WIPO Achieves Single Legal Text On Genetic Resources; Indigenous Peoples Back 23/02/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments After eight days of intensive drafting work, delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization now have a text that will be submitted to the WIPO General Assemblies in September so that a diplomatic conference can be decided upon to finish negotiations on an international instrument protecting genetic resources from misappropriation.
Indigenous Peoples Walk Out Of WIPO Committee On Genetic Resources 22/02/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The International Indigenous Forum, in an unprecedented collective move, decided yesterday to withdraw from the discussions of the WIPO Committee on Genetic Resources taking place from 14-22 February. The move calls into question the legitimacy of the negotiations.
WIPO Members Work Through Differences In Genetic Resources Document 19/02/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The development of an international instrument on the protection of genetic resources continues to engage government delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Sources have called the process constructive and meeting Chair Wayne McCook, the permanent representative of Jamaica, said delegations were very engaged in the exercise. But a sharp divide remains on several subjects.
Public Health In 2012: A Busy Crossroads Of Partnership, Innovation, And Trade 17/02/2012 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment From advancing public-private partnerships and increasing international collaboration to promoting innovation in neglected therapy areas and developing new research and development models, policymakers have set a steady pace as they advance the 2012 global health agenda.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In 2012: Are Biotech, Ethics And Biodiversity Friends or Foes? 08/02/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With food demand and prices rising as the world crosses the threshold of 7 billion people, the need to find new medicines, concerns about the shrinking biodiversity and the effects of climate change may designate biotechnologies as the main response. Opinions differ on the way to address those issues, in particular about intellectual property rights attached to biotechnologies. Legislative questions are being discussed on both sides of the Atlantic around the scope of patentability, and intellectual property rights on plants, seeds, molecules or methods, as well as exemptions that some think should be applied. The year ahead will see some decisions that might impact the biotechnology industry both in the United States and in Europe.
Discussion Of Treaty On Industrial Designs, Role Of ISPs Resumed At WIPO 01/02/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment After being adjourned in November in the mists of a fire at the World Intellectual Property Organization, a meeting on trademarks and industrial designs resumed today in icy Geneva.