Original news and analysis on international IP policy
There are still many unanswered questions about intellectual property rights, speakers said during an academic conference last week in Geneva. Think tank analyst and author Pedro Roffe, who was the focal point of the conference, said at the event that there is “particularly in Geneva” place for dialogue about “very important and emerging” IP questions.
The number of participants, sessions and the quality of the contributions of the different speakers has never been as high as during this year’s edition of the World Summit on the Information Society Forum (the WSIS Forum 2017), according to organisers.
Open access is “part of the DNA” of international intergovernmental organisations, Charlotte Beauchamp, head of editorial and design at the World Intellectual Property Organization, said during a workshop last week. Representatives of different international organisations described during the workshop the increasing use of an open access policy by their organisations.
Different representatives of indigenous people shared their views and concerns on the protection of the rights of indigenous people and local communities during a side event at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week. Speakers underlined the need of consultation of indigenous people during negotiations about their rights.
Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom are the top five global innovative economies, according to the Global Innovation Index 2017, released today.
There is “no question” that there is a link between the infrastructure of the internet and human rights, Nicolas Seidler, senior policy advisor at the Internet Society, said at an information society event this week. Human rights are becoming “increasingly part of the design of the internet,” Niels ten Oever, head of digital at ARTICLE 19, said at the same event.
Entrepreneurs with innovative water technologies came to the World Intellectual Property Organization last week to find new partnerships and investors. The urgent need to work together and build partnerships in the water sector was the overall message of the event. “Nobody can do the work alone,” Nicholas Niggli, Republic & State of Geneva's Director General, Economic Development, Research & Innovation, said, referring to the many existing water challenges.
A panel of experts on artificial intelligence last week agreed that there are many opportunities for artificial intelligence to encourage a common good and sustainable living. And they set out several ways to get there.
The World Health Assembly last week adopted ten guiding ethical principles for the donation and management of medical products of human origin – that is, the rising market for body parts.
“Artificial intelligence is as a weapon” and we have to deal with it “as we deal with other weapons,” Cindy Smith, director of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), said during a panel discussion at an artificial intelligence summit in Geneva this week. The panel discussion focused on preparing a roadmap to ensure that artificial intelligence develops in “a safe, responsible and, an ethical manner” that benefits all the different segments of our society.
It is “amazing” what can be done via the internet and the Internet of Things is a “game changer,” a speaker said during the Internet of Things Week currently taking place in Geneva. Ninety percent of the data in the world has been created in the last two years. And the speed of data creation is still increasing, another speaker said.
The opinions of the World Health Organization member states on the just-completed election process for a WHO director general showed divisions, according to statements at last week’s meeting of the WHO Executive Board.