Original news and analysis on international IP policy
African countries seem to back a World Trade Organization proposal that would permanently incorporate into international trade law a waiver that has been in place since 2003 to help poor countries import cheaper medicines, but which for various reasons has…
After years of consultations over a draft provision aimed at making it legal for smaller economies to import cheaper generics under international trade laws, a solution may be reached in the rush before the 13-18 December World Trade Organization ministerial…
A note to our readers: The December/January edition of Intellectual Property Watch’s Monthly Reporter is available on our website. The monthly publication, available online and in hard copy every month, features an updated compilation of top stories appearing on the…
An independent external audit of the finances of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is expected to be issued in early December, according to government sources in Geneva. The audit, being conducted by Ernst and Young in Geneva, was undertaken…
By Martin Vaughan for Intellectual Property Watch Andean countries in late November narrowed differences with the United States over intellectual property protections in negotiations over a US-Andean bilateral free trade agreement, but divisions over market access for agriculture have likely…
Members of the United States House of Representatives visited Geneva this week to learn more about ongoing trade negotiations and policy related to the possible avian influenza pandemic. The bipartisan group of Republicans and Democrats met on 28 November with…
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The issue of intellectual property did not make the headlines during the concluding session of the five-year-long UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis. And some critics are concerned it…
Least-developed members of the World Trade Organization on 29 November agreed to extend the transition period for implementing the WTO agreement on intellectual property rights by seven and a half years, a reduction by half of their original request. In…
The new draft text for the upcoming World Trade Organization ministerial in Hong Kong urges negotiators to intensify discussions of issues related to the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The 42-page draft is entitled the “Doha…
Member governments of the World Intellectual Property Organisation last week spent significant time discussing a proposal to include the delivery of broadcasts over the Internet in a treaty updating the rights of broadcasters. But the proposal appears to have almost…
Bern, Switzerland – A day-long conference of experts on health issues demonstrated the range of views in the debate on how developing countries should best address their public health needs through international policies. Dominique Sprumont of the University of Neuchâtel…
The World Trade Organization next week will reconvene a suspended meeting on unresolved intellectual property issues that sources say have moved little in the final weeks before the 13-18 December ministerial in Hong Kong. The 29 November meeting will consider…