Original news and analysis on international IP policy
An African civil society group has voiced concerns about the takeover by giant multinational seed companies of home-grown African seed companies, the latest of which involves Africa’s SeedCo.
Over 50 organisations have co-signed a letter to the International Plant Treaty calling for it to safeguard the implementation of farmers’ rights in the context of joint activities with the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).
Applicants to the European “Innovation Communities” initiative have until 10 September to submit joint innovation proposals in the areas of healthy aging and raw materials. The aim is to create new organisations compliant with the European grant programme Horizon 2020, which will operate under flexible intellectual property rights’ policies in collaborative innovation projects.
The World Health Organization this week is holding its first conference on health and climate change. The major objective of the conference is to raise awareness on the impact of climate change on health, according to the WHO, which said it aims to strengthen its voice in the debate.
A European Union-funded initiative is seeking to strengthen the links between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the research community on environmental technologies.
The Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources will enter into force on 12 October, following the ratification of 12 more countries last week.
The World Intellectual Property Organization is currently engaged in an unprecedented process for the selection of the new top management team to serve under recently re-elected Director General Francis Gurry. The open call for applicants resulted in some 360 applications from around the world, including from the upper echelons of WIPO itself, according to sources.
The International Seed Treaty held a celebratory high-level event recently to mark the tenth anniversary of its entry into force.
Members of the World Trade Organization today opened negotiations on the liberalisation of environmental technologies or "green goods."
A group of African civil society institutions is calling for a revision of the draft protocol on plant variety protection of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation.
An amendment to elevate the status of geographical indications at the World Intellectual Property Organization appears to be on track for a high-level final negotiation in 2015 after a meeting last week.
A corporate sustainability-centred model of governance is the subject of a new report issued by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Finance Initiative, a UN-private sector initiative.