Gurry Re-Elected By Praiseful WIPO Membership; Some Ask For Transparent, Accountable Governance 08/05/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments Some five minutes is all it took this morning for the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly to re-elect Francis Gurry at the head of WIPO for the next six years. All delegations taking the floor congratulated the director general and underlined the achievements under his current mandate. However, the matter of allegations by one of the WIPO deputy directors general is being investigated.
Could The WIPO General Assembly Reject Francis Gurry’s Nomination? 07/05/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments Tomorrow, World Intellectual Property Organization members decide whether to re-elect Francis Gurry as director general for another six years. The decision was complicated in recent weeks by detailed allegations of wrongdoing by Gurry put forward by Gurry’s deputy, raising questions about member states’ responsibility in investigating such claims.
EU’s Nagoya Protocol Ratification: How It Works 07/05/2014 by Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The European Union Council of Ministers on 14 April adopted a decision approving the ratification of a protocol meant to facilitate access to genetic resources and to provide the fair sharing of commercial benefits with provider countries. The target date for ratification is July 2014, according to the EU.
Council Of Europe Acts To Protect Whistleblowers 06/05/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The 47-member Council of Europe (CoE) recently made a move on whistleblower protection. But it remains to be seen what impact it will have.
FSFE Urges EU To Weigh In Against DRM Inclusion In HTML Web Standard 06/05/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) today wrote to several European Union commissioners in an appeal for them to weigh in against the standardisation of the Encrypted Media Extension (EME) for the new HTML version, HTML5.
Digitisation Projects For Orphan And Out-Of-Commerce Works Presented At WIPO 06/05/2014 by Jos̩phine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch and Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Digitisation of copyrighted works is in growing demand, and books are increasingly being made widely available in digital form. Two forms of works however Рorphan and out-of-commerce works Рare in danger of missing out, said speakers at a recent World Intellectual Property Organization event, and there is a risk of forever losing an important part of our cultural heritage embedded in these works. Another panel, meanwhile, illustrated that laws on copyright and licensing also present obstacles to cross-border use of digitised works by universities, libraries and archives.
Librarians, Archivists: Why An International Solution Is Needed For Copyright Exceptions 06/05/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Last week, the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee ended without agreement on the conclusions of the meeting or its future work, to the dismay of librarians and archivists associations. During the week, numerous representatives of these communities gave vigorous accounts of why a treaty is vital to grant them exceptions to copyright.
A Brief Overview Of Current IP Issues At The WTO 05/05/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual property issues may not be at the top of the post-Bali negotiations at the World Trade Organization, but there are many IP-related issues going on at the WTO. Below is an overview of some current and possible IP-related issues at the WTO.
Panel Looks At Ethical Implications Of Big Data In Health 05/05/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The potential for big data to yield better outcomes in all aspects of health is tremendous, and tapping into it has only just begun, said speakers at a recent panel in Geneva.
UPOV Publishes List Of FAQs As Part Of Communications Strategy 05/05/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), an enigma organisation to some, has published a list of answers to frequently asked questions on its website.