Category Technical Cooperation/ Technology Transfer

Negotiator: Ethiopian Coffee Trademark Victory To Reap Millions

By Paul Garwood
Ethiopia's victory to trademark its major coffee brands could earn the east African country more than US$100 million annually and increase incomes for hundreds of thousands involved in the industry, a negotiator for the Ethiopian government said Tuesday.

Ron Layton, chief executive of the Light Years IP non-governmental organisation, told a luncheon in Geneva that agreements ground out between Ethiopia and companies like Starbucks will allow the poverty-stricken country to benefit more from the speciality coffees it produces. There are still some who doubt that Ethiopia got the best deal, however.

Preocupan los acuerdos bilaterales entre la UE y países en desarrollo

Por David Cronin para Intellectual Property Watch BRUSELAS – Aumenta la preocupación tanto en Europa como en los países en desarrollo sobre si diversos acuerdos de libre comercio, cuya firma está programada para finales del presente año, contendrán normas demasiado…

Des craintes surgissent quant à l’éventuelle création d’une Organisation panafricaine de propriété intellectuelle

par Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Bien qu’il n’en soit qu’à un stade embryonnaire, le projet de créer une Organisation panafricaine de propriété intellectuelle (OPAPI) se heurterait déjà à des oppositions, notamment inspirées par la crainte de voir l’Afrique s’engager sur…

Concern Rises Over EU Bilaterals With Developing Countries

By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Concern is growing in both Europe and developing countries about whether a series of free trade agreements slated for signature later this year will contain overly stringent rules on intellectual property.…

Development Agenda Implementation Discussed Before WIPO Assemblies

By Paul Garwood More technical assistance to developing countries, closer collaboration between UN agencies and overhauling the World Intellectual Property Organization were among calls made during a conference of leading players in the intellectual property community held Monday. The conference,…

Concern Arises Over Proposed Pan-African IP Organisation

By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen A proposal to set up a Pan-African Intellectual Property Organisation (PAIPO) though still in its infancy already faces opposition and concern, including from those who fear that Africa is signing up to stricter IP protection…

IP, Content Delivery Key To Telecom-Broadcasting Convergence

By William New with Pravir Palayathan
Content delivery and telecommunications are becoming rapidly intertwined in a "converging" world, bringing new opportunities but also likely leading to a dogfight among the high number of networks platforms for content delivery currently available, according to experts.

"Not every horse can win the race at the same time, and there is a lesson there for 'convergence'," David Wood, head of new media at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), told Intellectual Property Watch. "Every day a new means of providing media to the public seems to come out of the woodwork, all convinced they will be popular, valuable, and make a lot of money. But it can't happen. There will be winners and losers."

The EBU hosted a 21-22 June "meeting of high-level experts" jointly with the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU). "Our hope in organising the conference jointly with the EBU and ITU was to bring this into focus; and, if we accept that not everything can be successful, to see through to which would be more likely to succeed," said Wood.