Category Lobbying

New Geneva Delegates For Canada, Panama

New delegates have arrived to Geneva just in time for the annual Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization trade ministerial. Geneva Delegates Zoraida Rodríguez, Deputy Permanent Representative to the World Intellectual Property Organization and…

TTIP Could Lead To Jobs, Access To Better Drugs, Says Pharma

The trade negotiation between Europe and the United States relating to a wide range of trade and investment policies could lead to greater job creation and access to innovative medicines, according to senior European and American pharmaceutical business leaders and academics.

Top US Lawmakers On Trade Urge Action On India’s Treatment Of IPRs

The top members of US Congress and the Senate responsible for international trade issues today urged the Obama administration to push for changes to India’s handling of intellectual property rights and technology. The United States and India are preparing for…

Health Advocates Press United States On WTO LDC IP Waiver

Several leading public health groups have sent a letter to United States Trade Representative and US Patent and Trademark Office director asking for more transparency on the US position on a request by least-developed countries to indefinitely extend their World Trade Organization intellectual property waiver on pharmaceutical products.

Assange, Manning, Snowden At The Door Of The UN In Geneva

The Place des Nations, home to the United Nations in Geneva, is adorned with a temporary exhibition this week. The work of Italian artist Davide Dormino representing Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden was inaugurated this morning.

Former USPTO Director Kappos: Inventors Giving Up On Patent System After 200 Years

In a clarion call to policymakers, former United States Patent and Trademark Director David Kappos said recently that this year’s unprovoked drop in patent filings in the United States is unprecedented and signals a shift toward more secrecy by inventors trying to protect their ideas. Meanwhile, the US trend toward antitrust actions at home is having deleterious effects for US businesses overseas, he said.

Global IP Community: Eventful Season For Career Changes

The past few months have been eventful for career changes in the international intellectual property community. Here is a look at some of the changes in governments, international organisations, NGOs/academia, private sector and law offices.

IP Experts Kick Off UC Berkeley Innovation Centre With Calls For Change

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA -- “There’s one thing we’re very good at in this nation, and that’s innovation,” Tusher Center Director and Professor David Teece said recently in setting the tone for a day of discussions inspired by the launch of the new center at the University of California at Berkeley.

NGOs Call Out Switzerland For Pressuring Colombia On Compulsory Licences; Switzerland Replies

Civil society groups are calling on the Swiss government to refrain from putting pressure on developing countries wishing to manufacture generic medicines without the consent of the patent holder. The groups allege that the Swiss government tried to unduly influence Colombia to not take such a step, though it is permitted by international trade rules.

The Swiss government, for its part, says it participated in a public consultation in Colombia and merely underlined that negotiations between governments and original manufacturers are a better way to go than a compulsory licence.