Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The backlog in patent processing could impose £7.6 billion (about USD$11.3 billion) in annual expenses on the global economy within the next five years if nothing is done to fix it, according to a new economics study from the United Kingdom released this morning before directors of several top global intellectual property offices.
A representative of Google and of the United Nations International Telecommunication Union today spoke of internet freedom in repressive regimes and censorship in Western democracies.
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.
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.
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…
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…
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.
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.
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…
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.