Open-Access Journal eLife Publishes First Articles
A new open-access journal for science, eLife, has released its first collection of research articles.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Category Technical Cooperation/ Technology Transfer
Civil Society Network Issues Proposals On Climate Change And IPRs
An international network of civil society groups has issued a set of proposals for governments to encourage innovation and access to key technologies against climate change while taking intellectual property rights into account.
Global Fund Nears Selection Of New Director For Transformed Organisation
The Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is in the final phases of selecting its next executive director. In the run-up to the decision, the international financing institution is multiplying signs of its good health as it looks to turn a corner after months of major reforms.
UN High-Level Meeting In India On Biodiversity Addresses Access And Benefit-Sharing
At the ongoing 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Hyderabad, the hot topic is funds and how to mobilize it. The mega-conference is taking place in the shadow of a global economic slowdown, and delegates gathered at this southern Indian city are most concerned about how to drum up funds to tackle the world’s shrinking biodiversity - the variety of animal and plant life on earth.
No Deal For Now On WIPO Design Treaty, Patent Law Work Plan
Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization this week could not agree on a work plan for the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP), leading to a likely postponement of the next committee meeting. In addition, the annual WIPO General Assemblies failed to agree to hold a diplomatic conference on a Design Law Treaty, but did agree on an expedited way forward. And the Assemblies took note of the work of the committees on standards and enforcement.
Move Toward New Pan-African IP Organisation Alarms Observers
A seemingly remote African Union proposal to create a Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization appears to have gained momentum and will come before African science and technology ministers for review in early November, according to sources. A copy of the final draft statutes shows how the new body would operate, and for some observers, how it would elevate African IP standards well above current levels, with “disastrous consequences” for access, development, and human rights.
Agricultural Innovation Needed In Africa, With Farmers’ Participation, WTO Panellists Say
Farmers' needs are not addressed by the current intellectual property framework or by innovation, according to panellists at the World Trade Organization Public Forum this week, and farmers should be invited to participate in international negotiations directly impacting their livelihood. Meanwhile, the African continent is seeking a way to address the food security problem, faced with a growing population and dire need to modernise their agriculture, other panellists said.
UN Clears WIPO Shipments To Iran
The United Nations Security Council committee on sanctions has cleared the UN World Intellectual Property Organization of wrongdoing in shipping high-tech equipment to Iran.
Q&A With Newly Appointed KIPO Commissioner
Ho-Won Kim, the newly appointed commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), discussed his views on KIPO’s major policies in a recent exchange with Intellectual Property Watch. He explained the directions KIPO will take on international cooperation, examination pendency periods, and other issues, such as what the international dispute between Samsung Electronics and Apple means for companies worldwide.
UN Sanctions Committee Finds No Violation In WIPO Shipments To North Korea
The World Intellectual Property Organization did not violate United Nations sanctions on North Korea when it shipped computers and equipment to the country as technical assistance, a UN sanctions committee has found. It did suggest that WIPO should have consulted the committee before making the shipments, but accepted WIPO's plan for review and consultation in the future.
India: Balancing Public And Private Interests In The Intellectual Property Regime
NEW DELHI - In this month, there have been two court orders in India that underscore the complexities underlying the country’s intellectual property regime. Last Friday (14 September), the Chennai-based Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) which is responsible for hearing appeals on patent applications, rejected a petition by German pharma major Bayer AG, seeking a stay on an order of India’s Controller of Patents granting a compulsory licence (CL) to Indian generic drug maker Natco Pharma Limited, for a drug used to treat liver and kidney cancer.
How To Reboot WIPO
By this point, I’m sure the entire intellectual property community knows that WIPO has problems, from an investigation of sanctions-busting in its technical assistance programmes going back years to allegations of vote-buying through abuse of the hiring process. It harkens back to the dying days of the term of the last Director-General, Kamil Idris, who left office early under a cloud, writes Nick Ashton-Hart.