Original news and analysis on international IP policy
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Colonial history says that indigenous peoples were in the past sometimes asked to sign treaties that may not have been in their best interest or that were not honoured. Now, under the aegis of the United Nations, some indigenous peoples fear it may be happening again, only this time they are fighting to be at the table as the subject is their traditional practices, and the outcome would apply on a global scale.
World Intellectual Property Organization members this week set the stage for text-based negotiations for an international instrument on the protection of traditional knowledge, folklore and genetic resources.
Negotiators trying this week to advance talks for UN World Intellectual Property Organization treaties on traditional knowledge, genetic resources, and folklore have made progress on draft texts, but are facing sharp criticism from indigenous groups and some governments claiming their concerns are being ignored.
Discussions are heating up as never before on Brazil's copyright reform, and controversies involving the new administration as well as the collecting society (ECAD)'s alleged wrongdoings are jeopardising the last eight years of Lula's administration, according to an updated timeline and analysis by Pedro Paranaguá.
According to European Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht, there are still thorny issues on the table in the ongoing EU-India free trade agreement talks, including intellectual property issues.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is open for interpretation, perhaps too much so, legal experts on both sites of the Atlantic are warning.
The World Intellectual Property Organization committee in charge of overseeing the implementation of the organisation’s cornerstone Development Agenda, ended abruptly when the session was suspended after a strong disagreement over a development project.
Government policymakers are stalling on trade liberalization while erecting new nontransparent trade barriers, writes Frederick Abbott.
Current global intellectual property obligations are seen by some as favouring rights holders to the detriment of the public interest, and a series of amendments to international rules on trade and IP could address this, says a new book from a respected European think tank.
A debate has arisen this week among World Intellectual Property Organization members over a WIPO secretariat report on implementation of the 2007 Development Agenda, which was intended to infuse a stronger development dimension into the UN agency’s activities.
The newly published third annual Consumers International IP Watchlist shows that most countries offer weak support for consumer interests in access to knowledge and the global copyright system seems ill-equipped to respond to the new consumer creativity evolving on internet. However, the study found that some countries are demonstrating good practices when it comes to consumers.
The World Intellectual Property Organization Internal Audit and Oversight Division is seeking expressions of interest from consultants to conduct an evaluation and analysis of Kenya’s performance with intellectual property rights during the years 2005 to 2010. The study aims to help WIPO members to assess the effect of the UN agency’s work in the country during that time, and to boost learning and accountability.