Original news and analysis on international IP policy
World Intellectual Property Organization member countries are working to get past their differences this week toward agreement on a way to protect genetic resources from biopiracy. A new document shows focus on misappropriation as a policy objective, and that a bridge still needs to be found on the issue of mandatory disclosure of origin in patent applications.
With 640 of 680 votes, the European Parliament today passed a new directive on “collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online uses in the internal market.” Rarely before has the usually controversial subject of copyright rallied such broad agreement in Parliament.
The World Intellectual Property Organization committee working on ways to protect genetic resources and traditional knowledge opened a weeklong meeting yesterday by gathering country ambassadors to try to inject momentum into discussions. But after the session, it appeared that many delegations had restated known positions. Everybody seemed to agree on broad goals, but not on the way to reach them.
On 6 March, the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization will hold its once-every-six-year election for a director general, a prized post in the multilateral system. Tomorrow (4 February), the candidates will face member states and take questions. Intellectual Property Watch explains the process.
The 54-member African Union last week declared its support for Geoffrey Onyeama as a candidate for director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
32 farmer, breeder and environmental organisations from 26 countries gathered by the “no-patents-on-seeds” alliance today filed an opposition against a patent on an insect-resistant sweet pepper at the European Patent Office in Munich.
The World Intellectual Property Organization has posted a tribute to legendary American folk singer, songwriter and activist Pete Seeger, who died on 27 January at the age of 94.
At the Munich Security Conference a year ago, there was a considerable first push for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Eight months after the start of official TTIP negotiations and with the Snowden revelations in between, the tone at the 50th edition of the high-level foreign policy event in Munich is somewhat changed.
Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee this week bridged significant differences and agreed on a range of activities for future work, each with their own goals for the international patent system in mind.
The United States Chamber of Commerce Global Intellectual Property Center this week released a report ranking 25 countries on their IP environment.
Following news reports that pharmaceutical producer AstraZeneca will end its spending on early stage research and development for tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases, Médecins Sans Frontières issued a statement saying the move is further proof that substantive change to the global pharmaceutical R&D system is needed.
A new pharmaceutical industry-backed study draws attention to the value of innovative medicines in reducing healthcare costs and to the wider society that goes beyond clinical and personal values. However, in middle income countries, national prioritisation and improvements in healthcare infrastructure are needed to maximise the value of medicinal innovation, the study found.