Wealthy Nations Move Ahead With Patent Harmonisation 12/02/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Washington, D.C.–The nations responsible for the majority of the world’s patent filings have agreed to move ahead with private negotiations to iron out differences in their patent regimes. The talks will take place outside the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation, where negotiations by the full body on patent harmonisation are stalled. The effort led by […]
Washington Patent Meeting Stirs Concerns 27/01/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A meeting next week of the world’s top patent-producing nations to try to bring their patent regimes closer together is raising concerns among developing countries and others who perceive it as a threat to efforts to address development issues at a multilateral level. The closed meeting, on which public details are scarce, is expected to […]
New Editor-in-Chief Appointed 14/01/2005 by Carolyn Deere, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual Property Watch is delighted to announce the appointment of William New as its new Editor-in-Chief. William will take up the reins of Intellectual Property Watch on January 17, 2005 – and will have overall responsibility for all Intellectual Property Watch reporting as well as its strategic direction and management. William has been on the […]
UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Adoption of General Comment on the “moral and material interests of the rights of authors” deferred 01/12/2004 by Isabelle Scherer for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment After many hours of contentious discussion, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) chose last week to defer adoption of a General Comment on the “right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.” […]
About Weblogs 01/12/2004 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment What is a weblog? A weblog (or blog for short) is an easily, instantly and frequently updated website focused around a topic, industry or personality. (Via Easy Bake Weblogs) A weblog consists of dated entries (called posts) posted directly by their authors. They are sorted in chronological order, with the most recent at the top. […]
WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Discussions End in Controversy, Confusion 22/11/2004 by Carolyn Deere, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Discussions last week in WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights (SCCR) on a proposed treaty that would expand protections for broadcasting organisations ended in heated debate about whether the Chair’s report of the meeting adequately reflected the views of all Member States. The Chair’s departure in the final moments of the meeting from […]
WIPO Secretariat Ramps up the Pressure for a new Treaty on Broadcasting Organisations 04/11/2004 by Isabelle Scherer for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment At the recent WIPO Assembly, Member States resisted pressures to move forward with a diplomatic conference on a proposed new treaty to provide increased protection to broadcasting organisations. The WIPO Secretariat’s activism in pushing for a rapid convening of a Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of the Rights of Broadcasting Organisations generated strong reactions from […]
The Domino Effect of US FTAs: Public Health Groups, Members of Congress claim CAFTA will choke Access to Medicines 04/11/2004 by Isabelle Scherer for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Recent efforts to rally Congress to approve a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) reached earlier this year with Central American countries has reignited debate about USTR’s approach to intellectual property and the implications for access to essential medicines. The Agreement with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua was reached in May 2004 and supplemented […]
WIPO Proposal for PCT Fee Increase rejected: the Search for 70 million Swiss Francs continues… 04/11/2004 by Isabelle Scherer for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The rejection at the recent WIPO Assembly of a Secretariat proposal to increase fees for patent applications filed under the terms of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) has prompted a broader interest in WIPO’s financial management and its accountability to Member States. The proposal—designed in part to compensate for an expected shortfall of 70 million […]
The Facts Speak 04/11/2004 by Isabelle Scherer for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This table provides a sample of the recommendations offered by three of the major U.S. industry associations regarding the placement of countries in the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) 2004 ‘Special 301’ Report. The far right-hand column lists the final USTR decision. Country Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)Recommendations International Intellectual […]