ATHENS – The World Summit on the Information Society told the world to build “dynamic” coalitions to address problems related to the Internet, and this week, the world responded. At the four-day Internet Governance Forum here ending 2 November, seemingly more than a dozen coalitions emerged on every topic of concern related […]
ITU Candidates Tread Lightly On Internet Governance 03/11/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The candidates for next week’s election to succeed UN International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Yoshio Utsumi are not following his platform of drawing international pressure to change the US-centric Internet domain name system.
Developed Countries Discuss Biodiversity IP Proposal At WTO; Peru Calls For Global Regime 01/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen At a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting, Switzerland questioned an earlier proposal by Norway to link WTO intellectual property rules with the protection of biodiversity. But Peru, as one of the demanders of such a scheme, said it is highly needed. The 25-26 October meeting was a regular session […]
Copyrights, Knowledge Access, Democracy Debated At Internet Forum 01/11/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New ATHENS – Whether intellectual property rights protection is inhibiting the free flow of information was hotly debated at the Internet Governance Forum on 31 October. “Just about every aspect of the free flow of information is now hampered” by technologies, laws and other reasons, said Joichi Ito of Creative Commons. “Suddenly the […]
UN-led Conference Grills Corporations On Support For Restrictive Internet Regimes 31/10/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New ATHENS – Participants in this week’s Internet Governance Forum here saw strong support for ensuring public access to knowledge as tough questions were put to technology corporations for their apparent support of restrictive government practices. But representatives of the corporations, including Cisco Systems, Google and Microsoft, held their own in the debate. […]
New Internet Governance Proposal Would Trim US Role, Boost Private Sector 31/10/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New ATHENS – As hundreds of Internet practitioners and visionaries gathered here for a forum on governance of the Internet, two long-time stakeholders have issued an updated proposal aimed at defusing the biggest policy tensions by moving governance to the private sector and increasing international involvement. The proposal comes from Becky Burr, a […]
Seminar: Smaller Drug Companies May Have Niche Role In Neglected Diseases 31/10/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen There may be a market advantage for small and medium-sized pharmaceutical enterprises (SMEs) in focusing on diseases prevalent in developing countries that are neglected by larger companies, according to a recent seminar. The seminar was held by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in cooperation with a United Kingdom-based free-market […]