Non-Profits, Industry Offer Views On WIPO Development Agenda 14/04/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Non-governmental organisations from across the spectrum were elbow to elbow with members of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) this week as they wrestled with a proposal for an agenda to increase attention to the needs of developing countries. Private and non-profit sector representatives generally lined up on either side of debate between developed and […]
Nations Clash On Future Of WIPO Development Agenda 11/04/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Developed and developing countries faced off Monday over whether and how the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organisation’s mission should be transformed to better address the needs of developing countries. The basis for the three-day discussion ending Wednesday at the Geneva-based WIPO is a developing country proposal to change WIPO into a more typical U.N. organisation […]
WIPO Development Agenda: Developing Countries Submit New Proposals 06/04/2005 by Carolyn Deere, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On the eve of high-level meetings next week on development and intellectual property, the fourteen co-sponsors of the proposal for the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s new Development Agenda today submitted detailed elaborations of their proposals for incorporating development into WIPO’s work. The fourteen so-called Friends of Development asked the WIPO Secretariat to distribute the proposal […]
Drug Patents Still At Issue In U.S.-Central America Trade Deal 01/04/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Washington, D.C.–The free trade agreement signed last year by the United States, five Central American nations and the Dominican Republic still faces a tough fight in the U.S. Congress for a number of reasons, one of which remains provisions on the treatment of pharmaceutical patents. Guatemala recently responded to U.S. government and industry pressure by […]
U.S. File-Sharing Case Could Have International Impact 26/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Washington, D.C.–The biggest copyright case in the United States in decades will be felt around the world and have an impact on the future of the Internet regardless of the outcome, both sides of the case say. The case, MGM v. Grokster, goes before the U.S. Supreme Court for oral arguments on March 29. Entertainment […]
Talks On TRIPS and Health Stall As Deadline Nears 21/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Negotiations to expand the availability of medicines under a World Trade Organisation agreement on intellectual property rights by 31 March broke down Monday after informal consultations showed no compromise forthcoming, according to diplomatic sources in Geneva. At issue is an amendment of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to allow […]
Officials Make Incremental Progress In TRIPS Talks 15/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Officials negotiating to implement and update a 10-year-old agreement on intellectual property rights at the World Trade Organisation made a little progress toward that goal last week, according to official sources in Geneva. While small gains on the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) are hard-fought, the outcome of several days […]
Clash Continues On U.S.-Central America Trade Deal 01/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Protection of pharmaceutical patents may not be the biggest reason the Bush administration is struggling to line up congressional votes for a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, but it remains critical to its passage. The issue pits two sides against each other within a larger, ongoing struggle to […]
U.S. Official Cites Possible Chinese TRIPs Violations 18/02/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment [Editor’s Note: This story was modified at 6.30pm on Friday 18/2/2005] Washington, D.C.—A key U.S. official based in Beijing on Thursday cited several ways that China’s interpretation of its criminal code may violate the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). But Mark Cohen, the intellectual property attaché at the […]
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 […]