Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Kaitlin Mara and William New The World Trade Organization committee on intellectual property rights concluded its triennial gathering one day early in a meeting several participants characterised as “routine.” The meeting was marked by further support for an amendment…
The Intellectual Property Watch Monthly Reporter features the most important news on international IP policymaking, the latest on who is coming and going in the IP community at the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Geneva missions, regional and national IP…
Debra Harry, a member of the Northern Paiute indigenous group from Pyramid Lake, Nevada (US) is the founder and executive director of the Indigenous People’s Council on Biocolonialism, which assists indigenous peoples in the protection of their traditional knowledge and…
By Kaitlin Mara Representatives of global indigenous groups were in Geneva last week to exchange views on the role of intellectual property in the protection of indigenous and traditional knowledge and folklore. Indigenous groups participated an informal meeting held on…
By Kaitlin Mara Free software and open standards proponents met this week in Geneva to discuss the importance of standards-setting and to debate the role of patent protections and advocate freedom of information sharing in the digital economy. Organised by…
By Kaitlin Mara Public and private-sector representatives from thirty-seven nations are in Geneva this week for a five-day closed-door meeting to try to resolve editing suggestions on a recently proposed document format that if accepted as a standard could impact…
By Kaitlin Mara and William New Officials from key international organisations on Friday outlined efforts to develop policies intended to prevent the spread of pirated and counterfeit goods. The officials were joined by representatives of law firms and international companies…
Geoff Tansey, a leading intellectual property and agriculture researcher and co-founder of the academic journal Food Policy, co-edited a new book examining a rarely-explored side of intellectual property legislation: its effects on access to food. The book, The Future Control…
By Kaitlin Mara For the first time in world history, there is a technology used more in the developing world than in the developed, said Marc Laperrouza, a senior research associate at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) to…