London Agreement Seen Easing EU Patent Filing 16/10/2007 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Obtaining a Europe-wide patent should become easier next year when an accord reducing the translation requirements for protecting an innovation comes into effect. Under the London Agreement, countries that recognise English, French or German as one of their official languages will no longer stipulate that a full description of a patent be translated into their most commonly-used language. English, French and German are also the three official languages of the European Patent Office in Munich. The change was aimed at reducing the administrative and financial burden on patent filers but has raised concerns.
OECD Calibrates Role In Fast-Changing Internet Society 15/10/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment OTTAWA – The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Paris-based club of 30 of the world’s largest economies, is moving fast to keep up with the newest trend on the Internet: user-generated content. Referred to generally as ‘Web 2.0’, this trend includes collaboratively developed websites such as Wikipedia and YouTube, social networking platforms such […]
NGOs Having Major Impact On WIPO Agenda, Panel Says 05/10/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Paul Garwood Non-governmental organisations have been able to influence the debate and priorities within the World Intellectual Property Organization and make IP issues more understood in the developing world, speakers at a seminar in Geneva said Monday. Wend Wendland, head of WIPO’s programme on traditional knowledge, which began in 1998, said civil society had […]
WIPO Assembly Ends In Deadlock Over Budget, Director General 04/10/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New The annual General Assemblies of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization ended in a stalemate Wednesday with no approval of a new budget or proposed cuts in patent fees and no decision on the fate of embattled Director General Kamil Idris, according to early reports from some participants. “It was a catastrophe,” […]
WIPO Calls For “A Regular and Fair Procedure, Please” 28/09/2007 by Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments By André Heitz, director of the WIPO Coordination Office in Brussels As widely reported on this site, there are strong moves to push Mr. Kamil Idris out of his position of Director General, this against the background of various allegations of wrongdoings and abuse. By requesting the inclusion of an agenda item phrased “WIPO Internal […]
High-Level Group Debates Idris Issue As WIPO Assails Charges 24/09/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By William New The annual General Assemblies of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization member states snagged the first day on a proposed agenda to discuss potential wrongdoing by the WIPO director general. By day’s end, a high-level group formed earlier in the day to address the issue was continuing closed-door negotiations. Among those in […]
Pressures High On Eve Of WIPO General Assembly; DG Under Fire 20/09/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New Tensions are high at the World Intellectual Property Organization leading up to the annual General Assemblies next week with member states discussing the fate of the WIPO director general, who developed country member states claim has lost the ability to govern the organisation. Other issues under debate include budget overruns and surpluses […]
Development Agenda Implementation Discussed Before WIPO Assemblies 18/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Paul Garwood More technical assistance to developing countries, closer collaboration between UN agencies and overhauling the World Intellectual Property Organization were among calls made during a conference of leading players in the intellectual property community held Monday. The conference, entitled “The Reform of WIPO: Implementing the Development Agenda,” was the second such event. The […]
IP And Bioethics: International Community Seeking Answers 18/09/2007 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Catherine Saez In order to explore the relationship between intellectual property rights and life science innovations, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is organising policy symposia to identify and clarify the intellectual property dimension in the life sciences. In a world where biotechnology is booming and new technological frontiers are being crossed, new challenges arise such as ethical questions relating to the implication and applications of biological research. Patent agencies, industry and civil society were invited on 4 September to share their thoughts and experience on the use of the intellectual property system in bioethics. As Antony Taubman, acting director of the WIPO Global IP Issues Division described it, biotechnology is based on living organisms which raises distinct ethical questions.
Acting To Protect Freedom of Expression At ICANN 30/08/2007 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dan Krimm The continuing saga at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) about policy for approving new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) is entering what may be its final stages this summer. There has been a stream of controversy surrounding the “.xxx” gTLD proposal that was rejected by the ICANN Board of […]