Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The World Health Organization secretariat has released its report to the executive board meeting on pandemic influenza preparedness. A framework for handling outbreaks of potentially pandemic influenza was approved in May this year, but outstanding – and critical - elements of the framework remained unfinished.
How to handle work between meetings on creating a "legal instrument" caused a stalemate in informal negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization traditional knowledge committee this evening. Unable to reach agreement on the composition and activities of the group, delegates have put the negotiations on hold and will reconvene informally tomorrow (Friday) morning.
COPENHAGEN - A new draft climate change text on development and transfer of technology, obtained by Intellectual Property Watch and available to subscribers, was issued and under discussion at COP15 this afternoon.
Confidential documents related to the World Health Organization Expert Working Group on innovative financing for research and development surfaced today, revealing the group’s thinking as well as pharmaceutical industry thinking about the WHO process. The documents immediately raised concern about possible undue access to the process by industry, but the WHO told Intellectual Property Watch the industry group was not supposed to have them.
COPENHAGEN - While intellectual property rights has been ‘the elephant in the room’ in the climate change negotiations so far, officials predict that it could become the subject of heated negotiations - even at a higher political level - during the ongoing high-level meeting in Copenhagen. On the third day of the meeting, IP issues had already appeared in a proposed negotiation text.
The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) today announced the appointment of a new director of intellectual property and trade, effective 7 December. Meanwhile, in the United States, new coordinator for IP enforcement has been cleared.
The Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, and Folklore (IGC) at the World Intellectual Property Organization began its first meeting under a newly-minted mandate yesterday, though it seems matters of procedure may again take up much of the space for discussions, according to several delegates.
An expert working group on innovative financing for research and development, meeting under the auspices of the World Health Organization, held its third and final meeting last week, with a report from the secretive group expected to be released to member states in the coming weeks, according to sources.
US software giant Microsoft said Thursday that users globally have started to join the fight against software piracy by sending in over 150,000 reports about problems with fake Microsoft products over the last two years.
European Union governments have unanimously approved a roadmap for a single European patent regime. The system is seen as key to making patenting less expensive and more efficient for European inventors, but the devil, as always, is in the details, stakeholders say.