Category IP Policies

Caribbean IP: Ensure Unending Local Protection Of Traditional Knowledge

In the Caribbean, issues of traditional knowledge in intellectual property are hardly considered to be of special significance to the majority of policymakers and, except for a few pockets of interest groups such as a group of Rastafarians in Jamaica, the average citizen is uninformed on the subject. The protection of the cultural heritage of the region through a normative system of law is exceedingly necessary for the survival of our unique brand of cultural expression, writes Abiola Inniss.

Text-Based Talks Begin In Cancun Climate Talks; Civil Society Demands Transparency

Global talks to address climate change being held in Cancun hobbled along last week amid calls for flexibility among parties. Japan declared its opposition to an extension of the Kyoto Protocol setting binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, civil society worried about transparency in the negotiating process, as countries started negotiations on specific texts.

Studies Inform WIPO Enforcement Meeting As Development Issues Debated

Development Agenda coordination again topped the agenda this week at the latest World Intellectual Property Organization meeting - this time, in the Advisory Committee on Enforcement. Also causing discussion was how to proceed with the group's work programme, as seven governments made different suggestions for future topics.

UN Climate Change Talks Start With Little Faith From Observers

Today in Cancun, Mexico, the United Nations climate change conference opened with hopes of finding consensual solutions for the global environmental threat and its consequences. After the disappointing results of last year’s conference in Copenhagen, echoes of uncertainty on the outcome of the Cancun conference are being heard from many sides.

WIPO Development Agenda Coordination Seizes Up; Projects Approved

As the first flurries of snow gave Geneva a foretaste of winter, delegates yesterday ended a week of negotiations in the World Intellectual Property Organization committee overseeing implementation of the WIPO Development Agenda. They agreed on some projects and postponed discussions on others until the next session, but remained frozen without agreement on details of the coordination mechanism for Agenda implementation. Numerous corridor discussions and informal meetings did not help the process.