Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Negotiations to expand the availability of medicines under a World Trade Organisation agreement on intellectual property rights by 31 March broke down Monday after informal consultations showed no compromise forthcoming, according to diplomatic sources in Geneva. At issue is an…
Officials negotiating to implement and update a 10-year-old agreement on intellectual property rights at the World Trade Organisation made a little progress toward that goal last week, according to official sources in Geneva. While small gains on the WTO Agreement…
Protection of pharmaceutical patents may not be the biggest reason the Bush administration is struggling to line up congressional votes for a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, but it remains critical to its…
A group of nations hand-picked by the head of the World Intellectual Property Organisation on Thursday concluded informal consultations on ways to move the harmonisation of national patent regimes forward while addressing development concerns of some countries seen as delaying…
Washington, DC–United States technology industry leaders today decried the rapid growth in research and development in major industrialized and developing nations, including the rapid rise in patent applications in Asia, and urged fast action by the US government. In calling…
Intellectual property experts from a wide range of backgrounds are finding common ground in informal proposals to ensure the right of individuals to access knowledge, including possibly through a negotiated treaty at the U.N. The issue has come of age…
After many hours of contentious discussion, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) chose last week to defer adoption of a General Comment on the “right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material…
Discussions last week in WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights (SCCR) on a proposed treaty that would expand protections for broadcasting organisations ended in heated debate about whether the Chair’s report of the meeting adequately reflected the views…
At the recent WIPO Assembly, Member States resisted pressures to move forward with a diplomatic conference on a proposed new treaty to provide increased protection to broadcasting organisations. The WIPO Secretariat’s activism in pushing for a rapid convening of a…
Recent efforts to rally Congress to approve a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) reached earlier this year with Central American countries has reignited debate about USTR’s approach to intellectual property and the implications for access to essential medicines. The Agreement with…
The rejection at the recent WIPO Assembly of a Secretariat proposal to increase fees for patent applications filed under the terms of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) has prompted a broader interest in WIPO’s financial management and its accountability to…
The plans of a leading UN human rights body to finalize a General Comment on “Intellectual Property and Human Rights” in November has provoked calls from human rights and public interest organisations for greater opportunities for public input. At stake…