Original news and analysis on international IP policy
In response to a report published on 3 April by civil society group No Patent on Seeds alleging that industry and patent examiners in the European Patent Office are finding legal loopholes to grant patents on seeds and plants, an EPO spokesperson told Intellectual Property Watch the patent office does not "apply tricks" to grant patents.
The United States is known for taking an unusually expansive approach towards patentable subject matter. Compared with Western Europe, for instance, the US has been far readier to grant patents on business methods, medical diagnostic processes, and human genes.
Using on-the-ground research in Africa and the Netherlands, the authors of a recent book looked at the impact of intellectual property on agriculture and health in developing countries. The study made some surprise findings in relation to IP and development, such as IP-related obstacles to knowledge and technology transfer.
PARIS - A meeting of IP professionals held in Paris last week reaffirmed the importance of intellectual property and its protection to the private sector. Meanwhile, panellists at the event argued that green technologies should not benefit from a special regime. They also hailed the new America Invents Act as facilitating patent applications in the United States.
The World Intellectual Property Organization has waded into the global debates over access to safe drinking water, with an upcoming workshop on patents and water purification technologies.
A collegium of scientists, philosophers and former heads of state launched an appeal yesterday in Geneva for world governance they called "Global Solidarity, Global Responsibility."
After eight days of intensive drafting work, delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization now have a text that will be submitted to the WIPO General Assemblies in September so that a diplomatic conference can be decided upon to finish negotiations on an international instrument protecting genetic resources from misappropriation.
The International Indigenous Forum, in an unprecedented collective move, decided yesterday to withdraw from the discussions of the WIPO Committee on Genetic Resources taking place from 14-22 February. The move calls into question the legitimacy of the negotiations.
The development of an international instrument on the protection of genetic resources continues to engage government delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Sources have called the process constructive and meeting Chair Wayne McCook, the permanent representative of Jamaica, said delegations were very engaged in the exercise. But a sharp divide remains on several subjects.
Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on genetic resources and traditional knowledge today began work on a single text that pulls together all preceding proposals. The committee is working under a mandate to develop international instruments on the protection of these resources. Meanwhile, the United States and several others have initiated an effort to agree to an “early harvest” of areas of convergence on objectives and principles only.
Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization, in the company of indigenous groups from around the world, have entered into eight days of intensive negotiations to try to agree on a draft text for an instrument on the protection of genetic resources.
A new paper from the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) offers ideas on addressing misappropriation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge at the World Intellectual Property Organization.