Access And Benefit-Sharing (ABS) Initiative To Continue Cooperation With WIPO 28/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Access and Benefit Sharing Capacity Development Initiative (ABS Initiative) and the World Intellectual Property Organization will continue their cooperation and produce “further good events,” it became known during a recent event organised by WIPO. The initiative relates to genetic resources.
New WIPO Publications To Help Policymakers With Protection Of TK, Folklore 27/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment For years, the intellectual property system, created to protect products of the mind including inventions, held little interest for the continually evolving ancestral culture of indigenous peoples. But the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities are now discussed in many fora, including the World Intellectual Property Organization, where the focus is how to use the IP system to protect indigenous knowledge and genetic resources from misappropriation and exploitation. And the UN organisation just issued two publications on possible ways to use the IP system to do just that.
As Questions Mount Over Future Of IP, Geneva A ‘Particular’ Place For Global Dialogue 23/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment There are still many unanswered questions about intellectual property rights, speakers said during an academic conference last week in Geneva. Think tank analyst and author Pedro Roffe, who was the focal point of the conference, said at the event that there is “particularly in Geneva” place for dialogue about “very important and emerging” IP questions.
Where There Is A Will There Is A Way: Speakers At WIPO Event Discuss Indigenous Knowledge Protection 22/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment An event held on the side of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on traditional knowledge meeting last week looked at ways to move discussions forward in the light of the committee’s expected renewed mandate. Speakers explored different perspectives and possible new avenues for indigenous and local communities to protect and manage their knowledge and cultural heritage, without the threat of misappropriation.
Tribute To An IP Community Influencer Brings Together IP Experts In Geneva 20/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Inspiring, generous, humanist, nobody was short of praise and anecdotes at an event last week to celebrate the lifelong contribution of Pedro Roffe, well-known Geneva thinker and writer on intellectual property. A conference on the evolution of intellectual property, trade and development had been organised for the occasion, congregating many IP experts offering their perspective on the role of IP in fields, such as public health, innovation policy, and competition law.
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.
WIPO TK Committee Agrees To Continue Work, But Real Outcome Depends On October Assembly 19/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A recommendation to continue the work of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on the protection of traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore is on its way to the organisation’s annual General Assembly in October. However, the details of the mandate are left for the General Assembly to discuss, such as the mandate and the work programme of the committee for the next two years.
Revised Articles Protecting Folklore Head To WIPO General Assembly, For Better Or Worse 19/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Delegations this week agreed on a revised set of draft articles aiming to protect traditional cultural expressions (folklore) from misappropriation, typically for commercial interests. However, several proposals made by the United States, some of which were supported by the European Union, were seen by others as defying the purpose of the potential treaty.
Indigenous People Ask For More Involvement in Decision Making At WIPO 15/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Different representatives of indigenous people shared their views and concerns on the protection of the rights of indigenous people and local communities during a side event at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week. Speakers underlined the need of consultation of indigenous people during negotiations about their rights.
Switzerland Tops Global Innovation Index 2017; Attention To Gap Needed 15/06/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom are the top five global innovative economies, according to the Global Innovation Index 2017, released today.