Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition has launched a Declaration on Patent Protection with the aim to “clarify some of the regulatory options states still retain under international law, in particular the TRIPS Agreement,” which turns 20 years old this year.
With yesterday’s launch of the new Geneva Internet Platform, global internet governance stakeholders have a new venue for neutral engagement.
Representatives of indigenous peoples opened a key meeting at the World Intellectual Property Organization with a discussion of the definition of traditional knowledge (TK), the presence of TK in the public domain, and respect for indigenous peoples’ rights under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The rise of knowledge societies leads to the emergence of new conflicts initiated by stakeholders who do not come from the closed world of intellectual property, but rather from the general civil society. This reflects the growing importance of IP in the international economy, says a recent book.
The International Community of breeders of asexually reproduced ornamental and fruit plants (CIOPORA) is preparing a new position on intellectual property rights to respond to changes in the market and what it says is the need for greater protection for breeders.
“Intellectual property, in general, is in a growth mode, and in a growth mode which is considerably in excess of either the national GDP growth rates or the world GDP growth rates,” World Intellectual Property Organisation Director General Francis Gurry said today.
In a final report before the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) today, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food called for a redesigned world food system to ensure the human right to adequate food and freedom from hunger. This includes some changes to the way intellectual property rights apply to food and agriculture.
This week, some World Intellectual Property Organization member states are presenting their national and regional practices and strategies to prevent purchases of counterfeit or pirated goods with the aim to promote the underreported hard work of states in this area.
During a visit to France last week, Fadi Chehadé, the CEO and president of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), announced that his Board of Directors has given him the green light to further explore reforms of ICANN. Among them is the possibility of creating a parallel ICANN international structure, likely based in Geneva.
It is generally considered that internet governance and cyber safety issues should be addressed in a multilateral way, but several points remain highly controversial, such as the adoption of rules and modifications of internet governance to be made. These issues were the subject of a panel at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research this week.