Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By William New As the senior staff of the World Intellectual Property Organization gathered outside its headquarters Friday to set the foundation stone of a new office building, WIPO member governments were struggling inside to agree on the foundation for…
By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Uncertainty surrounds the application of European Union copyright rules to material uploaded onto the internet by private individuals, a new study has found. Recent years have seen a proliferation of websites…
By Wagdy Sawahel for Intellectual Property Watch The European Commission and African Union Commission have agreed to launch six projects in science, space and information technology in a bid to strengthen African scientific capacity, promote technical cooperation, facilitate technology transfer…
By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
Compared with other countries, the United States has had a much more expansive view of what inventions can be patented. Late last week, however, the US took one big step closer to international norms.
It happened on 30 October, when the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals - often called the country's "patent court" - issued its decision in In re Bilski.
By Liza Porteus for Intellectual Property Watch with William New There are many questions as to what the President Barack Obama administration will look like – with no shortage of players participating in the Washington parlour game right now. The…
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch, with Kaitlin Mara and William New The intellectual property community has been quick to begin the anticipation of a Barack Obama presidency in the United States following his election on Tuesday. Although…
By Kaitlin Mara Against the background of increasing food prices and related questions of food security and agricultural sustainability, the new secretary general of an international organisation protecting plant varieties outlined his future plans for the UN body. Francis Gurry,…
By William New World Intellectual Property Organization members gather in Geneva next week to take up old and new agenda items targeting international policy on copyright and related rights. Emerging agenda items are limitations and exceptions to copyright – including…
The various aspects of the application of copyright and neighbouring rights in the digital age have been discussed under the aegis of World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Google’s groundbreaking settlement of copyright infringement claims by authors and book publishers this week resonates beyond the United States, the European Commission and a UK copyright lawyer said. While the agreement affects only…
By Kaitlin Mara The push to amend the World Trade Organization agreement on intellectual property rights has not receded, as made clear this week by proponents of wider protection for geographical indications and using the patent system to safeguard biodiversity…
By William New A few weeks after its new director general took office, the World Intellectual Property Organization has announced a programme of strategic realignment in the secretariat aimed at opening up the organisation and improving the focus on customer…