Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Over the last few months search engines around the world have been keeping an active eye on the developments of the landmark case ruled by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) requiring Google to consider individuals’ requests to remove links that they say infringe on their privacy.
In a widely publicised case last month, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) applied the “right to be forgotten,” requesting that internet search engines, under certain circumstances, delist links to personal data upon request. The court’s decision establishes a contentious balance between the right to privacy and the public’s right to access to information. The ECJ left this balance to search engines to implement on a case-by-case basis. While some argue in favour of these decisions, others fear the larger worldwide implications that cases are leading to.
In this interview, Intellectual Property Watch sat down with Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington, DC-based policy think tank, to talk about his book, “Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage,” co-authored with Stephen Ezell.
The book addresses US economic strategies and policies, or lack thereof, relating to innovation and technology, in comparison with past and present policies of other nations. It identifies “good” and “bad” national policies, the latter promoting national innovation at the expense of other countries and global efforts for innovation. The authors argue the US is falling behind in the innovation race, and sets out a road map for recovery.
A new report commissioned by the World Intellectual Property Organization shows a huge increase in patent filings related to renewable energy technologies relative averages. The patent landscape in this area indicates that innovation is taking place across a greater geographical scope, and is shifting towards the global East. The report, presented this week, opens up questions for policymakers, and for further research regarding drivers for these trends and other measures of innovation.
A new initiative by the World Summit Award (WSA) initiative seeks to use its global multistakeholder network to push forward personal data ownership and big data issues at UN discussions. At an open discussion, the WSA invited participants to share views on issues with the current system of data use, the need for permission-based access, and steps for further action.
LAUSANNE - Energy installation projects in developing countries are often not sustainable, and can lead to breakdown of technologies reliant on energy supply such as medical devices, said speakers at a conference on technologies for development last week. A sustainable model, productive use of energy and receiver participation and training are essential to ensure continued operation of energy supply infrastructure, they said.
The Fight the Fakes campaign announced today the support of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association and 10 other new partners for its campaign to raise awareness worldwide about the dangers of fake medicines.
Gavin Cloherty is associate director of scientific affairs at the US molecular diagnosis developer Abbott Molecular. Abbott has a long-standing history of developing tests for detecting and monitoring hepatitis, among other areas. With Intellectual Property Watch, Cloherty discussed the burden of hepatitis C, the process of diagnosis and the importance of diagnosis for curbing and treating the disease.
At the World Health Organization 135th Executive Board meeting this week, member states discussed improvements to cut down on lengthy World Health Assemblies, and adopted two reports for further discussion on surgical care and anaesthesia, and the health impact of air pollution.
World Health Organization members tonight approved a resolution aimed at improving access to essential medicines. Agreement came after a compromise on a proposed provision referencing other medicines that are not qualified as essential medicines.
Country officials, academics and leading global health advocates this week raised one of the key concerns of this year’s World Health Assembly: innovation and access to medicines in middle-income countries. Government procurement strategies, voluntary and compulsory licensing, de-linkage models and UNITAID mechanisms were among some of the solutions put forward.
Member states today unanimously adopted a resolution on hepatitis drafted by the Executive Board meeting in January 2014, with two small amendments decided upon in informal intersessional consultations since the Board meeting.