Original news and analysis on international IP policy
NAGOYA, JAPAN - Negotiations on a legal international instrument to prevent biopiracy and ensure that resource holders are compensated on Thursday continued to demand the attention of delegates in the closed-door discussions here. Meanwhile, civil society argued that the Convention on Biological Diversity is at a critical point while a research institute provided a model agreement for providers and users of genetic resources.
NAGOYA, JAPAN - Discussions on a draft protocol to prevent biopiracy were intense again on Wednesday, with night sessions going late as delegation try to find common language on a legally binding instrument. Around the discussions, undertaken mostly behind closed doors, side events convened by civil society are warning about numerous cases of biopiracy, and the urgent need for a meaningful protocol.
A study showing the economic benefits of biodiversity and the costs of its destruction was released today at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity conference in Nagoya, Japan.
NAGOYA, JAPAN - Prospects for completing and approving a protocol protecting natural resources from biopiracy and providing equitable sharing of benefits derived from the commercial use of those resources are promising, according to delegates. But hard negotiations lie ahead if they are to meet a deadline to present an agreed draft protocol to the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by the end of this week.
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.