Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Several members of the European Parliament today sent letters to the directors general of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization requesting technical assistance in the negotiation of an agreement that some are calling an attempt to circumvent global norms on intellectual property enforcement and related public interest flexibility.
A review of the World Health Organization’s response to the 2009 pandemic influenza outbreak kicked off this week, with firm statements from those involved in the response that they were not unduly influenced by outside stakeholders. Still, serious questions remain about the coordination effort, as a nearly a year after the pandemic was declared developed countries find themselves having to dispose of excess vaccines while poorer countries are reporting they have yet to obtain as many as they need.
Neelie Kroes, European Commission vice president and commissioner for the Digital Agenda spoke today about the future of the internet. In Valencia, Spain for a conference, she emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships, characterised innovation as “the only way to…
Today, board members of international drug purchasing mechanism UNITAID approved a 2010 budget for a pioneering patent pool initiative.
The US Government Accountability Office, an agency that works as a “congressional watchdog” investigating how taxpayer money is spent, has released a new report on intellectual property. The report [pdf] reviews the economic effects of counterfeiting and piracy. It finds…
The World Health Organization secretariat record of a International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) meeting that took place 26 March are now available online. Intellectual Property Watch reported on the meeting earlier, including statements made by stakeholders (IPW, WHO, 31…
World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan today opened an expert review process on the way WHO handled the outbreak of a pandemic influenza virus last year. In her opening speech, Chan called it the “most closely watched and carefully…
When government negotiators start the next round of closed meetings on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) this week in Wellington New Zealand, they will be served a declaration by "Public ACTA", an initiative by New Zealand's country code registry InternetNZ.
The United Kingdom Parliament late last night approved a controversial digital economy bill that allows the court to impose obligations on internet service providers to limit internet access of its users deemed to have infringed online copyrights.
Lassi Jyrkkiö writes: Anything one can consider as politically cool from an EU perspective, ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, the multilateral treaty to combat counterfeiting and piracy) negotiations have got it all: the internet, the USA, large potential for media exposure and a hitherto Nixonian element of secrecy balanced by a flow of thrilling documents leaked by generous deep-throats.
The truth about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is different depending on which side you are on.
In the aftermath of the recent protracted fights over healthcare, the United States has seen a wave of intellectual property-related policy activity