Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Sheer intellectual property filings may not be the only or even best measure of innovation, but they are a closely watched economic indicator. Using what data it has, the World Intellectual Property Organization recently touted China's continued massive growth in this area, particularly in patent applications.
Nearly 200 organisations, companies and others from 42 countries have signed an open letter to the international community demanding that stronger encryption tools be allowed to be developed and used. The letter describes encryption tools and services as vital components of maintaining a secure digital environment, where if users are allowed to use the strongest forms of encryption it can allow for the safest and most efficient ways to communicate across borders.
The United Nations will fund 60 startups to create open source technologies to improve the lives of children in developing countries. Unicef, the children's charity run by the UN, will channel more than $9 million into startups based on venture capital-style investing. But it isn't concerned if the companies fail.
A day after the European Commission announced an agreement with US authorities for a “Privacy Shield” as a follow-up mechanism for the invalidated Safe Harbour Agreement, the Article 29 Working Party of European Union data protection officers said they need to see the written text before making their final assessment.
World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan submitted a report to last week’s Executive Board meeting detailing progress made in establishing a framework for the implementation of a global action plan for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs – like obesity, cancer, diabetes). The global action plan is to be officially implemented after the United Nations General Assembly comprehensive review of the prevention and control of NCDs in 2018, designed to eventually reduce premature mortality from NCDs by a third in 2030 in accordance with the health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
In mid-January, Netflix announced a ban on the use of proxies, unblockers, and virtual private networks (VPNs)—all technical work-arounds to view movies and TV programs unavailable in the subscriber’s country. This announcement coincided with the company’s global service launch into more than 130 new markets.
There is an increasing shortage of medicines in the world, in particular in developing countries, but not only there, World Health Organization members said in last week’s Executive Board meeting. Discussions are ongoing on potential solutions and the agenda item referring to the issue was left open, to be brought to the World Health Assembly in May.
World Health Organization members last week agreed to meet for a final session in April to discuss the framework regulating the engagement of the organisation with “non-state actors,” such as non-governmental and philanthropy organisations, and the private sector.
A high level panel of experts charged by United Nations secretary general to explore solutions to increase innovation and access to medicines in developing countries gave a briefing today to explain the process of the initiative. Intellectual property is often seen as both a barrier to the diffusion of health technologies and an innovation enabler.
A new report from the World Health Organization says there will be 45 million new jobs in the health workforce worldwide by the end of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2030. But most of the new jobs will be created in upper-middle and high-income nations.
The pressures of running the world’s highest profile public health agency in trying times (new outbreaks, mass migration and other challenges, with uncertain funding) could make the job of debatable attractiveness, but rumours in the World Health Organization hallways this week are that many possible candidates are likely to be considered to vie for head of the United Nations agency in Geneva. But the election process itself was just finalised for the changeover to occur in mid-2017, so it is too early to start naming possible candidates. The following is a look at the process leading to the next head of the WHO.
Fake and poor quality medicines are still a growing public health concern particularly in developing countries, according to some World Health Organization members, who said at last week's WHO Board meeting that the problem comes from the unaffordability of medicines and the lack of a strong surveillance system.