WIPO Study: Informal Economy Important To Developing Country Growth, But No IP 07/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments During a recent meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP), a study on innovation in the informal economy was presented by the organisation’s secretariat. The exercise was conducted in an effort to better understand how innovation occurs and how intellectual property is relevant in that context.
IP5 Discuss Patent Harmonisation 06/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Officials from the IP5, the five largest intellectual property offices in the world, met this week to move forward on harmonising patent law procedure between the offices.
Protection Of Local GI Products Can Benefit Women, Speakers Say 04/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Geographical indications, a European invention, have attracted interest in a number of developing countries. According to several speakers at a recent industry conference on the subject, GIs can provide economic sustainability for rural families. In Africa, two cases were provided to illustrate the role of the valorisation of a particular resource and the ancestral know-how of women, promoting their social and financial autonomy.
Industrial Designs Still On Track To Treaty At WIPO, Despite Differing Views 31/05/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Intellectual Property Organization delegates advanced work on a draft treaty text on industrial design this week but were left divided on the opportunity of holding a high-level meeting to adopt such a treaty in 2014. One of the sticking points was whether to include an article on technical assistance and capacity building in the text of the draft treaty. The committee also decided to continue work on the protection of country names in the context of trademarks.
Country Names An Easier Road Than Technical Assistance For WIPO Trademark Committee 30/05/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The protection of country names was discussed today by World Intellectual Property Organization members with a more amiable approach than on how to include technical assistance in a draft treaty text on industrial designs. The question of the convening of a high-level meeting to adopt the potential treaty was also discussed with dissension between developing and developed countries.
MPAA, US Blind Federation Urge Narrow Focus In WIPO Treaty For Blind 30/05/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The US film industry and advocates for the blind joined forces today to urge World Intellectual Property Organization negotiators to keep treaty talks focussed on the core issue of making more books available to the blind and visually impaired. The joint statement appeared to be aimed at reining in stakeholders on both sides of the international debate.
WIPO Delegates Trying To Find Consensus On Technical Assistance And Designs 30/05/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Members of a World Intellectual Property Organization committee working towards a treaty to simplify the international registration of industrial designs are finding it difficult to agree whether the draft treaty text should include articles on technical assistance and capacity building, or whether a resolution should be left to a top-level meeting on the subject.
The Design Community’s Current And Future IP Challenges 30/05/2013 by Tiphaine Nunzia Caulier for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A panel of professionals working in the design industry this week gave their views on the interaction between intellectual property, innovation and design.
Food Culture Clash: EU, US Conflicting Concepts For GIs; Both Covet Asian Market 29/05/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Geographical indications were born in Europe and still remain a widely used means to protect products from a particular region, with particular characteristics. The European Union has been a strong advocate of GIs in international negotiations, while their efforts have been countered by countries such as the United States which favour a trademark system. Now both sides are trying to impose their views through bilateral trade agreements, including with each other, according to speakers at a recent conference. And now a US trade association for generic names is raising concerns in Europe.
Technical Assistance A Challenge For WIPO Treaty On Industrial Designs 28/05/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Another World Intellectual Property Organization committee opened with the prospect of achieving progress on a potential treaty text this week. The committee is trying to establish an instrument that would simplify the international registration of industrial designs.