Well-Designed IP Systems Can Benefit Africa, Leaders Say; WIPO Director Urges Action 04/11/2015 by Sadibou Marone for Intellectual Property Watch and Babacar Dione for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment DAKAR, Senegal — As Africa is emerging to become a centre of economic growth, strong and well-developed national intellectual property systems can help the continent unlock its citizens’ creativity and innovation and further boost economic growth, World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry said today in Dakar, the Senegalese capital where the African Ministerial Conference kicked off. Gurry was joined by top officials from a number of African nations.
Russia To Better Protect IP Of Its Innovative Companies Abroad 02/11/2015 by Eugene Gerden for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Russian government is considering a package of measures aimed at better protecting intellectual property of Russian innovative companies abroad, according to an official spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Communications.
Panellists: Price Is Main Barrier To Medicines Access In Rich And Poor Countries 30/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A joint symposium of the World Health Organization, World Trade Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization this week included several panels on how trade, public health and intellectual property could positively interact to increase access to medicines.
India, US Take Stock Of Work On IP; To Boost Copyright, Trade Secrets 30/10/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The trade ministers of the United States and India yesterday reviewed work from the past year on a full range of intellectual property issues and made new commitments, as part of their larger bilateral trade policy forum. Among the issues was a commitment to work for access to medicines, increase work on trade secrets, and deepen copyright cooperation in acknowledgement of the two biggest entertainment industries in the world.
Is There Hope For Better WIPO Administration-Staff Relations? 29/10/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The president of the World Intellectual Property Organization staff association earlier this month raised profound concerns about ongoing practices involving staff at the UN institution. The WIPO director general then took the floor to address many of the concerns, offering explanations on various points, according to participants. In the end, both sides may be looking for an improvement this year.
WIPO, WTO, WHO Heads Underline Need For Better Access To Medicines 28/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Trade, health, and intellectual property came together today as the heads of three specialised international organisations held an annual symposium to stimulate discussions on how the three can best help public health, and notably access to medicines in developing countries.
Plant Treaty Budget, Work Programme Approved; Farmers Concerned 26/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The treaty on plant genetic resources held its governing body meeting earlier this month with new initiatives to bring financial sustainability to the treaty, in particular to study the possibility of a subscription system to access the treaty’s plant genetic materials. Also, the Governing Body approved the first work programme of a global information system, which includes an initiative to enhance the use of gene bank materials, to the dismay of farmers’ organisations.
Book Review: How ‘Dialogue Of The Deaf’ Produced A Sound Tool For Policy-Making 22/10/2015 by Peter Ungphakorn for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments International trade agreements are sometimes demonised as the Grand Plan imposed by major powers in cahoots with multinational corporations. Intellectual property rights is a particular target, as is the case currently with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and previously with the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). “The Making of the TRIPS Agreement”, the insightful, unofficial collected memoirs of 17 of the agreement’s key authors, plus one editor, challenges that view in two ways, writes Peter Ungphakorn.
Special Report: WHO Advisory Group On Flu Preparedness Hears Comments, Addresses New Genetics Issue 22/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments World Health Organization members and stakeholders were invited to provide comments this month on the organisation’s framework to spur preparedness for future influenza pandemics and ensure treatments will reach developing countries. The framework is expected to undergo a review in 2016. The advisory group to the initiative also went through issues such as contributions by manufacturers, and how to deal with genetic sequence data.
WIPO Re:Search Side Event – Realisations And Steps Forward 21/10/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Alongside the recent World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly, the WIPO Global Challenges Division presented WIPO Re:Search, a public-private consortium to facilitate research on neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis and malaria.