WIPO Members Aim For Single Text On Genetic Resources Protection 15/02/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization, in the company of indigenous groups from around the world, have entered into eight days of intensive negotiations to try to agree on a draft text for an instrument on the protection of genetic resources.
ACTA Doubts Rampant In Europe; Industry Call For “Reasoned Assessment” 13/02/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 10 Comments Europeans came out by the thousands this week to protest the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), as it goes before the parliament and the remaining governments that have not yet signed on. But a large number of industry associations sent a letter pushing officials to carefully consider the agreement before dismissing it under popular pressure.
Obama’s Proposed Budget Raises R&D, Innovation Spending 13/02/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment US President Obama’s proposal for the fiscal year 2013 budget, released today, raises or maintains spending in a number of key areas for technology and innovation, according to an industry analysis.
Global Fund Communications Director Steps Down 13/02/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Changes continue at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as the director of communications announced today that he is stepping down immediately after nearly a decade.
Microsoft Says It Will Not Act On Patents In Standards 13/02/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Microsoft Corporation has issued a statement that it will not seek injunctions on its standard essential patents in keeping with its promises to international standards organisations. It further said it will make those essential patents available for licence without condition.
WIPO Offers Dispute Services For Objections To New TLDs At ICANN 13/02/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has embarked on a programme of allowing new generic top-level domains on the internet (like .com), an initiative that has worried trademark holders and international organisations. Now the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center is offering services for trademark holders who wish to challenge proposals for new gTLDs later this year.
Ideas Offered For IP And Genetic Resources In WIPO Committee 13/02/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new paper from the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) offers ideas on addressing misappropriation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge at the World Intellectual Property Organization.
US, WIPO Training Programme On IP Rights In Africa Comes Under Fire 12/02/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments For years, some developing countries have insisted that developed countries – which own the vast majority of intellectual property rights – take a singular focus when it comes to offering technical assistance on IP rights: the protection of “northern” property. In recent years, negotiations in venues like the World Intellectual Property Organization have sought to ensure that such assistance also highlight the creation of local IP rights as well as the availability of flexibilities developing countries have under international rules for IP.
US Copyright Industries Call For Action On Piracy; NGOs Call For Scrutiny 10/02/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The major US copyright industries today issued a list they said “documents rampant online and physical piracy of copyrighted works and severe market access barriers.” Public interest groups will be watching closely to see if the list submitted to the US government is incorporated wholesale into a package of government assertions of inadequate protection of US intellectual property rights by trading partners.
EU-India Summit Kicks Off Amidst Warnings Of Impact On Medicines Access 10/02/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments The European Union and India today will engage in a high-level meeting in New Delhi with an agenda that includes energy and climate, research and development, and information and communications technologies. But as they enter the meeting, an international health agency and a powerful health advocacy group have issued statements of concern that intellectual property provisions in a bilateral free trade agreement under negotiation will stifle critical generic medicines production in India, putting thousands of poor patients at risk worldwide.