Category Technical Cooperation/ Technology Transfer

Design Treaty, Country Names, Geographical Indications Next Week At WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization committee on trademarks will address three main issues next week. Among them, delegates will look to advance a draft treaty facilitating the international registration of industrial designs, and try to agree on how to address technical assistance in that draft treaty. In addition, the United States has a proposal to invite into the committee discussions on a proposed revision of the Lisbon Agreement on the Protection of Appellations of Origins, and Jamaica is pursuing its effort at a stronger international soft law for the protection of country names against use as trademarks.

WTO-WIPO IP Training Course For Governments

The World Trade Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization are jointly offering a course this week on all aspects of intellectual property to a group of officials from developing countries and countries in transition, the WTO has said.

Parallel WIPO Initiative On Access For Visually Impaired Steps Up

A growing number of countries are signing the new World Intellectual Property Organization treaty on copyright exceptions aimed at boosting access to special format books for visually impaired persons. Parallel to the treaty and pre-dating it, a WIPO-led initiative of interested stakeholders is continuing its efforts to also boost access to such works, including through licence agreements.

TRIPS Council: Discussion Of IP And Innovation Irritates India: Other Issues Unchanged

World Trade Organization members at the WTO intellectual property committee this week held fast to positions on longstanding issues, but engaged in discussions on issues such as innovation in relation to universities, and so-called “non-violation complaints” against countries that may cause harm to another country but don’t violate a WTO rule. Also discussed was the ongoing dispute over plain packaging requirements for tobacco products.