Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Failure to get agreement on a proposal to harmonise national patent laws by World Intellectual Property Organisation members will not impact the functioning and credibility of the organisation, a top WIPO official said today. Failure to agree “is not necessarily…
Issues under negotiation at the World Trade Organization committee responsible for intellectual property issues are somewhat stalled, despite – or because of – their ties to broader issues being negotiated at the WTO, sources in Geneva say. It remains to…
The World Intellectual Property Organisation is said to be different from many United Nations bodies in that it has long been seen as more of a technical body than the domain of career diplomats who are expert at political wrangling.…
Governments’ failure to reach agreement on a way forward on patent harmonisation talks at the World Intellectual Property Organisation today has cast a pall on the future of the issue within the UN body, sources said. The meeting of the…
The stakes are high for many participants in a 1-2 June negotiation at the World Intellectual Property Organisation, as the future of efforts to harmonise international patent laws is on the table. Developing country governments and non-governmental organizations raised concerns…
Experts attending the U.N. World Health Assembly this month debated a proposal to create an international treaty on medical research and development aimed at making medical treatment affordable globally while ensuring continuing innovation in the area. The proposed treaty was…
Consumer representatives, United Nations diplomats, drug industry representatives and others this week discussed a proposal to form a patent pool for essential medicines. The proposal was put forward by Consumers International and the Consumer Project on Technology (CP Tech) at…
Brazil, a developing country leader on international intellectual property issues, has come under pressure at home and abroad over whether to lift domestic patents on foreign pharmaceuticals for AIDS to allow cheaper generic versions to be produced. This week, nearly…
India, a critical player in policy debates at the World Intellectual Property Organisation, has announced its opposition to a recommendation on global patent harmonisation backed by a select group of countries in a February consultation with WIPO Director General Kamil…
Both sides claimed victory Tuesday in a World Trade Organisation dispute brought by Australia and the United States against the European Union’s protection of foods with names deriving from specific geographical regions. The WTO panel ruling Tuesday found that the…
A key group of developing countries this week sent a potential shockwave through fledgling efforts at the World Intellectual Property Organisation to restart talks on the international harmonisation of national patent laws. The 14-member “Group of Friends of Development” issued…
A group of nations hand-picked by the head of the World Intellectual Property Organisation on Thursday concluded informal consultations on ways to move the harmonisation of national patent regimes forward while addressing development concerns of some countries seen as delaying…