Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Access to medicines in developing countries may be put at risk by European customs regulations and more broadly by trade provisions in most free trade agreements between developed and developing countries, said speakers at the recent World Trade Organization Public Forum.
Sixty years after its foundation, the Council of Europe is reconsidering its role and place in the architecture of European institutions. One new development is the drafting of a convention against medicines counterfeiting.
Starting on 1 December, the central root zone of the internet domain name system (DNS) will be given digital signatures based on the protocol DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) in an effort to make the internet more secure. Once signed with…
The economic, climate and food crises were on the lips of speakers at the 2009 World Trade Organization Public Forum last week. Suggestions for better global governance were sought from stakeholders who took the podium in different sessions, and trade in agriculture was a focal point of the event.
COPENHAGEN - A panel discussing the copyright challenges posed by social media at a recent conference in Iceland concluded that while new and stricter regulations as proposed in France may not be a bad idea, the best solution is to provide consumers with quality services for which they are willing to pay. Meanwhile, there are new developments at the European level.
BANGKOK – Delegates gathered in Thailand to try and pull together a slow-moving UN negotiation on a plan to fight climate change have yet to bridge fundamental conceptual differences on key issues, including intellectual property. The vast majority of consensus found so far at the two-week informal gathering has been textual rather than political, said several participants.
The 2009 edition of the United Nations telecommunications agency annual summit opened its doors yesterday, bringing together government, industry leaders, and other stakeholders in a networking effort to address global challenges in the information society. Meanwhile, the head of the UN intellectual property agency took a shot at internet service providers and the need for stronger copyright protection.
The new work plan for negotiations for the coming months at the World Trade Organization includes intellectual property issues that some members say are critical to any outcome in the current round of trade negotiations.
The United States Congress and biotechnology industry are currently focused on healthcare reform, but biotech is also looking to the future at energy reform, patent reform and other intellectual property-related legislative priorities still on its agenda.
BANGKOK – Protection of intellectual property should not be a barrier in transferring technology needed by developing countries in helping them cope with the effects of climate change as most of the technology is currently publicly available, a key negotiator of the issue has said.
Anti-counterfeiting initiatives might have a negative impact on access to medicines while not addressing the problem of fake medicines, particularly in developing countries, according to panellists at a recent event organised by the Open Society Institute.
After a year of stalled deliberations on the issue of protecting traditional knowledge, genetic resources, and traditional cultural expressions, delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies on Thursday found a compromise text that gives the committee its strongest mandate yet.