Original news and analysis on international IP policy
World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry has issued a call for new efforts to ensure copyright remains viable and to win the hearts and minds of the public toward intellectual property rights. The comments came in a broader context of maintaining the relevance of the organisation on the eve of the annual WIPO General Assembly.
A seemingly remote African Union proposal to create a Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization appears to have gained momentum and will come before African science and technology ministers for review in early November, according to sources. A copy of the final draft statutes shows how the new body would operate, and for some observers, how it would elevate African IP standards well above current levels, with “disastrous consequences” for access, development, and human rights.
What would a Mitt Romney White House mean for intellectual property and open internet, and just how would a Vice President Paul Ryan affect those policies? Would a new Republican administration replacing the current Democratic administration mean a new approach to IP? Here is Intellectual Property Watch’s comparison of what IP-related policies may look like under Obama and Romney.
The arrest of the president of Google's operations in Brazil is the latest in a string of court decisions to test the neutrality stance of the search giant. Since its beginnings, Google has seen itself as an internet middleman, insisting that it should not be held legally liable for any defamatory or infringing content posted by its users.
Farmers' needs are not addressed by the current intellectual property framework or by innovation, according to panellists at the World Trade Organization Public Forum this week, and farmers should be invited to participate in international negotiations directly impacting their livelihood. Meanwhile, the African continent is seeking a way to address the food security problem, faced with a growing population and dire need to modernise their agriculture, other panellists said.
The United Nations Security Council committee on sanctions has cleared the UN World Intellectual Property Organization of wrongdoing in shipping high-tech equipment to Iran.
Trade associations representing creators, performers and producers of literary works in Europe have reiterated in a joint declaration issued today that manufacturers of copying devices should continue paying for copyright levies amid efforts to abolish the controversial remuneration model.
There is no way around the fact that multilateralism is struggling and the director general of the World Trade Organization was not about to dodge the issue at yesterday’s opening of the annual WTO Public Forum, as its theme this year is to assess the crisis. But that did not shake his optimism, he said.
In a bold and unprecedented move, the ruling coalition of Germany has come to the rescue of the beleaguered news publishing industry by pushing for the enactment of a related right to copyright that would ask commercial aggregators to pay publishers for their use of headlines and extracts of news articles.
Ho-Won Kim, the newly appointed commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), discussed his views on KIPO’s major policies in a recent exchange with Intellectual Property Watch. He explained the directions KIPO will take on international cooperation, examination pendency periods, and other issues, such as what the international dispute between Samsung Electronics and Apple means for companies worldwide.
The World Intellectual Property Organization did not violate United Nations sanctions on North Korea when it shipped computers and equipment to the country as technical assistance, a UN sanctions committee has found. It did suggest that WIPO should have consulted the committee before making the shipments, but accepted WIPO's plan for review and consultation in the future.
Doesn’t it always seem like as soon as you know who covers what at the permanent missions in Geneva, terms end, new assignments begin and you’re left exchanging business cards again? Well, we have it sorted with a substantial (but non-exhaustive) list of delegates responsible for IP issues this year in the world’s centre of diplomacy. Additionally, you’ll find the latest IP people news across national and regional governments, nonprofit organisations, and the private sector.