Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Concerned by the ever-increasing influx of counterfeit and pirated goods into Europe, European Union member states on 9 October backed a new customs action plan for 2018-2022. The first step will be a roadmap for implementation from the European Commission (EC) by next spring.
Developing country members are asking to have more representation in the World Intellectual Property Organization governing bodies, and the issue is taking on increased importance as one of the committees will play a key role in the election of the next WIPO director general in 2020.
The US Supreme Court often decides momentous cases. And then there’s Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com. Many experts view this case as little more than a tempest in a teapot. However, the suit will resolve a legal dispute that has simmered for over 30 years, and it highlights some important copyright issues that are unique to the US.
For ecommerce, just who should be making the rules was raised by a number of speakers at a session of this week’s 2018 World Trade Organization Public Forum entitled, “Ecommerce 2030: Enabling an inclusive future for e-commerce.”
The annual World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies closed yesterday after 10 days of negotiations. Committee reports and audit and oversight reports were noted to the satisfaction of member states. The Assembly however had no choice yesterday but to push some off for another year to its next meeting in 2019. The composition of two governing bodies of the organisation, a potential treaty on industrial designs, and the location of new WIPO external offices are expected to be the subject of informal consultations until the next WIPO General Assembly. The governing body composition has bearing on the 2020 election of director general.
What will trade look like in 2030? This is the topic of the 2018 World Trade Organization Public Forum opening today. During the discussion opening the forum, WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo said technological evolution cannot be stopped and should be shaped so it can yield the best results. Alibaba founder Jack Ma invited governments to build infrastructure to help ecommerce and stop trying to regulate it.
Miguel Ángel Margáin, Director General of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, took office in early 2013, and was in Geneva for the annual World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies. William New of Intellectual Property Watch sat down with him for an interview. He spoke about achievements of the office during this administration, major amendments to adhere to global treaties and changes in the NAFTA, the introduction of geographical indications, and the ascendance of IP rights in Latin America.
Protecting an invention or a creation with intellectual property rights is only truly effective if inventors and creators can enforce those rights. Small and medium sized enterprises find it difficult and costly to go to court to sue potential infringers of their IP rights, and most time, just renounce, according to speakers at a panel on the side of the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies this week. A much cheaper and quicker route than going to court is to seek dispute resolution through a dedicated service, the panellists said.
World Intellectual Property Organization members today reached consensus on the way forward on a potential treaty protecting broadcasting organisations from signal theft, elevating the prospect of a high-level diplomatic negotiating meeting on the horizon.
After two days of general statements, World Intellectual Property Organization delegates delved into more substantial subjects, and convened in small closed informal discussions to try to solve issues left open during the year. Among them is the composition of WIPO Coordination Committee and Program and Budget Committee, both WIPO governing bodies. Others include potential treaties on harmonising international applications by industrial designs creators, and on the protection of broadcasting organisations against signal theft.