Category Finance

In Break From Past Leadership Role, US Gov Largely Missing From Internet Governance Forum

The United States has been a steadfast supporter of the UN-led Internet Governance Forum since its inception over a decade ago, regularly bringing large and high-level delegations to the Forum. The US must have seen the forum as the lesser evil when governments from many continents pounded the desks during the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) conference in Tunis over the US special role in overseeing the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and thereby the heart of the domain name system, the root zone. But IGF 2017, held this week, saw a dramatic change in that regard.

A Canadian Billionaire’s Mysterious Death And The Effect On Access To Medicines

The mysterious death last week of Canadian billionaire Barry Sherman and his wife has raised many questions. For some, one question is what impact it will have on pharmaceutical competition in Canada, as his giant generic medicines company Apotex was seen as making a mark in access to medicines. It was also recalled that the company is the only one to have used an obscure provision of a World Trade Organization intellectual property agreement aimed at making more affordable medicines available in least developed countries.

US Decision On Net Neutrality Will Not Impact ICANN’s Work, ICANN CEO Says

Internet is almost an experiment, the CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers said today at the Internet Governance Forum. No one has ever built an internet before, he said, adding that between 3.5 and 4 billion people connect to the internet every day successfully, taking the technology for granted. He did not provide any comments on the recent United States decision ending net neutrality in the country, but said it will have no influence on ICANN’s work.

At Internet Governance Forum, Developing Countries Explain Need To Tread Carefully On E-Commerce Policy

Who does not like to have the possibility to shop online, or benefit from online services? No one disputes the advantage of the digital age, but in a world in which a very small number of actors, such as Google and Facebook, hosted by rich countries, reap most of the advertising benefits, developing countries are wary of binding rules which would only serve to enhance the digital and economic divide, according to speakers on an opening panel today at this week’s Internet Governance Forum.

Intellectual Property Rights In Trade – To Be Rethought?

After two decades of intellectual property regimes in trade agreements, one could have some second thoughts, according to a number of panellists at the Trade and Sustainable Development Symposium, organised by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and held alongside the 11th World Trade Organization Ministerial in Buenos Aires, Argentina this week.

WIPO Gives Overview Of Its Legislative Assistance To Developing Countries

The World Intellectual Property Organization provides legislative assistance to countries upon request. This week during the meeting of the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents, the secretariat explained how WIPO provides this legislative assistance. This followed a 2015 proposal to revise WIPO’s 1979 Model Law for developing countries on inventions. The proposal was not accepted by developed countries concerned over the extent of the task, and some pointing out that WIPO is delivering more effective tailored legislative assistance.

WTO Ministerial Unable To Cut Deals; Members Set Up Plurilateral Groups On E-Commerce, Other Issues

The 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC11) ended without a joint ministerial declaration and without progress in some of the important agenda points on the table. Instead several groups of “friends” announced they would push ahead independently, with 71 members including the United States and the European Union announcing they will “initiate exploratory work together toward future WTO negotiations on trade related aspects of electronic commerce.”

Greg Perry Resigns As Director Of Medicines Patent Pool

After nearly five years as the executive director of the Medicines Patent Pool, Greg Perry has stepped down with little notice. [Update: the next day, it was announced that he has joined the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) in Geneva.]

WIPO Committee On Development and IP Agrees On Future Work, Keeps Several Issues Open

The World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property in its latest meeting agreed on a list of items to be discussed at its next session. No consensus was found on a potential biennial conference on IP and development, but discussions are set to continue. The committee also agreed to a suggestion to invite the team conducting an independent review on the implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations to further explain some of their own recommendations.

Special Feature: 5G And Standard Essential Patents In The US

NEW YORK -- A panel at the recent IP Dealmakers Forum including a US Federal Trade Commission official, a former US judge on a key patent case, and a telecommunications industry licensing expert walked through issues and prospects for the coming of the 5G next generation wireless technology. Views differed on points but panellists agreed that changes are needed to the system for standard-essential patents, including a bigger role for standard-setting organisations. Below is an in-depth account of the discussion. The discussion also included the latest state-of-play at the FTC, which currently has its lowest number of commissioners ever.