Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Brazil on 17 November proposed that the World Intellectual Property Organisation tie its draft treaty on broadcasters’ rights to a recently agreed treaty on cultural diversity that was seen as strengthening nations’ ability to control information flows across their borders.…
Lyon, France — The declaration that emerged from an international anti-piracy conference this week is a strong call for stepped-up efforts by industry and governments to bring about further protection of intellectual property rights, including greater powers for law enforcement…
By Steve Gibb for Intellectual Property Watch Washington, DC–A US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) plan to privatise a prestigious open-access environmental science journal is drawing criticism from Democrats in the US Congress and activists who say public…
The US biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences has ended its dispute with the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche regarding the right to the anti-influenza drug, Tamiflu (oseltamivir) “in the interest of working together to address public health needs,” Gilead announced today. Tamiflu…
Lyon, France—Calling counterfeit medicines a “form of terrorism against public health,” a senior Nigerian health official urged a 14-15 November international conference in Lyon, France to support the adoption of an international convention to fight the problem. “I urge this…
The last time the UN World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) copyright committee met it ended in acrimony, with still-bitter memories for some member governments who argued their objections to the outcome were wrongly ignored. But after a year and numerous…
Citing a need to change the debate on intellectual property issues, another US trade association has added Geneva to its list of lobbying stops. The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) has expanded its presence in Europe in recent years mainly…
Lyon, France–Japan has proposed an international treaty to combat worldwide counterfeiting and piracy, complementing the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The proposal came at a 14-15 November conference near Interpol headquarters in Lyon,…
To get a sense of how this week’s second UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunisia is different from the first WSIS held two years ago, one need only talk to a US technology industry lobbyist who…
Consumers worldwide are being left in the dark as to governments’ stockpiles in case of an avian influenza pandemic, and the pharmaceutical industry has been unclear about the medicine supplies available, concluded an intellectual property right panel in Geneva recently.…
Panelists at a Geneva workshop on intellectual property issues related to a possible avian influenza pandemic argued that IP rules and prices could make it difficult for nations to prepare sufficient stockpiles. Panelists argued that practical problems could arise with…
The World Health Organisation does not think patents will stand in the way of an effective public health action in the event of an outbreak of avian flu in humans because pharmaceutical companies have showed a willingness to co-operate, a…