Category Finance

Artist Resale Right Does Not Seem To Affect Art Market, Economic Study At WIPO Says

A few days after a Leonardo da Vinci painting shattered the record for the most expensive artwork ever sold at Christie’s auction house in New York, the question of resale right for visual artists was discussed at the World Intellectual Property Organization. According to researchers, the establishment of a resale right in a particular country, which benefits the artist when her work is resold at a much higher value, is likely to have no negative effects on the country’s art market. The United States and China, the two largest global art markets, have not implemented the resale right yet.

Rise Of Global Value Chains Propels Intangible Capital Revenues, WIPO Report Says

A World Intellectual Property Organization report released today shows the growing global importance of intangible capital and its share in the value of end products. The report does not however provide a geographical repartition of this value, nor who actually owns the returns on intangible capital. Three case studies shed light on different production areas: coffee, smart phones, and solar panels.

Special Report: A Look Behind Hepatitis C Patent Challenges Worldwide

A case at the High Court in India set for 15 December could decide whether a patent on some of the most important drugs to fight hepatitis C should be removed. It is one of many attempts to challenge patents on hepatitis C drugs in various countries around the world and serves as an opportunity to learn more about the group leading the legal case.

USPTO’s Revised Patent Fee Schedule Raises Price Of IPR Process

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today issued changes to some patent fees, including increases in certain areas, including the cost of using the inter partes review process. Following feedback from users, the office went with some proposed increases, while keeping others at existing levels despite proposals to increase them, it said.

Geneva Buzzing With Ideas And Events For International Entrepreneurship Week

A weeklong event next week has been co-organised and sponsored by a number of Geneva actors, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and the University of Geneva, as well as lesser known groups and projects, to celebrate the international week of entrepreneurship.

Hepatitis C Buyers’ Clubs Grow Worldwide As A Way To Obtain Affordable Treatment

Hidden amongst the thousands of Facebook pages given over to holiday snaps and gossip are groups of patients who have hepatitis C, a disease that affects more than 70 million worldwide and kills around 400,000 people a year. But importantly, these groups of patients from Russia to Australia have got together to help each other import a relatively new class of drug that is able to cure most of the patients who take it.

New WHO 5-Year Programme Is Out. In The Recipe? SDGs, Access To Medicines, Innovation, Better Health For All

The new leadership of the World Health Organization today issued its draft new programme of work for the next five years. The programme depicts new orientations for the global health actor, starting with the alignment of the programme with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and universal health coverage. The organisation also commits to help establish policies promoting access to health products, including generic medicines, innovation, and fair pricing. The WHO is set to help address innovation barriers, and to step up its global leadership, but asks that its members actually fully finance the budget that they approve.

Group Of Nations Seeks To Boost Help For Small Companies At WTO

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises represent the bulk of the global economic fabric, but they face many impediments to joining the global marketplace. An informal group of countries is bringing the conversation into the World Trade Organization, to see how it can help small companies integrate international trade. They submitted a draft decision for the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference in December. A workshop this week looked at challenges and possible remedies at the national and international level.

E-Commerce Needs Special Rules, WTO The Place For It, Officials Say

Electronic commerce is flourishing, but countries are not benefitting equally from this windfall. An event held this week at the World Trade Organization looked at the role of the WTO in the establishment of global rules for e-commerce, while WTO member states themselves disagree on the urgency to establish a new work programme, just weeks before the next WTO ministerial.