Original news and analysis on international IP policy
With eight recently confirmed cases of avian influenza, Indonesia is scrambling to build up its stockpile of medicines. The preferred product to fight bird flu in humans is not under patent in Indonesia, which raises questions as to why production…
Intellectual Property Watch is happy to announce that Catherine Saez has joined the staff as Office Manager, with critical wide-ranging responsibilities including oversight of office functions, accounting, management of databases, outreach, and editorial contributions. She also will help with French-English…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Assistance on intellectual property rights from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is helpful to developing countries but more coordination and a “reality check” are needed, according to Geneva-based government officials. The remarks were made by developing country…
Key negotiators on intellectual property rights from the European Commission, Japan, and the United States have announced they will be leaving their Geneva posts this summer. The nations represented by these negotiators account for the vast majority of the world’s…
By William New and Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen After two week-long meetings and intensive consultations during the year, talks on bolstering the development perspective of the World Intellectual Property Organization ended today with no agreement, sending proposals back to the…
Negotiations for the infusion of a stronger development mandate into the work of the World Intellectual Property Organization may have hit a wall today after key proponent governments called for an end to talks to protest unfair treatment of their…
As they head into the final scheduled meeting of the year on a proposed development-oriented reform of the World Intellectual Property Organization, member governments are looking for agreement on how to proceed – this week and in the future. Officials…
The World Intellectual Property Organization Coordination Committee this week welcomed new appointees to the highest policy echelons of WIPO, but some governments added calls for broader regional representation in the organisation. In addition, a question remains as to whether WIPO…
An intergovernmental working group on intellectual property rights mandated by the May World Health Assembly is expected to be set up “in the next few days,” according to World Health Organization sources. The WHA resolution adopted in May called for…
In a new European Union communication to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the ongoing agriculture negotiations, the EU has moved its call for higher intellectual property rights protection for product names deriving from geographical locations to the top of…
India, Brazil and other countries are calling for an amendment to the 1994 World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) [WTO document WT] to help countries to better protect their biological resources and traditional knowledge…
Developing countries should use international law on plant breeding but not necessarily sign up to binding conventions as they could have a negative impact, argues a new World Bank-commissioned report presented at a joint event on 20 June at the…