Original news and analysis on international IP policy
WARSAW -- More than twenty years after Poland’s parliament passed the Authors’ and Related Rights law of 1994, the Polish government is drafting three bills to modify the country’s intellectual property legislation. The first of the drafts prepared by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National heritage was submitted to the Parliament in March, and is currently being deliberated, while the ministry is finishing work on the remaining two drafts.
Last-ditch efforts by a range of World Intellectual Property Organization members to join treaty negotiations at WIPO this week failed, as the 28 members of the treaty rejected a proposal to allow non-members. As a result, WIPO's biggest-paying member called into question the future legitimacy of the UN organisation.
Next week, the 28 members of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization are expected to conduct a high-level negotiating meeting to agree on a new Act of the agreement. Major changes expected are the inclusion of geographical indications in the agreement, and the possibility for intergovernmental organisations such as the European Union to become members of the revised agreement.
The United States has been among the leading countries concerned about the negotiation. In a Q&A, the US in written answers explained the concerns. The questions were sent by Intellectual Property Watch’s Catherine Saez.
The German Federation of Blind and Partially Sighted today sounded the alarm over another dispute about the "Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled". The German and the Italian governments are blocking a compromise on the path for ratification in the European Union, the Blind Federation said in a press release. The EU Council of Ministers is expected to take a decision on the ratification next week
The World Health Organization today published its updated Model List of Essential Medicines, including high-priced new treatments for hepatitis C, cancers and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) that were quickly applauded by the public health advocacy community.
NEW YORK - Musicians, songwriters, and producers recently gathered at a World Intellectual Property Organization event here and gave a stark depiction of a broken system that is not working for them financially, putting the very future of music-making at risk.
Just days before the start of the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a new Act of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origins and their International Registration, several committees of the European Parliament considered a recommendation to extend existing geographical indication protection in the European Union to non-agricultural products.
The ambassadors of all but two members of a 28-member World Intellectual Property Organization-administered treaty protecting appellations of origin said in a letter yesterday that international law requires that only treaty members participate in next week's negotiations to add geographical indications to the treaty.
Geographical indications might gain stronger international protection through the amendment of a 28-member World Intellectual Property Organization-administered treaty protecting appellations of origin. The high-level negotiating meeting taking place next week will consider pending issues in hopes of completing the landmark change. Here is your guide to the issues.
During a press briefing today the United States said they still have hope that the 28 members of a World Intellectual Property Organization-administered treaty will let the whole WIPO membership participate in next week's negotiations to amend that treaty. It said that the potential new treaty protecting appellations of origins and set to include geographical indications can impact the economies of many non-member countries.
The UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Farida Shaheed, yesterday gave a presentation to the Legal Committee of the European Parliament, which currently is reviewing the EU Copyright Directive.
Today, the European Commission released details about its plans to create a Digital Single Market, with a set of actions to be delivered by the end of next year. The plan includes a competition inquiry of the European e-commerce sector launched today, and a commitment to change the European copyright law starting this year.