Original news and analysis on international IP policy
World Intellectual Property Organization members this week agreed to a year-long plan to intensively negotiate for a legal instrument(s) on the protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore. Next year’s annual WIPO assembly in October will decide on whether to schedule a diplomatic conference to finalise the instrument.
The Union Cabinet of India has approved ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing, a measure that provides a tool against biopiracy. The 4 October action comes on the eve of the 11th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The United States government has announced the release of more than $2.4 million in grants to 13 US jurisdictions for stronger enforcement of intellectual property rights.
The nine countries asked by a United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur to respond to a complaint over the alleged secret and bureaucratic negotiations for the draft Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement either failed to respond or defended the backdoor talks, according to the advocacy group Knowledge Ecology International (KEI).
The World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body today established a panel to review a complaint filed by Ukraine against Australia for a tobacco plain-packaging law aimed at discouraging tobacco use.
World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry has issued a call for new efforts to ensure copyright remains viable and to win the hearts and minds of the public toward intellectual property rights. The comments came in a broader context of maintaining the relevance of the organisation on the eve of the annual WIPO General Assembly.
The arrest of the president of Google's operations in Brazil is the latest in a string of court decisions to test the neutrality stance of the search giant. Since its beginnings, Google has seen itself as an internet middleman, insisting that it should not be held legally liable for any defamatory or infringing content posted by its users.
Trade associations representing creators, performers and producers of literary works in Europe have reiterated in a joint declaration issued today that manufacturers of copying devices should continue paying for copyright levies amid efforts to abolish the controversial remuneration model.
In a bold and unprecedented move, the ruling coalition of Germany has come to the rescue of the beleaguered news publishing industry by pushing for the enactment of a related right to copyright that would ask commercial aggregators to pay publishers for their use of headlines and extracts of news articles.
Fritz Attaway, a fighter for copyright in the international legal and policy trenches for nearly four decades has retired, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced today.
Cobus Jooste writes: In this special report, the VineOracle (IPStell’s personal pundit on all things IP) brings news (and her own brand of predictions) for the aesthetically minded visitor. And it’s a star-studded cast of high-flyers (and fast swimmers) from Paris and New York representing some of the most exclusive brands. But do not be fooled by the A-list members on call, from what the VineOracle hears, these celebrities are prone to IP rights violations aplenty.
The use of a country name by third party with no association with the country can have a severe impact on a developing country’s economy, according to the governments of Jamaica and Barbados. The two Caribbean nations are asking this week that the World Intellectual Property Organization undertake a study on the protection of country names in the context of the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT).