Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Members of a World Intellectual Property Organization committee working towards a treaty to simplify the international registration of industrial designs are finding it difficult to agree whether the draft treaty text should include articles on technical assistance and capacity building, or whether a resolution should be left to a top-level meeting on the subject.
A panel of professionals working in the design industry this week gave their views on the interaction between intellectual property, innovation and design.
Geographical indications were born in Europe and still remain a widely used means to protect products from a particular region, with particular characteristics. The European Union has been a strong advocate of GIs in international negotiations, while their efforts have been countered by countries such as the United States which favour a trademark system. Now both sides are trying to impose their views through bilateral trade agreements, including with each other, according to speakers at a recent conference. And now a US trade association for generic names is raising concerns in Europe.
The Intellectual Property Exchange International Inc. (IPXI), the world’s first financial exchange that facilitates non-exclusive licensing and trading of IP rights, will start offering a licence contract in June.
The Association for Plant Breeding for the Benefit of Society (APBREBES) announced that its website is now online and its first newsletter has been issued.
Despite increased economic growth over the past decade, Africa will not reach some of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets set forth in 2000 by the United Nations, including halving poverty by 2015, according to a UN report released yesterday.
The International Publishers Association (IPA) has published a paper that raises questions about the quality, sustainability, and public funding of Open Educational Resources (OER).
Wrapping up one day early, the 66th World Health Assembly adopted a range of public health resolutions and decisions, some with key intellectual property implications, including a decision to convene a technical meeting on new public health R&D projects, a compromise on advancing the poor quality medicines mechanism, and resolutions on both neglected tropical diseases and noncommunicable diseases. Importantly, the novel coronavirus situation drew attention to WHO’s progress in pandemic influenza preparedness.
Another World Intellectual Property Organization committee opened with the prospect of achieving progress on a potential treaty text this week. The committee is trying to establish an instrument that would simplify the international registration of industrial designs.
Bordeaux - The challenges for geographical indications in the 21st century were explored at a recent conference co-organised by two organisations promoting this type of intellectual property protection. Among issues presented were the protection of geographical indications, and the value of geographical indications at the European level.
Heading into the 66th World Health Assembly, the prospect of a global treaty to address the health needs of developing countries seemed unlikely and years away at best. In a surprising turn in this highly political conversation, the US challenged member states to prove that it could work. That process will start sooner rather than later as members gavelled the resolution and agreed to convene a meeting on health R&D demonstration projects in the next few months.
Member states gathered at the annual World Health Assembly took note of a report on its pandemic influenza preparedness (PIP) framework amid encouragement by developed countries that standard agreements for transferring materials be completed, and reminders from some developing countries of the need for fair access and benefit-sharing of the resulting treatments.