Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The World Intellectual Property Organization training arm has been undergoing an external assessment which was presented to member states during the organisation's committee on development last week.
After a week which many World Intellectual Property Organization delegates working on development issues found difficult, a degree of consensus appeared in the last hour late on 17 May. Developing countries' requests were substantially scaled down as discussions on several areas threatened to be bogged down indefinitely.
On the agenda of the normally technical World Intellectual Property Organization working group on the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) next week is a proposal for an amendment that would incorporate the bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) used by some countries into the PCT. This has stirred concern among countries that are currently outside the PPH system.
The World Intellectual Property Organization is involved in activities aimed at facilitating technology transfer for green technologies, and research and development for neglected diseases, malaria and tuberculosis. At the request of member states, WIPO's Global Challenges Division gave a briefing this week on those activities.
One of the key discussions of the World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and IP (CDIP) this week was the improvement of WIPO technical assistance in the area of cooperation and development. Discussions trailed on for two days as countries were unable to agree on recommendations to be implemented, and if there should be any adoption by the committee. Shy of concrete consensus, the committee agreed on three modest actions.
While the World Health Organization’s latest health numbers show that great progress has been made in improving the health in low-income countries, significant inequalities remain between people living in the richest and poorest countries. Access to even the most basic medicines continues to be a major challenge due to high prices.
This week’s meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organisation committee on development started with a firm display of divergent positions by member states. Developing countries said that member states should be consulted on WIPO's participation in international events to ensure that a balanced view on IP is reflected. Developed countries said they considered it as superfluous micro-management of the UN organisation.
The European Commission today announced plans for a Global Internet Policy Observatory (GIPO), an online platform to improve knowledge and participation on issues related to global internet policymaking.
Prof. Sean Flynn asks whether US sanctions of Ukraine under the US Special 301 program violates World Trade Organization rules. He also asks whether the operation of watch lists threatening sanctions for intellectual property matters could be challenged under the WTO even prior to any sanction going into effect.
The 2013 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum opened today to address the future of information and communication technologies (ICT). This meeting of the WSIS Forum marks ten years since the first phase of the summit was held in Geneva in 2003.
The committee evaluating the incorporation of a development dimension into the World Intellectual Property Organization activities meets this week with a heavy agenda and some loose ends inherited from the previous meeting. In particular, delegates will have to decide on future work on patent-related flexibilities, agree on measures to improve WIPO technical assistance, and agree on a review of the implementation of the WIPO Development Agenda Recommendations.
US President Barack Obama yesterday signed an executive order that requires federal agencies to make data publicly open in machine-readable formats, while appropriately safeguarding privacy, confidentiality, and security.