Public Health And Patents Heat Up WIPO Debate On Harmonisation 08/03/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Discussions at an open forum last week on a possible harmonisation of international patent laws showed that countries do not only disagree on whether it would be useful or not but also have different expectations on what such a harmonisation would encompass. Judging from the at times sharp debate, the most contentious issue seems to […]
WIPO SPLT Forum Acknowledges Complexities Of Possible Harmonisation 08/03/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment An open forum at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) explored the complexities of a possible worldwide harmonisation of patent rules in a mostly amicable environment. Work on harmonising the global patent system under a draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) started at WIPO in 2001 and the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents […]
Biotech Industry Fights Disclosure In Patents On Three IP Policy Fronts 02/03/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment For the coming months, key biotechnology industry organisations are focusing their efforts on blocking the addition of disclosure of origin requirements in international patent applications on three fronts. The issue is being debated in three international fora: the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Industry is mustering […]
WIPO Committee Forms Draft For Future Development Agenda Talks 24/02/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Member governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) wrapped up the first of two weeklong meetings on proposals for a development agenda with a document listing all of the proposals under categories. “Everyone is the owner of this development agenda now in its raw form,” a Brazilian official said, referring to it as a […]
Industry’s Take On WIPO Development Talks: An Interview With The Director General Of CropLife 24/02/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On 22 February the biotechnology and crop industry association CropLife International hosted a side event as well as an evening reception to the ongoing discussions of a development agenda at World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Intellectual Property Watch talked with CropLife Director General Christian Verschueren about what the industry thinks of the development agenda negotiations. […]
Agricultural IP Issues Debated At Industry Side Event To WIPO Meeting 24/02/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The international crop and biotechnology industry’s concerns about current discussions on intellectual property as well as developing countries’ needs were discussed at a recent industry side event to the ongoing discussions at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The event was hosted by the Brussels-based industry association CropLife International. On the panel were Rita Hayes, […]
Experts Discuss Balance Between Digital Content Access, Protection 24/02/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The impact of copyrights on access to everything from digital books in libraries to online music was discussed at a 21 February side event of a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting on a development agenda. One of the main issues was whether copyrights are good or bad for the public domain and how a […]
The Hunt Is On To Advance Or End Development Agenda At WIPO 24/02/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen and William New Nations negotiating on a range of proposals to increase the development dimension at the World Intellectual Property Organization are divided over ways to either advance or conclude the talks. The first proposal for a WIPO reform agenda for development came in autumn 2004, and a steady stream […]
WIPO Members Fret Over Procedure On Development Agenda Proposals 22/02/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen and William New Member governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting established to discuss proposals for a development agenda at the United Nations body spent considerable time today discussing how to manage the large number of proposals. The debate in the 20-24 February Provisional Committee on Proposals Related […]
WIPO Development Debate Turns To Chile Public Domain Proposal 21/02/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On the second day of a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting on a proposed development agenda, how to move forward and discuss the roughly 50 proposals that WIPO has received was the theme of regional as well as plenary meetings. Officials on Tuesday began discussing the substance of the proposals, starting with a recent […]