Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The World Health Organization Executive Board this week agreed to propose to the May World Health Assembly the establishment of a mechanism for international collaboration on counterfeit and substandard medical products, but with the exclusion of trade and intellectual property issues.
While most of the 27 member states of the European Union signed the much-debated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) yesterday in Tokyo, joining the United States, Japan and other ACTA partners, hackers brought down the website of the European Parliament, and a key official stepped down. This may be only the beginning of the protests and petitioning.
Two top international organisations in Geneva are working to adapt to trends in global intellectual property systems with an eye toward contributing to a positive economic impact, officials told a private sector conference this week. But they heard a complex message about the role of IP in addressing public policy concerns.
The Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Michel Kazatchkine, announced that he would step down by 16 March in a letter published on the Fund’s website.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) yesterday released a business guide to key intellectual property policy issues worldwide.
In the annual State of Union address last night, US President Obama announced a new Trade Enforcement Unit that includes anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting.
The European Patent Office Economic and Scientific Advisory Board today announced its priorities for research, including patents fees, thickets and quality.
A high-level, highly technical UN meeting that occurs about once every four years at which key decisions are made about wireless communications opened today in Geneva. The meeting comes as devices such as smart phones and tablets are devouring many times more spectrum than mobile phones of the past.
The World Health Organization Executive Board today is being asked to approve a draft chair's summary of this week's Board discussions on the path to sweeping reform of the UN agency. But the document is unusual, according to some observers, in that it addresses major changes without being considered a negotiation or decision. [Update: this draft was approved by the Board with only the change of deadline for comments to 17 February.]
Online piracy, patent reform and intellectual property issues relating to pharmaceuticals are among the top legislative and regulatory priorities for many stakeholder groups in the United States this year, but given that 2012 is an election year, chances are slim that Congress will push through anything that isn’t a top priority or that could cause too much partisan rancour.
The new age of lobbying through online public engagement showed its effectiveness today as the Senate announced the postponement of next week's vote on controversial anti-piracy legislation that led to unprecedented protests on the internet.
A recent book analyses the role of intellectual property protection in providing incentives for innovation and its impact on access to medicines by retracing the origins, content and interpretations of the World Trade Organization agreement on IP rights and trade. It concludes that the debate needs to be recast in order for all sides to benefit going forward.