Category Biodiversity/Genetic Resources/Biotech

US IP Attachés Take Hard-Line Position On Overseas IP Enforcement

By Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – Nations ranging from Brazil to Brunei to Russia are failing to properly protect the intellectual property assets of US companies and others, and international organisations are not doing enough to…

Document From WIPO Details Strategy On IP, Climate Change

By Kaitlin Mara
A draft document on climate change and intellectual property, prepared for informal consultations by the World Intellectual Property Organization and obtained by Intellectual Property Watch, shows WIPO poised to take a role in technical matters of IP and the global climate crisis.

Last-Minute Progress Made On Pandemic Flu; More Still To Come

By Kaitlin Mara Significant strides were made at last week’s World Health Organization meeting on pandemic influenza preparedness, as assembled delegates searched for – and found – a way to satisfy member states’ differing views on the need for access…

WHO Members Slow To Bridge Disagreements At Pandemic Flu Meeting

By Kaitlin Mara Four days into one-week “critical” negotiations on pandemic influenza preparedness, World Health Organization members had yet to tackle areas of core disagreement and participants were expressing doubt as to whether consensus can be achieved by week’s end.…

Technology, IP Vital To Addressing Climate Change, UN Meeting Hears

By Kaitlin Mara Finding a balance between needed incentives for innovation and equally needed affordable access to new technology is necessary to combat ecological challenges, yet striking it may prove difficult as countries at the United Nations’ talks on climate…

Generic Drugmakers, Activists Praise Lamy; Gurry Defends ‘Respect’ For IP

By William New Generic pharmaceutical producers have grown in importance in recent years despite or because of intellectual property rights, and at their annual meeting this week in Geneva they attracted the leaders of the primary intergovernmental institutions engaged in…

An Alternative Proposal For Enhancing Developing Country Access To Patented Medicines

By Wagdy Sawahel for Intellectual Property Watch An intellectual property model intended to preserve the structure of patent protection while adding balance for developing countries has been proposed to provide incentives for innovators to contribute toward the alleviation of suffering…

Droits de propriété intellectuelle et organismes génétiquement modifiés : une combinaison fatale selon les activistes

Par Catherine Saez L’extension des brevets aux organismes génétiquement modifiés (OGM) et leur production dans de nombreux pays menacent les droits des agriculteurs et la biodiversité, la sécurité alimentaire dépendant de plus en plus d’une poignée d’entreprises transnationales de biotechnologie,…

WHO Renews Delicate Effort On Pandemic Influenza Virus-Sharing

By Kaitlin Mara An avian influenza outbreak would be a public health disaster, but for the World Health Organization to adequately prepare for that risk, member states must come to a resolution on intellectual property issues related to virus and…