International Seed Treaty Hears Concerns Of Corporate Concentration, DNA Patenting
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is holding the fourth regular session of its Governing Body this week in Bali, Indonesia.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Category IP Policies
IP Enforcement Permeates ICANN, US Internet Policy
The push for ever more far-reaching intellectual property enforcement in the domain name system was heavily criticised at a conference of the Non-Commercial Users' Constituency (NCUC) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Friday. The NCUC conference on "Internet Governance and the Global Public Interest" took place one day before the first constituency meetings of the 40th ICANN meeting in San Francisco (13-18 March).
EU Takes Actions On Patent Law; ACTA May See Legal Fight
In a flurry of patent-related developments in Europe this week, plans for a single European patent moved a step closer, efforts to create a European-wide patent court faltered, the United Kingdom sought guidance in a case with implications for medicinal research, and the EU high court may be asked to review the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
Caribbean IP: Establishing An Arbitral Tribunal For The Region
The use of arbitration across the Caribbean has been largely within the context of trade union disputes and is still something of a novelty in resolving commercial and private disputes in the region, Abiola Inniss writes.
World Blind Union Won’t Be Sidetracked In Quest For Treaty On Reading Access
In a significant development for ongoing copyright negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Blind Union has distanced itself from initiatives it sees as distractions from a primary goal at the international level: To get agreement on a treaty promoting better access to reading material for visually impaired readers.
Vaccines Alliance Gets New CEO
A key Geneva-based public-private initiative to increase global vaccination has named a new CEO.
Medicines Patent Pool Aims To Increase Access To HIV Drugs In Developing Countries
The newly created Medicines Patent Pool promises to increase access to HIV/AIDS medications in developing markets. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the pool operates a scheme in which pharmaceutical patent holders voluntarily licence their drugs to generic manufacturers who then produce more affordable versions for patients in poorer countries
Media Piracy In Emerging Economies Report Stirs Debate
A large (440-page) new report on media piracy in emerging economies is stirring significant debate in internet copyright and open access circles, as it purports to turn rights owner assertions and the basis for developed country IP policy on their heads.
UN Rapporteur On Food Offers Long-Term Answer To Food Crisis: Agroecology
The annual report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, to the sixteenth session of the UN Human Rights Council yesterday is unequivocal. There must be a global agricultural shift toward more productive, environmentally friendly, sustainable modes of production, using natural resources to remediate world hunger, away from industrialised agriculture. In short, the world needs a shift to agroecology.
Canada Considers Amendment To Compulsory Licensing Regime For Medicines Access
The Canadian Parliament is on the verge of amending the nation’s patent regime to make it easier for generic drug companies to provide low-cost HIV medications for developing countries.
Panel: Help Needed With IP Implications Of Nagoya Protocol On Genetic Resources
The new international agreement on access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources has many IP implications, according to panellists at an event last week. And at least one United Nations agency is launching an effort to help countries with those IP implications.
Governments, ICANN Still Deep In Negotiations Over New Internet Domains
BRUSSELS - In an arm-wrestling exercise, governments and the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) last week tried to reach common ground on intellectual property rights protection and governments' ability to intervene with applications for new top-level domains that they see as “sensitive” or “vulnerable” like .nazi, .gay or .bank.