William New

William New

Inauspicious Start To Gurry’s Second Term As IP Policymaking Hits Wall At WIPO

To hear some delegates’ late night closing statements at the General Assembly last night, developing country goals at the World Intellectual Property Organization died this week, as key issues met roadblocks in every direction. But all member states claimed to be shaken by the crash of WIPO’s normative agenda this week, putting the model for negotiating at the UN agency into question.

Several WIPO Committee Reports Stamped by General Assembly; Dissent Persists

Every year at this time, various World Intellectual Property Organization committees give a report to the organisation’s General Assembly on their past year’s activities and recommendations for decisions to be taken, including work they will be undertaking during the next year. At this week’s Assembly, reports were noted from committees on patents, trademarks, WIPO standards, and enforcement.

Panellists Discuss Value Of Patent Pooling For HIV/AIDS, Potential For Other Diseases

A side event to this week’s World Intellectual Property Organization annual General Assembly highlighted the work of the Geneva-based Medicines Patent Pool in fighting HIV/AIDS, and discussed whether it makes sense for the patent pool model to be extended to other diseases.

WIPO Staff Council Head Fired On Eve Of Annual Assembly; Chair Asked To Share Reports On Gurry

The World Intellectual Property Organization administration received a strong reaction from UN unions on Friday night when it fired the president of the UN agency’s staff association on the eve of the annual WIPO General Assembly. Meanwhile, the General Assembly chair has been called on to provide to member states the results of two confidential reports evaluating allegations made against the WIPO director general.

Top Officials Proposed For WIPO; Tied To Director’s Term

After months of consideration and an application process that attracted 360 applicants, the World Intellectual Property Organization secretariat has made public its proposed names for the top posts at the UN agency for the next six years. Only four out…