Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The United Nations Secretary General and head of the UN International Telecommunication Union earlier this week applauded an announcement by the United States government that it plans to relinquish its remaining control over the internet domain name system.
A multi-stakeholder group open to participants will meet this week for the first Geneva Dialogue on Traditional Knowledge, to informally discuss negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization scheduled to resume next week.
The UN World Intellectual Property Organization today announced its concern over the effect on trademark protection of the current launch of over 1,000 new internet domains by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
The World Trade Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization are jointly offering a course this week on all aspects of intellectual property to a group of officials from developing countries and countries in transition, the WTO has said.
A United States government agency later this month will hold the first meeting of a multistakeholder forum on improving the operation of the widespread notice and takedown system for removing infringing content from the internet.
Incumbent Francis Gurry of Australia today was nominated to be the director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization until 2020, with WIPO members to make their final decision on 8 May. In his return to office, Gurry told reporters today he wants to focus on the digital marketplace, improving the organisation’s performance, changing geopolitics, and to steer journalists away from writing about allegations of wrongdoing at WIPO.
After a bumpy road, the director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization today was recommended by the WIPO Coordination Committee to be returned to office for another six-year term.
World Intellectual Property Organization members this morning held a first round of voting for the director general candidate to lead the UN organisation for the next six years. The top three candidates, from Australia, Nigeria and Panama, will advance to the second round to be held this afternoon.
An executive committee of nearly half the World Intellectual Property Organization membership will tomorrow, 6 March, select the leader of the key UN organisation for the next six years. And it is still hard to predict whether the incumbent will return.
The South Centre, the Geneva-based intergovernmental organisation of developing countries, yesterday issued a statement calling on World Trade Organization members to oppose United States pressure against developing countries, and India in particular, over their intellectual property laws.
World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are meeting to discuss efforts to better protect intellectual property rights worldwide, including some new proposals for discussion and an exhibition on national programmes.
The United States, home to the organisation that oversees technical aspects of the internet domain name system, has advice for an upcoming meeting in Brazil aimed at revisiting the global internet governance: consider principles developed in past meetings, and don't retread old sore spots. In other words, don't disrupt the status quo.