Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Marrakesh, Morocco - Negotiators were still hard at work here at press time trying to reach the deadline of tomorrow set by the president of the diplomatic conference, to get agreed language to a drafting committee tasked with delivering a treaty text. The treaty is intended to confer on visually impaired people a wider access to books by providing exceptions to copyrighted works in special format.
Lisbon, Portugal - The surveillance affair around the US Prism programme left its mark on the 2013 European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) in Lisbon last week. Legal experts at the sixth edition of the European version of the Internet Governance Forum pondered possible legal reactions, companies revealed as targets or (unwilling) partners of the programme tried to limit the damage, while Swedish ambassador Olaf Ehrenkrona admitted that state surveillance programs need to be reconsidered given the ease of mass surveillance in the era of a public internet space.
The Obama administration and academic and industry partners today announced their commitment to support the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), a public-private endeavor whose aim is to reduce the time required to develop novel materials that can “fuel advanced manufacturing and bolster the 21st century American economy.”
Leader of the newly formed Renewables Club and rated as a world leader in the green energy race, South Africa has done little to secure this advantage with intellectual property rights of its own.
Marrakesh, Morocco - A breakthrough was reached over the weekend in the World Intellectual Property Organization negotiations to provide more access to visually impaired people, according to participating sources. Agreement appears to have been struck on the controversial issue of restrictions to the exceptions to copyright that the treaty is proposing to establish.
This summer through September, a restructuring is taking place under the World Health Organization Health Systems and Innovation cluster that has relevance for intellectual property and innovation issues.
A Harvard University professor known for advancing global development issues hails the merits of agricultural innovation, including biotechnologies, as the unique solution to food security.
Central American, Caribbean, and African economies have the most “inventor brain drain” in relation to the number of home country inventors, according to a recent working paper released by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Data for the study included information on inventor nationality and residence available in Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications.
Pop star Stevie Wonder was a surprise guest this morning at the plenary session of the World Intellectual Property Organization diplomatic conference in Marrakesh concocting a treaty to facilitate access for blind people to books. The president of the diplomatic conference also exhorted delegates to bridge gaps and reach consensus.
In its recently released Supply Annual Report for 2012, the United Nations agency UNICEF assessed its programme work in developing and strengthening supply chains, in hopes of achieving equitable access to life-saving supplies for children and women. The report found that UNICEF procured supplies and services valued at $2.468 billion, with India being the largest supplier country to UNICEF in 2012.
A large portion of the United States Congress this week signed on to a letter to President Obama criticising India for its treatment of intellectual property rights.
For several years, research at the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law (MPI) – in collaboration with experts from all over the world – has examined the trend of bilateral and regional agreements that include provisions on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.