Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Investor agreements, included in many bilateral investment treaties (BITs), are a source of growing concern for many national governments. These agreements essentially leave countries vulnerable to litigation by individual firms, rather than other countries, as is the case in traditional World Trade Organization disputes.
Infojustice.org reports: The government of Antigua and Barbuda is moving forward with plans “to suspend certain concessions and other obligations relating to United States intellectual property rights” in retaliation for the US’s violation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services.
This month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Federal law No.187-FZ “On Amending Separate Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Concerning the Questions of Protection of Intellectual Rights in Information and Telecommunication Networks.” The bill, which amends existing law, aims at boosting copyright protection online.
World Intellectual Property Organization committee members have laid out options for establishing an instrument or instruments to protect genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore. Now they are working to choose among them.
Intellectual property and product branding can be valuable tools for development, and communities and countries are taking note, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, which held a presentation on the issue yesterday.
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) yesterday took action on reports pertaining to HIV/AIDS, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and science and technology for development.
World Intellectual Property Organization committee members will decide by tomorrow whether to recommend WIPO move to final high-level negotiations on the protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore.
A new report released in the United States assesses assumptions and seeks to spark new thinking on the economic impact of cybercrime and cyberespionage, including the valuation and losses of intellectual property.
World Health Organization members are meeting this week to advance the new international mechanism against substandard and counterfeit medicines.
World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy today said the road to the next WTO ministerial, in Bali, Indonesia in December, has become clearer. He gave a detailed update on issues under negotiation, and included a positive mention of the recent agreement to extend the period for least-developed countries to adopt WTO rules on trade and intellectual property.
The landscape and nature of world trade are changing, and quickly, according to the latest World Trade Report published by the World Trade Organization. Technological innovation, shifts in production and consumption patterns, and demographic change are said to be the primary factors that will shape the future of world trade and the global trading system, the report found.
A new report from the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) proposes solutions to advancing the global debate on the protection of traditional knowledge shared among different indigenous communities.