Original news and analysis on international IP policy
In what may be the first legal reference to newly adopted international rules on sharing the benefits of and access to genetic resources, non-governmental groups have sent letters to top European health officials reminding them of these obligations in the context of influenza viruses and access to vaccines - a topic under debate this week at the World Health Organization.
Delegates negotiating early stages of a treaty on traditional cultural expressions this week got down to details of what to protect, from whom and how in late-night drafting sessions at the World Intellectual Property Organization, and found a work plan for the immediate future on genetic resources as well. Meanwhile, indigenous groups continued to raise concerns about the process.
As delegates in Cancun, Mexico, neared the end of their search this week for consensus on how to stop climate change, intellectual property issues were being set aside for later.
The proposed European Union-India free trade agreement was one of the top issues at the 11th EU-India Summit held in Brussels today. But two sides of the story are being told about who will benefit or lose.
The European Patent Office Enlarged Board of Appeal yesterday gave its decision on the so-called “broccoli” and “tomato” cases, and excluded “essentially biological processes for the production of plans (or animals)” from patentability.
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.
Negotiating partners today released the final text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) after another week of what they called “legal scrubbing” which in fitting form was once again was performed behind closed doors, this time in Sydney.
Delegates this week at the World Intellectual Property Organization are continuing text-based discussions on a legal instrument for traditional knowledge, genetic resources and traditional cultural expressions. This week’s meeting is expected to be a stage-setter for the coming year, considered a key one in the ongoing efforts to solve global biopiracy concerns.
The most recent outbreak of pandemic influenza was mild, but the World Health Organization is still working on a plan of what to do should another, more severe outbreak ever occur. States will come together this month in another attempt to finalise this plan.
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.
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.
The global patent system is intended to promote innovation and increase growth, but this might not always be the case, as it might only serve industries relying heavily on patents in advanced economies, according to a study on patents and manufacturing industries presented at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week.