IP Protection No Barrier To Green Technology Transfer, Says Key Negotiator 05/10/2009 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments BANGKOK – Protection of intellectual property should not be a barrier in transferring technology needed by developing countries in helping them cope with the effects of climate change as most of the technology is currently publicly available, a key negotiator of the issue has said.
Bangkok Climate Change Meeting Aims For Draft Deal For Copenhagen 28/09/2009 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment BANGKOK – Government officials and private stakeholders were urged Monday to strike differences from the 280 pages of negotiating text in preparing a draft that could become a global agreement on climate change in December 2009.
UN Conference Pushes Plant Breeding; Others See Food Security In Jeopardy 23/09/2009 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments Participants at a recent United Nations conference on the role of new plant varieties and seeds in agriculture agreed that access to genetic resources and the protection of intellectual property rights are essential to sustain plant breeding. But key opponents not invited to the meeting claim that plant breeding will endanger biodiversity, sustainability and ultimately food security.
Technology Transfer Will Be Part Of Copenhagen Climate Deal 16/09/2009 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment COPENHAGEN – Technology transfer is bound to be part of a possible new international climate deal at the high-level meeting in Copenhagen in December, according to officials. Meanwhile, international economists have concluded that such transfers constitute a win-win situation for developed and developing countries when it comes to combating climate change.
Early Drafts Show Disagreement On UN Framework For Climate Services 04/09/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Senior officials from well over 100 nations at a five-day United Nations conference on Thursday issued a succinct declaration committing them to establish a global framework on the delivery of products and services related to climate change. But earlier negotiating versions of the declaration from the week obtained by Intellectual Property Watch show substantive disagreement and the removal of pages of draft text.
UN Climate Report Envisions Modified TRIPS As Governments Seek Progress 01/09/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Scientists and bureaucrats meeting this week on climate change and weather data are struggling to move global discussion past general declarations of recognition and commitment to address environmental change. One bump under the rug at the United Nations conference is rights over environmental technologies, and a new UN report released Tuesday calls for investment and a focus on flexibilities in and possible changes to intellectual property rights rules to help developing countries access information and technologies.
Informal UN Climate Talks Indicate Continued Divergence On IP Issues 28/08/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments With 15 scheduled negotiating days left before a meeting in Copenhagen meant to set the global sustainability agenda for the next several years, the head of the United Nations agency tasked with coordinating the global effort to fight climate change has issued an urgent call for more speed toward convergence on all parts of the upcoming climate change agreement, especially on IP-related text – lest the entire thing fall through.
Members Of Human Rights Expert Committee At UN Question Patents On Food 07/08/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments A group of experts working as a think-tank for the United Nations Human Rights Council raised the issue of patents and food at a meeting this week. Meanwhile, a new report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food expected to be available at the end of August will focus on the intersection between intellectual property and the human right to food.
ECOSOC Wraps Up With Discussion Of Environmental Governance Framework 04/08/2009 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The influential United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) ended its 2009 substantive session on 31 July, after a month-long coordinating body meeting in Geneva which yielded resolutions on several topics such as public health, science and technology, human rights, environment and sustainable development issues.
OMPI : examen à la loupe du projet de programme et de budget 2010-2011 29/07/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Cette semaine, les États membres de l’Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI) ont procédé à un examen minutieux du projet de programme et de budget pour l’exercice 2010-2011 proposé par le Secrétariat de l’Organisation, le premier à refléter entièrement le réalignement stratégique que Francis Gurry, son directeur général, entend opérer au sein de cette institution spécialisée de l’ONU.