Original news and analysis on international IP policy
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At the World Trade Organization Public Forum last week, a panel explored opportunities for Africa in global and regional value chains. A certain level of development needs to be achieved so that countries can benefit from global value chains, speakers said.
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.
On the side of the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly last week, sports and entertainment broadcasters held an event to highlight the challenges they are facing in the digital world, in particular unauthorised retransmission of live events.
The revision of a World Intellectual Property Organization agreement to include geographical indications, raising their status, was challenged in vain by some countries in the past week. In addition, this week’s WIPO General Assembly has been working intensively on a range of other issues.
Creative artists came to this week's World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly to encourage governments to build a sustainable future for creators and ensure fair remuneration for their work. This may mean looking for ways to redistribute the value of content.
Some of the leading patent-filing nations this week renewed an effort to harmonise procedures for filing patents in their national offices. Image Credits: Eric Bridiers, US Mission
In 2017, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will mark its 50th anniversary. In the lead up to that milestone, the next three years provide a vital opportunity for Member States to update and strengthen WIPO’s governance, both to address current problems and to better equip the organisation for addressing challenges that may arise in the next 50 years, writes Carolyn Deere Birkbeck.
French Minister for Social Affairs, Health and Rights of Women Marisol Touraine today announced a national programme to reduce tobacco use in France, including plain packaging.
In the opening days of this week’s annual World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly, member governments showed a diversity of views on issues such as negotiations for possible treaties on broadcasters’ rights, design law, copyright exceptions for libraries, and protection of traditional knowledge. But one of the biggest gaps is over the future of the WIPO Development Agenda, with some countries suggesting a new course for this agenda, and proponents deeply concerned about a loss of momentum.
At the outset of its annual General Assembly this week, the World Intellectual Property Organization inaugurated a state-of-the-art new conference hall which has already drawn attention for its prominent position overlooking the Place des Nations in Geneva.
Responses to an Australian government proposal for fighting online copyright infringement show a wide gap between rights holders and internet companies on liability, and website blocking.
The Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organisation member states opened this morning in a new conference hall for a 10-day marathon with many decisions to be taken on the programme of work of the organisation for the year to come, its governance, and the need to address issues left opened by several committees.