Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Behind the day-to-day policy and technical work at the World Intellectual Property Organization, member governments' lobbying of new Director General Francis Gurry to obtain top positions for national officials at WIPO has been intensive in recent weeks and is near conclusion, according to sources. Among the pack of possible names is a recent former director of the US Patent and Trademark Office, according to sources.
If the United States enacts reform of its patent law, S 515, this year as proposed, it would cut discretionary spending by US$173 million over the period 2010-2014, according to a 30 April US Congressional Budget Office cost estimate. This…
The secretariat of the World Intellectual Property Organization is working this week to gain support for a proposal to get countries to better implement the UN organisation’s core revenue-generating instrument, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). But some developing countries are wary of the proposed changes, even as the United States is calling for a new PCT.
Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization in difficult negotiations last week approved a new plan for implementation of recommendations for deepening WIPO’s development focus, according to participants.
While heralded by patent- and copyright-based industries as a welcome step, the annual report on alleged inadequate protection of US intellectual property rights released by the Office of the US Trade Representative released this week is being blasted by some civil society groups.
Alicia Greenidge, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), has stepped down from the post.
World Trade Organization (WTO) members Thursday agreed to a second four-year term for current Director General Pascal Lamy. Prior to joining the WTO, Lamy was Commissioner for Trade at the European Commission, and also previously served as CEO of the…
The World Intellectual Property Organization should infuse its United Nations mandate and other aspects of the WIPO Development Agenda into all its norm-setting activities, panellists said this week.
The United States National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has published a notice of inquiry regarding the expiration of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) between the agency and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees technical…
LISBON - The role of information and communications technology (ICTs) in boosting global economic recovery plus the greening and convergence of ICTs were made top issues of the 4th World Telecom Policy Forum (WTPF) in Lisbon held on 22-24 April.
Member governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization are trying this week to agree on implementation of a new development dimension for the UN body and the global intellectual property system. And they have a new methodology proposed by the WIPO secretariat as a starting point.
While rightsholders hailed a “landmark” recent high-profile verdict against the operators of Swedish online file-sharing site The Pirate Bay (TPB), legal and digital rights analysts say it was no surprise. While the law of secondary liability for copyright infringement is by no means settled everywhere, TPB’s attitude toward intellectual property protections means the same decision could have happened in other countries as well, they said.