From The IGF: Next Steps In Open Source? Open Source Hardware
Open source software today has won in some ways, activists said at the regular Open Source Software Workshop at the 12th Internet Governance Forum in Geneva today.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Category Human Rights
A Digital Geneva Convention: Nobel Prize-Worthy Or Dangerous?
Microsoft on 19 December presented its Digital Geneva Convention during the 12th Internet Governance Forum in Geneva. With cybersecurity being one of the top issues at the forum, the company received a lot of interest for the idea of developing the convention as a multi-stakeholder draft. But there were also voices of caution from individual governments as well network-operating people.
US Court Strikes Down Bar On Scandalous Trademarks
Yet another part of US trademark law is dead. On Friday, a US appellate court struck down a statutory provision that prohibited the registration of immoral or scandalous marks. The decision was almost inevitable, after a recent Supreme Court ruling applying the US Constitution’s free speech guarantees to trademark law. And it is likely to be followed by further successful court challenges to America’s trademark law.
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.
Internet Governance Forum Opening: Wish List For An Open, Trustworthy, Accessible Internet
The Internet Governance Forum opened yesterday at the United Nations in Geneva, coming back to its origins, and as the opening ceremony resounded with Swiss alphorn, speakers insisted on the urgency to find fresh solutions to internet-related new issues. Cyber security, digital divide, influence of private companies, lack of digital literacy, the challenges are numerous, and solutions require a multi-stakeholder collective effort, the speakers said in unison.
Governments Must Provide More Transparency In Trade Negotiations, Coalition Says At IGF
The Internet Governance Forum Dynamic Coalition on Trade and the Internet, a group formed in 2016, held its formal inaugural meeting today and adopted a resolution on transparency in trade negotiations, in particular on trade rules that affect the online and digital environment.
Internet Content Control Is Here, UN Special Rapporteur Warns IGF
“Internet content regulation is coming, in fact it is already here,” said David Kaye, United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, during a panel organised by the Global Network Initiative on day one of the 12th Internet Governance Forum in Geneva this week.
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.
G-Finder Report: Global Funding For R&D In Neglected Diseases Increasing, Overreliance On US Funding Dangerous
A report released today on global funding of research and development for neglected diseases found that global funding has increased but warns that overreliance on funding from the United States, which the report says is "unparalleled," and leads to a heavy concentration of global funding on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. This overreliance could also lead to change in total global funding, the report found.
WHO, World Bank Say Half The World Population Cannot Access Essential Health Services
According to a report released today by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, at least half the world's population is lacking access to essential health services. Out of pocket expenses related to health care are pushing millions of people into extreme poverty each year, the report says. Both organisations say they are committed to working with countries to increase access to essential health services.
Analysis: As Biosimilar Of Key Cancer Drug Spreads, Where Is The Price Reduction?
The first biosimilar of the blockbuster breast cancer drug trastuzumab is being prepared for launch in United States, following a decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve it earlier this month. The product, Ogivri, has been created by a joint venture between US Mylan and Indian company Biocon.
International Labour Organization Orders Reinstatement Of EPO Appeals Judge
In an extraordinary 6 December session, the UN International Labour Organization Administrative Tribunal (ILOAT) handed down five decisions involving the European Patent Office (EPO), one of which reinstated a suspended Board of Appeals judge. The cases are just “the tip of the iceberg,” said the Staff Union of the EPO (SUEPO).