Original news and analysis on international IP policy
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.
On the eve of European Parliament's final decision on consequences from revelations of mass surveillance directed against citizens, several members of the Parliament heavily criticised EU governments for the lack of action.
A United States government agency later this month will hold the first meeting of a multistakeholder forum on improving the operation of the widespread notice and takedown system for removing infringing content from the internet.
In a final report before the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) today, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food called for a redesigned world food system to ensure the human right to adequate food and freedom from hunger. This includes some changes to the way intellectual property rights apply to food and agriculture.
Last January, Egypt and Tunisia enacted new constitutions which provide for the protection of intellectual property rights, at the constitutional level, for the first time in the history of both countries. In addition, they include clauses which give priority to building a knowledge economy, Ahmed Abdel-Latif writes.
Traditional medical knowledge would be best protected through liability rules instead of patents, according to a book exploring the applicability of intellectual property rights to traditional medical knowledge protection, and in particular if IP rights are suitable to promote the goals of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
Among the Ferraris, Maseratis and Lamborghinis in Geneva this week, high-level representatives of the auto industry, the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) discussed issues of safety, data sharing and standardisation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published draft guidelines on sugars intake to reduce non-communicable diseases linked to obesity and dental caries.
Three United Nations agencies have announced that they are uniting forces to fight trafficking, urging travelers to act responsively.
Incumbent Francis Gurry of Australia today was nominated to be the director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization until 2020, with WIPO members to make their final decision on 8 May. In his return to office, Gurry told reporters today he wants to focus on the digital marketplace, improving the organisation’s performance, changing geopolitics, and to steer journalists away from writing about allegations of wrongdoing at WIPO.
Patent quality is top priority for the European Patent Office, which “wants to be the best in the world,” President Benoît Battistelli said in a 5 March interview. The office's latest annual report shows that patent filings are at an all-time high, and that Europe is an innovation hub. The office's push for excellence, however, has sparked some staff resistance, Battistelli said.
After a bumpy road, the director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization today was recommended by the WIPO Coordination Committee to be returned to office for another six-year term.