Category Trademarks/Geographical Indications/Domains

Africa Needs To Know What It Can Trade As A Continent, Speaker Says At E-Commerce Week

A number of African countries just joined the newly established African Continental Free Trade Area. However, e-commerce remains very marginal on the continent, which is struggling to keep up and reap the benefits of this booming business platform. During a panel of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development E-Commerce Week, an African entrepreneur gave his vision of what is hindering Africa's e-commerce development, including the lack of awareness of what Africa has to trade.

ASEAN Members Want A Regional Agreement On E-Commerce, Less Developed Members Struggle To Catch Up

A group of Asian countries is working towards a regional agreement on electronic commerce. During the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development e-commerce week, less developed countries of this group explained the difficult catch-up they have to fully enter into e-commerce nationally and internationally, particularly because most of their companies are small. Transport businesses, meanwhile, called for special customs rules for small companies to ease their participation in global e-commerce.

Officials: Sharing Economy Booming In China; Success And Challenges Of New Business Models

The sharing economy is booming, disrupting conventional ways of doing business, creating new jobs, and new headaches for policymakers. China is promoting the sharing economy as a national strategy, as explained during the annual United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) electronic commerce event this week, and illustrated by DiDi Chuxing, a leading Chinese mobile-based transportation platform.

Panel: E-Commerce Crucial For Development, Some Eager To Negotiate At WTO

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and its annual weeklong event focused on electronic commerce inspired a group of World Trade Organization members to launch a roadmap for e-commerce last year. This week, at the start of the fourth UNCTAD E-Commerce Week, a panel commented on the importance of e-commerce discussions at the World Trade Organization, even as some of the WTO membership disagrees on a new negotiating mandate.

Carlos Correa Named Head Of Intergovernmental South Centre

Prof. Carlos Correa of Argentina, an influential academic whose analyses of patents and medicines access have informed debates and challenged the status quo for decades, has been named the next executive director of the South Centre. He will take over for Martin Khor, who will be retiring after nine years at the helm. Separately, former South African President Thabo Mbeki was named chair of the Board.

China’s “Theft” Of Foreign Technology Prompts Unlawful US Response, Experts Say

This time Donald Trump was correct: China has, for years, unfairly obtained and exploited American intellectual property and technology. But Trump’s response – imposing $50 billion in tariffs annually on a wide variety of Chinese imports – is problematic, experts warn. The tariffs appear to violate World Trade Organization rules, undermine the international rules-based economic order that has served the West well for decades, and threaten to ignite a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

Taiwan IP Office Moves Beyond Politics To Forge Links With Other IP Offices, Enforce IP Rights

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The building is impressive. Taiwan’s intellectual property office, located in the Dan-an district of Taipei, deals with patents, trademarks, designs, and utility models. Not being a recognised member of the United Nations, Taiwan cannot access the World Intellectual Property Organization treaties, in particular the Patent Cooperation Treaty. However, Taiwan is dedicated to enforcing IP rights, and entertains agreements with several IP offices in the world, including China, which is Taiwan's major trading partner.

Springtime Moves In The IP Community

The beginning of the year saw a particularly high number of changes at law firms and in the United States government. Also the World Trade Organization named a list of new chairpersons for its committees, the World Economic Forum named the head of its new cybersecurity centre, and Swiss pharma company Roche has a new head of research and development.

Better Cyber Security Problematic, Says US Financial Industry: Power Struggle Over Encryption

A decision to keep third party listeners out of communications on the internet taken by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) at their recent meeting in London elicited an alarmist message from the US financial industry. The premier internet standardisation body would provide “privacy for crooks,” and practically prohibit “bank security guards from patrolling and checking particular rooms” online, BITS, the technology division of the Financial Services Roundtable, argued in a press release last week. Has standardisation gone rogue?

Coming To Your Door: USTR Trade Barriers Report Lists Concerns To Raise With Trading Partners

The newly released United States government annual report on trade barriers for US exports provides a laundry list of issues it views as inhibiting US products and services from being treated fairly or sufficiently protected in its key trading partners. Among the many issues are many concerns about intellectual property rights, digital trade, broadcasting, pharmaceuticals and more.