Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Anticipating a degree of uncertainty ahead for the global economy and intellectual property system, the World Intellectual Property Organization in a new six-year strategic plan looks at likely future policy debates, a focus on infrastructure and training, and possible ways to bring about better negotiations at the UN agency.
Hosting a regional or national office of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization seems to be a high prize for WIPO members, 18 of which have submitted hosting proposals to be considered at the WIPO Program and Budget Committee next week. Most of those 18 countries are developing nations and all sought to demonstrate their commitment to intellectual property rights and IPR protection, with some underlining the importance of considering level of development. According to regional press reports, Algeria and Nigeria have been selected by the African region to host the two African external offices.
The review of a World Health Organization mechanism for sharing pandemic influenza viruses while ensuring access to vaccines for developing countries is nearing conclusion. Next week, the reviewers will hold their last meeting, including an open session for governments and stakeholders to share views. The review is addressing issues such as the mechanism’s relationship with other international rules, and how to handle the rising use of genetic data instead of biological samples.
Fluent in both types of IP: Scott Bradner has been an architect of intellectual property (IP) policy for internet protocol (IP) standards. He played a core role in the development of internet protocol, leading to the very digital revolution we know today, as well as the next generation IPv6, all the while designing intellectual property policy to go along with it. Here is an interview with Bradner.
BANGKOK - Thailand has enforced a new law to promote using intellectual property as loan collateral, an effort likely to make intellectual property a more valuable asset for its holders. But experts caution that the country still lacks the infrastructure of a viable IP market.
Israel has emerged as the world’s second-largest exporter of cyber security services behind the United States, as data attacks are increasingly becoming a threat to intellectual property ownership.
There are many, many committees, councils, panels, meetings, receptions, conferences, assemblies - not to mention countless private lunches, coffees and other contacts - during the year in Geneva that address policy issues related to intellectual property, innovation, research & development and the like. Intellectual Property Watch provides an indispensable, up-to-date list of who you need to talk to when you want to get the message across or follow the action.
With a budget of over 2 US$ billion, the Brazilian Olympics rely heavily on commercial sponsors and licensing for revenue. Protecting the Olympic symbols is thus an imperative for the games with stringent rules on the use of those symbols and related signs. However, the fame of the event also draws covetousness from a variety of commercial actors seeking free rides, which is a dangerous endeavour, according to legal sources. Brazil adopted special rules for the occasion, while in the United States the protection is particularly stringent.
It is too soon to say precisely what impact the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union might have on Britain's audiovisual sector, but among other things, Brexit could bring changes to the scope of copyright law and protections, rights clearance, online AV services and content creation, lawyers said.
Projects aimed at creating a more interoperable international trademark system are moving forward, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office and the Japan Patent Office (JPO). Among those in the works are the USPTO-led TM5 ID List Project, which USPTO Commissioner for Trademarks Mary Boney Denison said will lead to faster processing of high-quality trademarks around the world.