Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Geographical indications can provide socio-economic benefits for developing countries, said speakers at a side event to the World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) this week.
Member governments will discuss the development dimension of the World Intellectual Property Organization next week, looking in particular at how the United Nations organisation is implementing the recommendations of its Development Agenda in its activities.
An industry proposal calling for a harmonised procedure to simplify applications for new varieties of plants and heighten intellectual property protection stirred debate at the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) last month.
CAPE TOWN - Pharmaceutical patents and access to medicines was the focus of an animated panel discussion by experts offering divergent views on the topic at intellectual property group FICPI’s 2015 World Congress, currently underway in Cape Town, South Africa.
NEW YORK - A recent panel of internet governance experts was divided on whether a primary global set of principles protecting the balance of power on the internet is needed.
The concept of public domain was born out of the intellectual property system, according to some. However, what constitutes the public domain depends on national interpretations. A recent seminar organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization was an occasion for speakers from diverse horizons to present their experience in the context of traditional knowledge and genetic resources. The relevance of a disclosure requirement in patent application to prevent wrongful patents was also discussed. [Note: Article 2 of 2]
The IDA Foundation, a worldwide supplier of essential medicines to low-and medium income countries, has backed the request by least-developed countries to extend a waiver that allows them to forfeit the obligations to protect intellectual property on pharmaceutical products. UNITAID, the UN-related drug purchasing mechanism, also issued a statement in support of the extension. The request is expected to be discussed at the World Trade Organization in June.
This year is an auspicious moment for the World Trade Organization and the multilateral trading system, WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo told journalists today. In particular, he said, the WTO, after a hiatus last year, is implementing the results of the 2013 Bali agreement on trade facilitation and finalising work on the work programme to conclude the Doha Round of trade liberalisation negotiations.
Today, the World Intellectual Property Organization released the 2014 numbers of filings for its systems for patents, trademarks, and industrial designs, which form the basis of the revenue of the UN organisation. Filings under the three systems grew in 2014, with a notable presence of telecom companies in patent filing activity. Except for China, top filers in the three systems are developed countries. Also noted was that so far, the significant increase in internet domain names has only led to a slight rise in new domain dispute cases.
WARSAW - In a move towards increased regional cooperation in the field of intellectual property, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have signed an agreement to set up the Visegrad Patent Institute (VPI). And representatives of the parties to the agreement say that their ambitions reach further, towards ensuring the recently-established body becomes a regional hub for patent cooperation in Central-Eastern Europe.
On 5 March, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) in collaboration with Oxford University’s Global Economic Governance Programme (GEG) hosted an event in Geneva to discuss challenges and issues in intellectual property governance.
KAMPALA, UGANDA - In light of the persistence of the Ebola outbreak and the demands it has placed on global infection containment resources and processes, the United States government disaster response community recognised an opportunity to use open innovation to make significant strides in advancing the ability to combat Ebola. The results include a local success story.