Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Brazil has published a list of more than 5,000 generic terms from the Portuguese language related to Brazilian plant biological diversity to raise awareness and prevent further misuse of trademarks that hinder Brazilian exports. The Brazilian government has been, and…
The European Patent Office (EPO) with its centralised patent grant system was established in 1973. The EPO has 31 member states and comprises a legislative body, the administrative council, and its Munich-based executive office. The EPO has addressed its concerns…
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The United States government does not want to retain “all [its] historic roles” in the technical oversight of the Internet domain name system (DNS), a senior Bush administration official said this week. But…
An intergovernmental working group on public health and intellectual property, which the World Health Assembly said in May should be set up “immediately,” is scheduled to meet for the first time in December in Geneva, according to informed sources. But…
After some five years of negotiations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) free-trade talks were halted today as ministers of key countries left the negotiating table. But key intellectual property issues will be kept on the table for whenever they return,…
The United Kingdom Patent Office should be replaced by an institution with the same power and responsibility that it has today but with an extra duty to also serve the public interest, a group of intellectual property experts has proposed.…
This week’s Group of Eight (G8) meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia highlighted piracy and counterfeiting as one area in which G8 is determined to step up its effort, but it also made commitments to improve access to medicines for infectious…
BRUSSELS – A majority of the 400 selected participants at a recent European Commission hearing on the future patent policy in Europe called for more centralisation – in the form of a single patent system or a common litigation system…
The World Intellectual Property Organization Programme and Budget Committee finished its work for the year with the acceptance of a proposed mechanism to insert member governments more fully into WIPO’s budget processes. The committee also heard updates on proposed new…
Atul Kaushik is in his last week of work as first secretary (legal) of the Permanent Mission of India to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva this week (week of 10 July). Kaushik, who has played a major role…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch The United Kingdom independent music sector wants content distributors to pay creators for transmitting their works over the Internet, mobile phones and other devices. At a 12 July London roundtable headed by the…
BRUSSELS – The European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, Charlie McCreevy, this week said he will pay “particular attention” to intellectual property rights during the coming year, including one last drive to create a European Community patent. “I will…