Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen At a Tokyo meeting last week of the developed countries of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the issue of patent harmonisation was kept alive though no specific decisions were reached, a source said. Kenichiro…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The biotechnology industry has proposed to change the international generic naming of medicine ingredients, which at the moment are public property, into unique names for each medicine, making it harder to substitute them with cheaper…
By William New In its bilateral negotiation with the United States in order to join the World Trade Organization, Russia appears to have agreed to intellectual property rights standards that push those of the WTO and US law to new…
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch In the second week of December, the European Parliament will hear the first reading of the “modernised” Television Without Frontiers Directive (TVWF) that will stretch into the world of online content – hence…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Australia is poised to become the first country to make copyright infringement a “no-fault” offence, a move aimed at broadening criminal penalties for infringement. The change is part of sweeping revisions intended to…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Submissions to the World Health Organization (WHO) online public consultation on the intergovernmental working group on public health, innovation and intellectual property show that the debate is quite polarised, and that the group is therefore…
By William New A panel of key Geneva actors on policy related to intellectual property rights and public health on 14 November gave a range of views on the World Trade Organization Doha Declaration five years after its agreement. Several…
By John T. Aquino for Intellectual Property Watch The 2006 elections in the United States have presented the world of intellectual property with a new set of guardians. In the 7 November congressional elections, Democrats took control of the House…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen and William New The report from a September meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) developed country group reveals its behind-the-scenes strategy for handling a proposed development agenda at WIPO. The WIPO General Assembly…
By William New and Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The wealthy members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have created a draft patent harmonisation treaty to be negotiated outside WIPO in the hope of removing basic differences in national and…