Original news and analysis on international IP policy
This week, global attention will be focussed on hopes to reach an international agreement aimed at giving the world a better chance to reduce the loss of biodiversity and ensure benefits are being shared. Intellectual Property Watch will be in Nagoya, Japan to report on the negotiations.
World Trade Organization members will convene tomorrow morning for an open-ended informal session of the WTO negotiations on geographical indications, in the run-up to next week's meeting of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council.
A growing number of patents are being filed on plant-based ingredients for use in cosmetics, according to a new report from the Geneva-based Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT).
A new report released today by the World Health Organization found that 17 neglected tropical diseases can be controlled. If strategies set out in the report are implemented widely, “they can substantially reduce the disease burden, breaking a cycle of infection, disability and lost opportunities that keep people in poverty, WHO Director General Margaret Chan said in a press release.
The Peer to Patent programme, a United States patent community review platform, has been expanded and re-launched with a new interface. The service seeks to help patent examiners search for prior art with the help of the public. The Peer…
Substantive progress eluded the negotiators of a draft protocol on biodiversity access and benefit sharing last week in Montreal, according to participating sources. The third attempt at finding consensus on key aspects of the text was unsuccessful and negotiations will carry on at the major United Nations meeting on biodiversity next month in Japan.
The multilateral system with its different agencies dealing with specific areas is sometimes seen as incoherent in global negotiations and norm-setting as there are overlaps in competency, definition and scope, according to speakers at a side event to the recent World Trade Organization Public Forum.
A Spanish group lobbying for alternative ways to protect and promote creative production has been asked to cease activity or face a lawsuit for damages, unfair competition and infringement by the Spanish collecting society SGAE (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores), according to the group. The collecting society also charged that the lobbying group is undermining its reputation.
The European Blind Union and the Federation of European Publishers have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on access to works for dyslexic or visually impaired readers on 14 September.
The global economic crisis led to a significant drop in patent and trademarks filings in 2008 and particularly in 2009 but there are signs of recovery, according to the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2010 report released today. China is still showing vigorous growth and demand in intellectual property protection.
Swiss Supreme Court Forbids Rights Holders’ Access to Personal IP Addresses
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court took a decision on 8 September preventing the collection of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses by private companies.
Some African nations signed a protocol on the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore at the beginning of August gaining the praise of the World Intellectual Property Organization. However, a United Nations report launched in January warned against the application of western legal and economic principles to collectively owned knowledge in traditional communities.