Original news and analysis on international IP policy
While in 2015 nearly 3 billion internet users will be connected across the world, their experiences once they are online will vary considerably according to their country. To find ways to bring everyone up to the same speed and have the same user experience, worldwide remedies were discussed at the occasion of the launch of the Global Internet Report 2014 – “Open and Sustainable Access for All.”
This week, governments and stakeholders have been taking stock nearly 10 years after 2005 UN-led World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), and working to set new goals for the future. One thing seems clear: a full information society has not been achieved yet, and these issues may form part of the post-2015 development agenda at the UN.
A new initiative by the World Summit Award (WSA) initiative seeks to use its global multistakeholder network to push forward personal data ownership and big data issues at UN discussions. At an open discussion, the WSA invited participants to share views on issues with the current system of data use, the need for permission-based access, and steps for further action.
Governments must assert the human right to health and take action against the massive rise in obesity globally, brought about by the widespread availability and pervasive marketing of unhealthy “junk” foods, Anand Grover, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, urged today.
The United States confirmed its opposition to an indefinite extension of a moratorium shielding the World Trade Organization agreement on intellectual property from non-violation complaints through a paper presented to WTO members meeting today.
The internet is expected to reach 3 billion people globally next year, but “much development work still remains to bring the economic and social benefits of the internet to all people and to make sure everyone has quality access” Kathy Brown, president and CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC), said on today’s release of ISOC’s first annual report on the state of the internet.
The Fight the Fakes campaign announced today the support of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association and 10 other new partners for its campaign to raise awareness worldwide about the dangers of fake medicines.
ATHENS - In what the representative of a major consumer group called a “big step,” World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry on 6 June called for development of a seamless, global, legal, digital content marketplace that could offer the chance to bridge seemingly intractable copyright issues. Speaking at a conference in Athens hosted by the Greek EU Presidency on copyright and Europe's digital agenda, Gurry said the search for such a market should take the form of a dialogue that includes all stakeholders.
The World Trade Organization intellectual property committee will meet next week with some new issues on the agenda. Ecuador has requested the continuance of a discussion on the transfer of green technologies, and Taiwan and the United States have proposed an agenda item on innovation incubators.
Just as the world of international intellectual property law and policy is ever-changing, so are the faces within it. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has a new deputy director in Silicon Valley veteran Michelle Lee, who has been acting as director. Many changes occurred at the US Trade Representative’s office, including the naming of a top tech industry lobbyist as deputy USTR, the return to Geneva of a key US figure at the WTO, and the defection of a top IP negotiator to the copyright industry.
This spring, Intellectual Property Watch has had the pleasure of welcoming three talented interns/researchers who have provided not only their expertise but their enthusiasm for all aspects of intellectual property and have made an excellent addition to the team.
The Open AIR project has gone global. The research project’s findings were presented in a recent side event at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The findings, published in two books, assess how people from different African countries and sectors consider and use intellectual property and present three possible scenarios about how people will innovate in the next two decades.