TISA Stocktaking Meeting Reveals There Is Still Ground To Cover 16/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The ambassadors for the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) have endorsed a deadline of notifying any additional new annexes by 31 July, and submitting completed offers by 15 September. This is the result of the most recent meeting of negotiators of the 25 TISA parties, according to a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australia hosted the TISA round from July 6-10 in Geneva.
European Parliament Decides In Favour Of TTIP Mandate And “New ISDS” 08/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 10 Comments The European Parliament today voted in favour of its own mandate for the negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a broad free trade agreement between its 28 member states and the United States. With 436 yes versus 241 no votes (32 abstentions), the Parliament adopted a resolution that also gives green light to the hotly debated investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), albeit a new version of it.
TISA Stocktaking Meeting Also Might Have To Face Growing Protests 08/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With the veil of secrecy lifted a little more on the strictly secret talks of the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) after Wikileaks published large chunks of negotiating text, delegations gathered for negotiations of the trade deal this week in Geneva face some noisy opposition.
US Shifts Stance On Drug Pricing In Pacific Trade Pact Talks, Document Reveals 10/06/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment From the New York Times: WASHINGTON — Facing resistance from its Pacific trading partners, the Obama administration is no longer demanding protection for pharmaceutical prices under the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, according to a newly leaked “transparency” annex of the proposed trade accord. But American negotiators are still pressing participating governments to open up the process that sets reimbursement rates for drugs and medical devices. Public health professionals, generic drugmakers and activists opposed to the trade deal, which is still being negotiated, contend that it will empower big pharmaceutical firms to command higher reimbursement rates in the United States and abroad, at the expense of consumers.
Tumultuous Session In European Parliament Ends In Postponement Of TTIP Debate 10/06/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment After a tumultuous early morning session today in Strasbourg, a slim majority of 183 (against 181) members of the European Parliament decided to postpone mere debate of the Parliament’s report on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The vote on the report prepared by Bernd Lange, head of the International Trade Committee (S&D), had already been postponed yesterday by the President of the Parliament, Martin Schulz.
Climate Change Headlines G7; Merkel Commits To Conclude TTIP During Obama’s Term 09/06/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment MUNICH — The agreement of the heads of states of the United States, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany to reduce global warning to less than two degrees made the biggest headlines of the G7 Summit on Elmau Castle, Germany, in the Bavarian Alps. Also agreed were commitments on trade and on public health, including research and development for neglected diseases.
Confidential USTR Emails Show Close Industry Involvement In TPP Negotiations 05/06/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 45 Comments While a full range of stakeholders would be affected by the outcome of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement under secret negotiation by the United States and a dozen trading partners, corporate representatives have had a special seat at the negotiating table, as shown by hundreds of pages of confidential emails from the US Trade Representative’s office obtained by Intellectual Property Watch. The emails give a rare and fascinating perspective on how policy is developed in the trade office.
Alternative Summit Offers Ideas For Trade Agreements, G7, Amid 40,000 Protesters 05/06/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments MUNICH — Just days before leaders of the Group of 7 (G7) industrialised countries gather in the well-guarded Bavarian Castle Elmau, a broad coalition of organisations invited free trade critics to an International Summit for Alternatives in Munich. Speaking there, Jean Ziegler, well-known former UN rapporteur for the right to food, shrugged off the possible effects of the G7 Summit.
European Parliament Trade Committee Tries To Defuse TTIP Controversy But Outcome Remains Uncertain 29/05/2015 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment European Commission negotiators should back away from a controversial provision in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal that would allow companies to sue governments in arbitration courts over claimed unequal treatment, the European Parliament International Trade Committee (INTA) said on 28 May. MEPs called instead for publicly appointed, independent judges, public hearings and an appellate mechanism that respects the jurisdiction of EU and national courts, the committee said.
France, Italy, Heavyweights Of Lisbon Appellations Of Origin System; Africa Struggling 16/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A small number of World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are negotiating to expand a treaty to protect geographical indications, products like Champagne. Under the old treaty, which protects appellations of origin, over half of the registrations are in France, and another large amount in Italy. According to an analysis, many of the 28 members of the treaty have zero or very few registrations, raising the question of how the new GI protection will be different if agreed.