World Information Society Summit Assessment: ICT Services Deemed Less Costly 16/05/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments More than five years since the last UN-led World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and less than five years before the 2015 target date of the Millennium Development Goals, experts and representatives of needy countries are in Geneva to assess how it is going. One thing they are being told: the price of information and communications technology services has dropped in the past two years.
Nagoya Protocol: Key Signatories Take It Closer To Goal 12/05/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The protection of genetic resources from misappropriation, institutionalised in October 2010 by the Nagoya Protocol, is getting nearer to realisation as eight new countries ratified the protocol yesterday.
Educational Tools For Seed Treaty Actors 12/05/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The international seed treaty has launched a capacity building campaign under the form of educational modules to help a range of stakeholders better understand the treaty and its implementation.
UNCTAD: Bundle Of Opportunities To Improve Medicines Access In LDCs 09/05/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Access to essential medicines in least developed countries (LDCs) could be facilitated through local production, according to a report released today by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
WHO: Chronic Diseases Can Be Reduced 27/04/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Organization has launched today in Moscow its first Global Status Report on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs).
WIPO Begins New Era With A Light, Transparent Office Building 26/04/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment More than two years after construction was begun and 13 years since its approval, a large new World Intellectual Property Organization office building quietly opened doors in March and the exodus from across the street and several other locations in Geneva began for some 500 employees of the United Nations organisation.
No Toast Yet To WTO Consensus On Wines And Spirits Geographical Indications 21/04/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Mandated efforts to create an international register of geographical indications have risen in importance at the World Trade Organization in recent weeks. And as the pressure to produce negotiating texts for the Doha Round discussions climaxed this week, some dissonant notes were heard in the main negotiating group of countries on GIs.
Plant Breeder’s Rights – A Blessing Or A Curse? 20/04/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Niels Louwaars of the Centre for Genetic Resources, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, discusses the importance of plant breeder’s rights. He makes the case for a carefully balanced protection for plant breeders and changes to patents in agriculture, in order to ensure a competitive, diversified supply of plant varieties and seeds.
Book Explores Intersection Of Policymaking In IP, Biodiversity 19/04/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new book published by GTZ, the German federal agency for international development, looks at the synergies between intellectual property rights and biodiversity, gathering analysis from Latin America, southern Africa and Asia experts.
Biodiversity, Climate Change Policy On Convergent Roads, Paper Says 18/04/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Biodiversity and climate change issues are coming together under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), according to a new working paper from the University of Edinburgh.