Original news and analysis on international IP policy
An alleged thief caught stealing trade secrets from General Electric in New York hid the electronic files inside an innocent-looking digital picture of a sunset, according to the United States Department of Justice.
The Trump administration today announced it is considering raising its proposed tariffs from 10 to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. The move is another in an attempt to get China to change the way it treats US companies including by alleging forcing transfer of technology and intellectual property.
Negotiations for a United Nations declaration on ending tuberculosis had drawn to a close earlier this week, with the United States seeming to succeed on a hardline position to keep mention of intellectual property rights and affordability of medicines out of the text. But nongovernmental reports say the draft has not been accepted by all members and that negotiations will have to be reopened.
United Nations members in the final days of negotiating the text of the declaration for a late September high-level meeting on tuberculosis have come under pressure from the United States to omit language referring to the importance of making affordable medicines available to patients in need, according to an urgent bulletin today from a health advocacy group.
The Global Innovation Index 2018, launched on 10 July in New York, has lauded the rise of China as a model for how other low and middle-income economies can advance on innovation. Amid this optimism, however, the global innovation divide remains in step with the global income divide, raising questions for how to bridge this gap. The new index shows signs of progress.
The United Nations today announced it has launched a high-level panel on digital cooperation, co-chaired by Melinda Gates (wife of Bill Gates of software titan Microsoft), and Jack Ma, head of China's e-commerce titan Alibaba Group. The 20-member panel will "identify policy, research and information gaps, and make proposals to strengthen international cooperation in the digital space," according to a release.
The international police agency Interpol today announced that it coordinated a massive sweep of arrests and seizures of tons of fake goods across four continents in recent months.
The World Intellectual Property Organization Marrakesh Treaty on copyright exceptions enabling international access to published works by blind and print-disabled readers was ratified this week by the United States Senate, putting it one step closer to final ratification in the country.
A World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel has ruled that Australia's law requiring tobacco products be sold in plain packages in the interest of public health does not violate the country's obligations at the global trade body. In Australia and increasingly in other countries, tobacco must be sold with no trademarks or marketing visible other than name. The landmark dispute was seen by some as at the nexus of economic and health interests for the WTO.
Normally known for sanguine views of rules to strengthen intellectual property rights globally, the United States government this week submitted a paper at the World Intellectual Property Organization putting forward private sector economic concerns about proposals to strengthen international rules for patenting of genetic resources aimed largely at helping developing countries.