Original news and analysis on international IP policy
E-commerce represents the micro and the massive in business. It offers tremendous potential for business enterprises to access global markets and is there for organisations such as sole traders through small and medium outlets to global giants such as Alibaba and Amazon.
For its third E-Commerce Week from 24-28 April UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development had the theme, "Towards Inclusive E-Commerce."
The World Health Organization Bulletin this month has an article about the need for new models of research and development for tuberculosis and antimicrobial resistance. The article describes a new funding framework called the 3P Project.
A packed week is underway for the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee. Delegates are hoping to find agreement on core principles of a treaty protecting broadcasting organisations' rights, and continue work on possible limitations and exceptions to copyright for education, libraries, and research. In addition, they will decide if they want to work on the issue of resale right, and will consider copyright in the digital environment.
As virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies emerge, so do legal questions arising from their use. While the issues are still mostly hypothetical, they implicate, among other areas, intellectual property rights, lawyers say.
Register Now for The Global Debate on Intellectual Property, Trade and Development: Past, Present and Future - A Conference in Honour of Pedro Roffe, taking place on 15 June at the University of Geneva, Uni-Bastions, Geneva, Switzerland. Registration is open and free, see details.
In a judgment this week, the European Court of Justice ruled that "the sale of a multimedia player which enables films that are available illegally on the internet to be viewed easily and for free on a television screen could constitute an infringement of copyright“ (C:2017:300).
The Germany-based OpenSourceSeeds initiative this month started to offer open source-licensed seeds in an effort to strengthen a form of “copyleft” for new plant varieties. The goal, according to the organisation established by academics, activists and breeders and establish a non-private seed sector as a second pillar alongside private plant breeding.
WARSAW – Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage is drafting a new law on collective rights management which is to implement the relevant European Union legislation into Polish law. However, a think tank with close ties to the government has released a report that points to the relatively high operational costs of the authors’ and creators’ organisations, and could pave the way for further modifications to the system.
Cynthia Ho writes: In the first known investment dispute regarding patents, Eli Lilly & Co v. Canada, Canada recently prevailed over the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. Although Canada won in a unanimous decision, the ruling does not, however, guarantee domestic discretion going forward, contrary to the suggestion of some.
Electronic commerce should be the realm of young people under 30 and of small enterprises, according to Alibaba founder Jack Ma, speaking at an event on digital trade in Geneva this week. He also pressed countries to just get on the e-commerce train, and worry about regulations later. Meanwhile, World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevêdo said at the same event that without help small companies would no better survive the competition of large companies online than they did in the real world.
Antony Taubman, director of the World Trade Organization Intellectual Property Division, has been in a good position to view the world and intellectual property for some time. Today, designated as World IP Day, we caught up with him to ask his views on the theme this year.
The United States Department of Defense has announced that it intends to grant Sanofi Pasteur, a French pharmaceutical corporation, exclusive rights to develop a vaccine for the Zika virus. The decision follows outcry from the public and civil society groups over concerns of affordability and accessibility in taking such a step.