Influential EU Industry Group Urges Stronger IP Focus In Trade Relations
Greater emphasis should be placed on intellectual property issues in the European Union’s trade relations with developing countries, a leading employers group has recommended.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Category Trademarks/Geographical Indications/Domains
2009 Tough For International Trademark Filings; 2010 Looking Up
International trademark filings plummeted in 2009 but trends should be reversed as the global economy regains strength with signs already showing in 2010, World Intellectual Property Organization’s Director General Francis Gurry said today.
Le Conseil des ADPIC envisage la tenue d’un atelier sur un amendement relatif à la santé publique
Le groupe Propriété Intellectuelle de l’Organisation Mondiale pour le Commerce s’est réuni plus brièvement que prévu, le 2 mars 2010, pour discuter d’un éventuel atelier sur un amendement visant à faciliter l’accès à des médicaments génériques abordables pour les pays dépourvus d’industrie pharmaceutique, d’une nouvelle proposition de la Bolivie, et de trois questions de propriété intellectuelle qui, bien qu’anciennes, n’ont pas connu de développement significatif.
US On International Trade Crusade With New Agenda
The recently released US annual trade agenda shows an intention to conquer new international markets, strengthen the global trade system and enforce obligations and US intellectual property rights. The US also means to address what they consider as trade barriers. [Update: President Obama spoke on the trade agenda today, more below.]
European Parliament Votes To Rein In Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty
The European Parliament today voted overwhelmingly in favour of a demand to be kept fully informed about the secretive Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement under negotiation by the European Commission and about a dozen countries outside Europe. Parliament also opposed controversial provisions such as personal searches at European borders and cutting internet access for anyone found infringing copyright online three times.
USTR Offers Answers To Some Thorny Questions On ACTA
A letter from the United States government answering a variety of sticky questions about the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement has been released online. The 28 January letter is addressed to Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat, Oregon) from US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
WTO TRIPS Council Considers Workshop On Public Health Amendment
The World Trade Organization group on intellectual property rights met today and ended early, discussing a potential workshop on an amendment intended to ease access to cheaper generic medicines in countries without a pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, a new proposal from Bolivia and three separate longstanding IP issues with no major changes.
GIs Can Help Development, But Key Ingredients Are Needed, FAO Says
Geographical indications (GIs) can be a tool for sustainable development in rural areas and are attracting a rising interest from developing country producers, but some ingredients must be taken into account, such as an effective legal framework and collective management of the GIs, according to a recently released guide produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Tough IP Health Provisions In Europe’s Colombia/Peru Trade Deal
Far-reaching provisions on the patenting of medicine have been inserted into a controversial free trade agreement between the European Union and Colombia and Peru.
Brazil Takes Next Step Toward WTO Cross-Retaliation Against US
Brazilian President Lula has adopted a measure to enable the suspension of Brazil’s obligations to protect intellectual property rights from the United States, the next step after a World Trade Organization ruling of US non-compliance with WTO rules, according to an unofficial translation of the provisional Brazilian measure.
US Business Calls For IP Enforcement “Surge”, Seeks New Legislation This Year
The United States’ largest industry association today laid out an aggressive legislative agenda on intellectual property, calling for a dramatic increase in enforcement activities including pumped up customs and border authority.
ACTA Negotiators: Maximal Protection Proposals Unlikely In Final Text
The chapter on copyright protection in the digital environment under negotiation in the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is still in an embryonic state, said negotiators coming back from the recent ACTA negotiations in Guadalajara, Mexico.