Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The United States Copyright Office systematically hires officials from the copyright industries it serves and oversees, while excluding experts with other views, a public interest group has charged. Image Credits: US Copyright Office
The World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee (PBC) this week agreed to recommend changes to the UN agency’s Internal Oversight Charter as a high priority by next month, including to strengthen investigatory processes against senior officials, and access to confidential documents by member states. In a separate issue, after days of intensive talks behind closed doors, the committee could not agree on which countries will get new WIPO external offices. [Update: decision document added]
Changes to the draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) suggested during negotiation of the treaty are not protected under the national security clause of the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a judge ruled yesterday in a rare rejection. But he also defended USTR’s protection of information on the basis that other countries in TPP might accuse the US of “steamrolling” them if US textual proposals from the negotiations were revealed.
Anticipating a degree of uncertainty ahead for the global economy and intellectual property system, the World Intellectual Property Organization in a new six-year strategic plan looks at likely future policy debates, a focus on infrastructure and training, and possible ways to bring about better negotiations at the UN agency.
The World Intellectual Property Organization’s human resources issues have been far from harmonious over the past decade, but this year’s secretariat report paints a picture in glowing language of a new culture with happy, well-trained staff after years of “change management.” And to member governments concerned about remaining challenges? No problem, just leave that to us, WIPO says.
The 47 members of the World Health Organization African region this week adopted or considered a series of measures aimed at fighting substandard and counterfeit medical products, eliminating malaria and viral hepatitis, and setting a global strategy and plan of action on ageing and health that includes a focus on non-communicable diseases. They also adopted a plan for disease outbreaks and health emergencies.
The United States government this month published its new federal source code policy to allow government-wide access to custom source code developed by or for any agency of the federal government. The policy, which aims to reduce duplication, avoid technology “lock-in,” and tap the best minds in or outside government, has caught the attention of free software developers in Europe who are hoping to use it as a basis for change there too.
Get into Harvard? Not this way. That's the message of a World Intellectual Property Organization dispute panel after ruling the website harvard-review.com confusingly uses the name of a famous university in promoting skills training for college admissions tests, without authorisation.
The cost of dozens of brand-name drugs have nearly doubled in just the past five years. Public outrage over drug prices extends from Capitol Hill to the presidential candidates to patients. In response, pharmaceutical executives are spending more on lobbying and marketing. Yet for all this attention, most of the proposed solutions for reducing prescription drug costs—tougher negotiations, appeals for transparent R&D costs or investigations into insurers—miss one of the primary sources of the problem: the way we award patents, writes Tahir Amin.
The World Intellectual Property Organization quietly changed legal counsel this month after more than a decade, with veteran Edward Kwakwa moving to a new senior post in the United Nations organisation and Frits Bontekoe moving from the UN refugee agency to head the WIPO team.