Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The head of the Brazilian intellectual property office was recently removed by the new Culture minister, replaced by an official who has some wondering if a swing toward stronger copyright protection is in the works for the government.
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is holding the fourth regular session of its Governing Body this week in Bali, Indonesia.
A key Geneva-based public-private initiative to increase global vaccination has named a new CEO.
US President Obama today nominated current US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to be ambassador to China. US intellectual property rights holders see it as a positive contribution to what they see as a fight against massive piracy and counterfeiting from China.
A number of law firms and a key trademark industry group have made changes in recent weeks aimed at boosting their intellectual property practices.
The new international agreement on access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources has many IP implications, according to panellists at an event last week. And at least one United Nations agency is launching an effort to help countries with those IP implications.
Country experts this week took up the challenge of doing the groundwork for negotiations towards a treaty on the protection of genetic resources at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Breaking uncharacteristically early on the final day today, the experts’ work delivered a set of options reflecting all points of views for negotiators to work from.
A new draft document was issued yesterday by a drafting group of experts at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The drafting group was in charge of cleaning up a text with aspirations to become a draft international instrument on the protection of genetic resources, and added a number of options for a possible treaty.
Patentable subject matter was discussed this week at the World Trade Organization with entrenched positions, according to sources, and the momentum started in October on ways to improve a public health exception within the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, appeared to have lost some steam.
The Motion Picture Association of America, the influential US film industry group, has landed a highly regarded former US senator as its next chairman and chief executive officer.