Small Farmers’ Rights Sidelined In Uganda’s Plant Breeding Regulation 12/06/2014 by Hillary Muheebwa for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In a country with over 35 million people, Uganda’s economy is based on agriculture. Over 80 percent of the country’s workforce is employed in the sector, contributing up to 23 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Panels Highlight Community Participation In Development Of Technologies 11/06/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch and Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment LAUSANNE – Community-driven innovation and technologies could be a solution for developing essential technologies to achieve sustainable development, according to a range of expert panels at a recent event. And in some cases, they already are.
African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) Joins UPOV 11/06/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Geneva-based Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) announced yesterday that the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) became its seventy-second member.
Industry Offers Lessons In Deployment Of Technology In Developing Countries 10/06/2014 by Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch and Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment LAUSANNE – Using their own experiences, a panel of technology industry representatives last week identified factors that could accelerate technology flows to developing countries.
Access To Vaccines, Patents Growing Concerns, Panellists Say 10/06/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment LYON, France – At the Biovision life science forum looking into translating innovation into health-related solutions last week, a panel of speakers shared their experience about the global access to vaccines. Although vaccination coverage is on the rise and intellectual property has not been a major concern in the past decade for vaccines, patents may well become a barrier in the future, panellists said.
Sustainable Energy Supply Models Discussed At UNESCO Conference 09/06/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment LAUSANNE – Energy installation projects in developing countries are often not sustainable, and can lead to breakdown of technologies reliant on energy supply such as medical devices, said speakers at a conference on technologies for development last week. A sustainable model, productive use of energy and receiver participation and training are essential to ensure continued operation of energy supply infrastructure, they said.
Open AIR Research Project On African IP Presented At WIPO 04/06/2014 by Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Open AIR project has gone global. The research project’s findings were presented in a recent side event at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The findings, published in two books, assess how people from different African countries and sectors consider and use intellectual property and present three possible scenarios about how people will innovate in the next two decades.
Innovation Occurs In Informal Economy, Needs Policy Framework, Panellists Say 03/06/2014 by Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Findings of a World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) project show that innovation occurs in the informal sector, and generates employment and development. Panellists at a recent side event to the CDIP called on policymakers to be mindful of this sector and implement policy frameworks, in particular in developing countries.
Open Policy Network Launched 02/06/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new network has been launched with the aim of promoting open policies worldwide. The network brings together dozens of nongovernmental organisations, universities, international organisations, foundatioins and individuals under guiding principles and a work plan. According to its website, Open Policy Network (OPN) “supports the creation, adoption and implementation of open policies around the world. […]
A Call For Health Research, Innovation In The Post-2015 Era 30/05/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In the post-2015 Development Agenda, United Nations members must explicitly support research and development, related policies and capacity building with special attention to the low and middle income countries, in order to advance global health targets, experts said at a recent event in Geneva.