Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The text of the Draft Statute of the proposed Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization does not support a clear basis for criticism, but the lack of a clear need to put resources toward a centralised African registration system, and the lack of transparency about the process signal that the idea is "ill-conceived," writes South African lawyer Sadulla Karjiker.
The World Trade Organization member committee on the WTO intellectual property agreement meets tomorrow, with a new agenda item on intellectual property and innovation at the request of the United States and Brazil.
Baku, Azerbaijan - Human rights on the internet, the new generic top-level domains, how the net can be managed and ruled - these are main topics on the published agenda of the 7th United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
A dispute over the .africa regional geographic top-level internet domain (TLD) may have escalated. The Kenya-based DotConnectAfrica trust (with headquarters in Mauritius) in a press release this week applauded the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for granting a change request to their application. DotConnectAfrica by mistake had applied for .dotafrica instead of .africa in its application during the new gTLD process in April.
A new petition circulating worldwide urges the delay of a suddenly fast-moving proposal to create a Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization (PAIPO). The delay effort – which seeks an open discussion of the proposal to make it more tailored to local African needs - comes just weeks before African Union representatives meet to consider its adoption.
Governments have been considering their options with regard to intervening against applications for new generic top level domains, which are currently being processed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch European Telecommunications and Network Operators (ETNO) proposals for accounting changes between internet providers – namely a “sender-party-pays regime” and provisions to foster end-to-end quality of service management on the net – did not…
In a move that goes beyond territorial disputes and past atrocities, the Republic of Korea this week hosted a training session for Chinese civil servants on protection of intellectual property rights.
Sustainable agriculture needs a new paradigm in the face of the growing global population, away from the "more production" orientation, says a new study published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
The annual arbitration workshop of the World Intellectual Property Organization is taking place this year in Singapore, the first time the gathering has been held outside the United Nations agency headquarters in Geneva.
Honduras has submitted a request for the formation of a dispute settlement panel at the World Trade Organization regarding a tobacco plain-packaging law Australia has passed for public health reasons.
With his distinctive clerical garb, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi stood out in a sea of coat and tie-wearing dignitaries at the recent General Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva. His presence is a glaring reminder to every stakeholder in the room that intellectual property, often associated with excessive and self-serving patent wars these days, has a place in the Catholic Church.