Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The World Trade Organization today adopted a permanent amendment to international trade law that will make it easier for poor countries exposed to health emergencies to import cheaper generic versions of patented medicines if they are not able to produce…
As negotiators at the World Trade Organization gather Tuesday to try to agree on a waiver to intellectual property trade rules for public health purposes, an increasing number of non-negotiators are telling them to wait out of concern for the…
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…
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…
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…