High-Level Track Of WSIS Forum 2017 Breaks All Records 23/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The number of participants, sessions and the quality of the contributions of the different speakers has never been as high as during this year’s edition of the World Summit on the Information Society Forum (the WSIS Forum 2017), according to organisers.
Open Access Policy In International Organisations 19/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Open access is “part of the DNA” of international intergovernmental organisations, Charlotte Beauchamp, head of editorial and design at the World Intellectual Property Organization, said during a workshop last week. Representatives of different international organisations described during the workshop the increasing use of an open access policy by their organisations.
Stakeholders Collectively Designing Future Of Artificial Intelligence 14/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Designing a world where humans have to share space with robots is not an easy task. Several initiatives are looking at ways to address issues linked to the main fuel of artificial intelligence: data. Such issues include privacy, data ownership and sharing, but also making sure that artificial intelligence will not widen the existing digital divide. Speakers at a global summit last week provided insight on ongoing efforts to understand and best tackle the inevitable and sometimes unforeseen problems of this new territory.
Panellists At UN: Create A Global Research Centre For Artificial Intelligence? 13/06/2017 by Peter Kenny for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Artificial intelligence can solve many challenges facing humanity and it is seen playing a contributing role to the achieving of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but being data-driven, the inevitable question that arises is who owns it and manages it.
Human Rights Council Speakers: Right To Health Underlies All Other Rights, Access To Medicines Key 09/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment If governments have the obligation to help keep their citizens healthy, many of them are struggling to strengthen their health systems. A variety of hurdles is in the way, and lack of access to medicines is one of them, as underlined by the World Health Organization director general in her address to the United Nations Human Rights Council yesterday.
Summit: Artificial Intelligence Is Humanity-Changing, Build Safeguards Now 07/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment For artificial intelligence enthusiasts, the future is bright. Soon intelligent machines will help humankind solve most problems, and according to one speaker at an artificial intelligence summit in Geneva this week, humans will be outsmarted by robots in the foreseeable future, in an artificial intelligence bliss. For others, artificial intelligence is far from delivering a fully positive outcome, and for several United Nations representatives, such as the World Health Organization, the world should not be entrusted to robots just yet.
WHO Members Mixed On Evaluation Of Director General Election Process 07/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The opinions of the World Health Organization member states on the just-completed election process for a WHO director general showed divisions, according to statements at last week’s meeting of the WHO Executive Board.
Industry, NGOs On Staff At WHO? Beware Of Revolving Doors, Some Say 06/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The agreement found last year after months of intense discussion to avert the possibility of undue influence by outside actors at the World Health Organization is yet to be fully implemented. The World Health Assembly last week looked at progress and the process by which the WHO can temporarily welcome on its staff individuals from the private sector, civil society, philanthropic foundations, and academic institutions. Some countries questioned principles in this process but were told by the WHO that their comments would merely be recorded.
REGISTER NOW! The Global Debate On Intellectual Property, Trade And Development: Past, Present and Future 05/06/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Global Debate on Intellectual Property, Trade and Development: Past, Present and Future A Conference in Honour of Pedro Roffe
WHO Asked To Square Its Position On Herbicide; EU Evaluation Seen As Flawed 31/05/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Does glyphosate, better known under its brand name RoundUp, increase the risk of cancer in humans, or not? Yesterday, some World Health Organization members, while hailing a draft resolution on cancer later adopted, underlined a lack of coordination on glysophate between the WHO and its agency for cancer research. Separately, a renowned scientist sent a letter to European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, saying the evaluations on the herbicide are flawed, and should be done again to safeguard public health.