Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By William New Intellectual property issues are progressing slowly and quietly on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization ministerial as prospects for an agreement on broader issues remain tense and uncertain, according to sources. Ways to proceed on IP…
By William New The prospect for an agreement to negotiate on three intellectual property issues at the World Trade Organization has dimmed considerably, with no further meetings with delegations likely on Sunday, according to officials. A possible proposal is circulating…
By William New The European Union on Saturday restated the necessity of including three intellectual property issues in any outcome of the World Trade Organization ministerial negotiations, even as the WTO director general signalled a need to prevent the IP…
[Update: Ministers reached a tentative deal Friday night on some aspects of agriculture and NAMA, and will take up services on Saturday, according to ministers.] By William New Word went out Friday evening that there may have been some progress…
By Kaitlin Mara and William New Compromise on intellectual property issues at this week’s World Trade Organization ministerial meeting has been hard to find, but the facilitator of the IP talks said Thursday night that the possibility remains if the…
By Kaitlin Mara and William New A meeting tentatively scheduled for late Wednesday evening to mediate differences of opinion on three intellectual property issues was postponed, at least until Thursday, when consultations may move into smaller groups, sources say. There…
By Kaitlin Mara with William New Key stakeholder nations on intellectual property issues at this week’s World Trade Organization ministerial in Geneva are holding consultations with the Norwegian foreign minister facilitating to iron out positions before meeting later tonight with…
By Kaitlin Mara United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab on Tuesday told reporters at the World Trade Organization that the United States does not plan to negotiate this week on the extension of high-level protections on product names associated with…
By William New and Kaitlin Mara Intellectual property issues have been a topic of debate at the World Trade Organization ministerial negotiations since Friday and while there have been no changes in positions there has been some talk of looking…
[Note: IP issues may be the subject of meetings between ministers and WTO DG Lamy over this weekend, according to sources.] By Kaitlin Mara and William New A new draft of proposed modalities for negotiating three intellectual property issues at…
By Kaitlin Mara A confidential draft text circulated recently among some World Trade Organization members reveals an attempt to consolidate separate proposals aimed at the protection of product names with location-related associations and characteristics (called geographical indications) and at the…
By Kaitlin Mara An association of producers of geographical indications – product names associated with a particular place and characteristics – is promoting the idea that extending the high-level protection of geographic indications currently enjoyed by wines and spirits to…