Global Fund Reports On Progress Toward UN Health Goals
The United Nations goal of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS is within reach, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said in a progress report released today.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Kaitlin Mara
Submissions To US Unilateral IP Enforcement Process Highlight Piracy, Health, and ACTA
Submissions to the United States annual review of how well it says the rest of the world is protecting US intellectual property are being assessed this week, with marked changes from previous years.
WTO GIs Group Continues Work On Topic “Clusters”
The World Trade Organization group tasked with negotiating an international register for geographical indications (product names associated with a particular place and characteristics) on wines and spirits will continue to discuss a set of questions and principles about the GI…
EFF, 7,000 Petitioners Urge FCC To Protect Net Neutrality
The Electronic Frontier Foundation yesterday submitted a petition to the United States Federal Communications Commission demanding the FCC fill a loophole in its internet regulations that could allow for internet filtering of allegedly copyright infringing content. The petition accompanies a…
USTR Offers Answers To Some Thorny Questions On ACTA
A letter from the United States government answering a variety of sticky questions about the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement has been released online. The 28 January letter is addressed to Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat, Oregon) from US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
WTO TRIPS Council Considers Workshop On Public Health Amendment
The World Trade Organization group on intellectual property rights met today and ended early, discussing a potential workshop on an amendment intended to ease access to cheaper generic medicines in countries without a pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, a new proposal from Bolivia and three separate longstanding IP issues with no major changes.
New ACTA Leak Details Differences, Broadening Scope
A new document on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) under negotiation has been circulated online. While it is unclear who it was leaked to, a copy of it is available here [pdf]. Apparently a working document from the General Secretariat…
Efficacy Of TRIPS Public Health Amendment In Question At WTO
World Trade Organization members this week will hear a report on an informal meeting on an amendment to intellectual property trade rules intended to allow easier access to medicines, which some argue has had a flawed design from its inception.
OECD Official Joins WIPO Economics Team
Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, formerly an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Directorate for Science, Technology, and Industry, has joined the World Intellectual Property Organization as a senior economic officer under its chief economist Carsten Fink. Wunsch-Vincent has…
EPO In Another Attempt To Elect President
The European Patent Office will hold another extraordinary meeting on Monday to try and elect a replacement for outgoing president Alison Brimelow. The 1 March election will be the fourth attempt for one of the candidates to get the required…
Tentative Agreement On US Patent Reform, Says Senator
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vermont) today announced at an “executive business meeting” that a “tentative agreement” had been reached on patent reform legislation. The original intent of the reform, Leahy said, was to “improve patent quality” and…
European Commission Gets Tough Treatment From Parliament Over ACTA
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch In a written declaration presented 24 February, members of the Liberal Party Group (ALDE), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), and the European People’s Party (EPP) requested the European Commission immediately…