Off The Agenda, Counterfeits Still Draw Attention At Health Assembly 23/05/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Counterfeit medicines were left off this year’s truncated World Health Assembly agenda but still managed to have an impact. The contentious, intellectual property-related issue arose during a discussion on the World Health Organization’s future plans, as several nations objected to a budget line referencing a programme to combat counterfeit drugs.
Panel Reminds WIPO Of UN Mandate; Call For Independent Evaluation 30/04/2009 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization should infuse its United Nations mandate and other aspects of the WIPO Development Agenda into all its norm-setting activities, panellists said this week.
Concerns Voiced At WIPO Over Potential Conflicts Between IP And Standards 25/03/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Regulatory caution on technology standards and intellectual property rights is increasingly necessary, as technology – and the need for interoperability between platforms – dominates the market economy as well as global communications, said a panel on patents and standards Monday.
Technology, IP Vital To Addressing Climate Change, UN Meeting Hears 11/12/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara Finding a balance between needed incentives for innovation and equally needed affordable access to new technology is necessary to combat ecological challenges, yet striking it may prove difficult as countries at the United Nations’ talks on climate change struggle to determine what action is possible in the midst of a global economic […]
Abrupt End To Ministerial Leaves Questions On Future Of IP Issues At WTO 31/07/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By William New The World Trade Organization Doha Round is over, and bitterly, at least for now, but negotiators left town with the general consensus that hard-earned work to date should not be lost and that there might be resumption of talks sometime in the future. The fate of intellectual property issues at the WTO […]
World Health Assembly Opens On Note Of Global Crises, Hope For IP 20/05/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The 61st annual World Health Assembly on Monday opened auspiciously with speeches on the world’s biggest political issues, current disasters and looming global threats, but little room for intellectual property issues. IP issues did arise in a press briefing with US Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, however. Some 2,500 people […]
Support Mixed For US Orphan Works Bill As Issue Catches Global Attention 07/05/2008 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch In an issue that may be rising internationally, legislation pending in the United States Senate and House to free up use of “orphan works” whose copyright owners cannot be found has won strong support from the recording, webcasting and library sectors but faces challenges from visual artists and […]
Panellists Outline Strategies On Exceptions And Limitations To Copyright 20/03/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Kaitlin Mara An event at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) last week brought some key actors in copyright and related rights to discuss the value of limitations and exceptions and to present a recently released study describing an international instrument on limitations and exceptions. At the outset, Carolina Sepulveda from Chile’s Ministry of […]
WIPO Copyright Committee Begins New Era With Revised Agenda, Same Chair 11/03/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee on Monday began a new era in the wake of a failed decade of negotiations for a broadcasters’ rights treaty. But it will tackle its new agenda including limitations and exceptions to copyright with the same chairman who guided the broadcasting talks with fervour. Finland’s […]
Panellists See High Impact Of Bilateral Trade Deals On Geneva Policymaking 30/01/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara and William New A panel of government and non-governmental experts on intellectual property and biodiversity issues last week stressed the high impact that leading economies’ bilateral free trade negotiations are having on multilateral policymaking in Geneva. Panellists spoke at a 23 January International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) side event […]