Facebook Crowned Privacy Villain Of 2016 By European Privacy Rights Group
A European civil society group defending rights and freedoms in the digital environment awarded Facebook the Belgian Big Brother Awards 2016 yesterday.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Catherine Saez
Vibrant Lauding Of “Historic” Marrakesh Treaty For The Blind At WIPO
“Great victory”, “life-changing”, “historic milestone” - no adjectives were strong enough yesterday to celebrate the entry into force of the Marrakesh treaty at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The treaty, which went into effect on 30 September, "opens the door to the world's knowledge," to visually impaired people, but will need many more countries to join, in particular countries that are major producers of special format books - the United States and the European Union.
Fall Is A Time For Farewells, Hellos At UN Agencies, Law Offices, NGOs, Industry
As autumn rolled in, two United Nations agencies chose global figures to help them with their missions, another has a new website, and changed heads, while non-governmental organisations, law offices, and industry also saw numerous changes at management level.
WIPO Conference Archive Missing Video Critical Of Artificial Intelligence, Social Media Giants
This morning at the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry commented on the success of the WIPO Conference on the Global Digital Content Market, which took place in April. But the full video of the keynote speaker, who had sharp words for corporate internet giants and other new technologies, is missing from the archive.
WIPO Development Agenda Needs More Promotion, Country Involvement, Experts Say
Has the adoption of the World Intellectual Property Organization Development Agenda in 2007 changed the culture of the organisation, and what did it achieve? According to panellists at a side event to this week’s WIPO General Assembly, the Development Agenda has not yet changed the culture of the organisation and its primary focus to support and protect intellectual property. However, WIPO should follow the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and collaborate with other UN agencies to include development consideration in its work, they say.
Free Trade Agreements Should Promote Generic Competition, Speakers Say At WTO
The emphasis placed on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property for medicines in trade negotiations is ignoring the distorting effects of this emphasis, such as the lack of competition incentives which are key to reduce medicines prices, speakers on a panel of generic drug industries said at the World Trade Organization Public Forum last week.
External Offices, WIPO Normative Work At Heart Of General Assemblies
The decision-making bodies of the World Intellectual Property Organization are meeting this week with the hope of advancing discussions of pending potential treaties to protect broadcasting organisations, and simplifying the international applications for industrial designs. Meanwhile, Director General Francis Gurry opened the annual WIPO General Assemblies with a look at the past year and challenges for the future.
Ecommerce Seen As Opportunity For All Countries But Hurdles Remain, WTO Panels Say
Electronic commerce was a focus of the World Trade Organization Public Forum last week, a nod to its continuing rise in global importance. Several panels looked at how to integrate developing countries and small and medium-size enterprises into the global stream of online trade. Although ecommerce is an opportunity for developing countries, many hurdles remain for them, most obviously the digital divide, speakers said.
Clinical Trial Reporting Biased; Full Disclosure, Transparency Needed, Speakers Say
A conference on clinical drug trials held today shed a harsh light on the availability and honesty of clinical trial reports. Many factors concur to possible distortion of results, speakers said, calling for more stringent obligations to provide all data for analysis. They also noted legislative efforts to tackle the issue. Speakers also pointed out a growing trend for pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical trials in developing countries.
Developing Countries Should Be Able To Shield Their Markets From Cheap Food Imports, Panel Says
In the temple of international trade and globalisation, a group of speakers called for developing countries to protect themselves against dumping of food products from developed countries.