WIPO To Open Its Doors To Public For First Time Ever
The World Intellectual Property Organization is opening its doors to the public on Saturday for a glimpse at the organisation’s activities, during its first-ever “open day.”
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Category Biodiversity/Genetic Resources/Biotech
Conference Debates Strategic Patenting, Innovation & Public Health
MUNICH - Whether strengthening patent protection and extending data exclusivity is the way to more innovation in the pharmaceutical and diagnostic sector was the subject of a recent conference here.
Biotechnology Consultant To Lead WIPO Global Challenges Division
A leader for the World Intellectual Property Organization Global Challenges Division - tasked with connecting intellectual property to critical issues such as public health, food security, and climate change - has been named more than a year and a half after the division's creation.
WIPO Traditional Knowledge Committee Agrees To Intensify Text-Based Negotiations
A meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources drew to a close today with an unusual ending: applause, and an agreement.
WIPO Traditional Knowledge Committee Moving Toward Legal Agreement
A World Intellectual Property Organization committee tasked with finding an international instrument to prevent the misappropriation of traditional knowledge, folklore, and genetic resources has begun in earnest text-based discussions and is now working to find an agreement on extra meetings intended to speed the process towards creating an international legal instrument.
Biotech Convention Pays Homage To IP, Pledges To Increase Access To Medicine
Intellectual property rights and access to medicines were on the agenda at the first day of a biotechnology industry group’s annual convention yesterday. The group held a panel on IP rights and also released a policy statement on access to medicine in developing countries. The director of the US Patent and Trademark Office commented positively on the initiative.
Health Initiative Proposes Rewarding Innovation On Impact Results; Some See Hurdles
An alternative initiative to promote access to medicine with a method mimicking market mechanisms means to create additional incentives for health innovation, authors of the proposal said yesterday. But other health actors have reservations.
A public event was organised yesterday to discuss how the Health Impact Fund (HIF) could fit within existing structures and what challenges it could face.
WIPO Traditional Knowledge Committee Opens With Hope For Text-Based Talks
Negotiators at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week will address longstanding efforts by many WIPO members to begin in earnest text-based negotiations for a tool to better protect traditional knowledge and genetic resources.
Panellists See Critical Moment For International Policy On Biodiversity And Trade
Negotiations to protect and preserve biodiversity are in a delicate place, as proponents of stronger protection attempt to navigate parallel discussions at different intergovernmental agencies.
Biodiversity: Bountiful Source For Cosmetics, But Needs Respect, Group Says
PARIS- The cosmetics industry is about beauty, but it is also increasingly about biodiversity as consumers show a growing awareness of environmental issues and the loss of biodiversity. As a wishful wink to the 10th meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya in October 2010, the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT) held a conference at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris on 15 April.
Geneva Health Forum Addresses Biotech, Trade, Pandemic Flu
Biotechnology, international trade, and pandemic influenza were among the topics discussed at the outset of this year’s Geneva Health Forum.
UN Claims Victory In Biodiversity Talks, But Outcome Not Certain
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity last month hailed Cali, Colombia as the birthplace of a protocol they hope will lead to an international regime on access and benefit-sharing by their October 2010 deadline. But, while it is clear the late March negotiation in Cali brought significant progress, participants reported difficult disagreements and in the final days, signs that there is yet more work to be done.