Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The first draft of a national intellectual property rights policy being developed by a “think tank” of Indian IP experts shows adherence to the country’s principles of bending the IP system to its local needs. But it also shows signs of major change toward more international goals of enforcement and promotion of strong IP rights.
WASHINGTON, DC – Last week was ‘old home week’ for officials in the United States intellectual property attaché program, as they returned before the holidays from their posts around the world. Speaking publicly, the officials gave mixed reports on the fight to advance IP rights worldwide. They also heard harsh but determined words about the situation in Geneva from the industry perspective. Two more attaché offices will open next year, and several attachés last week called for an elevation in their rank in order to enable them to have access to higher level officials in other countries.
The population in Uganda has been growing rapidly. The country now has 35 million people. In order to provide quality services to its citizens and to improve the national competitiveness through administration innovation, the government has adopted free and open source software as the preferred mode of operation for electronic government (e-government) services and platforms.
During the recent meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee, a study was presented on exceptions and limitations to copyright for libraries and archives at the national level. The presentation spurred a full day of discussion about how to ensure libraries can continue to provide an indispensable service, and a substantive exchange with the author.
Welcome to (ANEPI), the first Intellectual Property News Agency of Ecuador. The Agencia de Noticias Especializada en Propiedad Intelectual (ANEPI) publishes news, analysis, interviews, feature articles, a weekly update and more on Ecuador and the region, at http://www.anepi.ec. Articles are primarily in Spanish with some translation. Below is the list of the week's stories on ANEPI. Bienvenido a (ANEPI), La Primera Agencia de Noticias de Propiedad Intelectual del Ecuador: Síguenos http://www.anepi.ec/ANEPIEcuador
World Intellectual Property Organization members continuously work to ensure international copyright policy is as responsive and helpful as possible to global changes. One thing they don’t lack is outside opinions on what they should do.
A number of side events were organised during the 8-12 December WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). Topics addressed in these events ranged from international cooperation in film production (IPW, WIPO, 8 December 2014), to access to copyrighted works in libraries and educational institutions, to a proposed treaty on broadcasters’ rights, as well as the interface between copyright and competition.
The World Intellectual Property Organization's last committee meeting of the year finished on an amiable note last week. The committee on copyright did not advance on text drafting but, according to the chair and a number of delegations, the weeklong meeting was an opportunity for extensive discussions on substance, the best in a long time.
The author of a World Intellectual Property Organization-commissioned study said this week that WIPO should take the lead on the issue of limitations and exceptions to copyright for libraries, before the debate and the solution are left to other actors.
China has been filing patents at far greater rates than any other nation on earth in recent years. This week, a Thomson Reuters report broke down that growth and compared it with other leading nations on the basis of innovation.
The 29th Session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights at the World Intellectual Property Organization is currently underway. On the agenda, inter alia, will be discussions on Limitations and Exceptions to Libraries, Archives and Educational, Teaching and Research Institutions. Against the backdrop of the success with the Marrakesh Treaty, the trajectory looks set for these further exceptions and limitations to succeed.
A seminar on innovation and access to medicine last week examined the issue of access to hepatitis C treatment, looking at the HIV/AIDS path. Voluntary licences, such as the one entered by Gilead for its hepatitis drugs, have been applauded but such licences often do not cover middle-income countries, which are home to the bulk of hepatitis C patients, and whose poor populations remain unable to access treatment.
Last week’s United Nations draft report for the post-2015 sustainable development goals under negotiation calls for continued progress toward sweeping improvements in the lives of all people and the health of the planet, including ensuring that intellectual property rights are respected but do not get in the way.