Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Anne Marie Worning, executive director of the director general’s office at the World Health Organization, will be adding direction of the WHO Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (PHI) division to her list of duties, sources revealed today. Worning, a…
UN members today announced a roadmap for global information and communications technology development with an emphasis on access to broadband high-speed internet and a range of online public services. But it appeared to steer clear of promoting local content development…
Legally speaking, there is "little doubt" that Google's collection of WiFi data by its roving Street View vehicles violates the Swiss Data Protection Act, and the company is likely to come under new scrutiny in Switzerland possibly even resulting in "severe financial consequences," a respected Swiss law firm has said.
“Increasing generic medicine market penetration is the fastest way towards considerable and sustainable savings for healthcare systems in Europe” was the message of European Generics Association President Didier Barret to delegates at the group’s annual meeting, held in Rome on…
China and India, two increasingly potent players on the global economic stage, next week plan to voice concerns at the World Trade Organization about efforts by developed countries to push poorer trading partners beyond their WTO commitments on trade and intellectual property rights, so-called TRIPS-plus measures.
The US Patent and Trademark Office is seeking comments on a proposed new patent examination initiative aimed at providing applicants with greater control over the speed with which their applications are examined and promoting greater efficiency in the examination process.…
In the past two years, China has acted to improve the protection of intellectual property rights with a need for continuing effort, a World Trade Organization report has found, but the country came under criticism this week from key trading partners such as the United States and the European Union for not providing adequate enforcement and for self-serving innovation practices.
Today two separate search engines for intellectual property rights were announced in Geneva and Washington, DC, both of which have the potential to significantly ease searches for patents, trademarks and other IP. The World Intellectual Property Organization on 1 June…
The World Intellectual Property Organization is opening its doors to the public on Saturday for a glimpse at the organisation’s activities, during its first-ever “open day.”
The United States government has launched a new initiative it claims will monitor the impact of US federal science investments on employment, knowledge generation and health outcomes. The initiative is led by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation…
The United States and China are strengthening their relationship on innovation and intellectual property rights as the global economy is slowly taking an upward turn. Those may come as signs of positive collaboration on the delicate issue of IP rights in the face of ongoing questions by US industry and government about the impact of China’s IP rights infringement on American jobs.
Google's ambitious plans to make published books available for download on most internet-connected electronic devices by leveraging its position as the world's largest search engine could have far-reaching repercussions on electronic publishing and book file-sharing in the near future.