Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The chairman of the World Trade Organization group that has discussed the proposal for a geographical indications register for wines and spirits said in a draft report that there has been no progress in the talks, and asked ministers for…
Key officials in Geneva indicate that World Trade Organization members are not likely to find a compromise on a permanent amendment to global trade rules in order to allow poor countries to import affordable medicines in time for the December…
Peu de progrès ont été réalisés au cours des quatre jours de réunion du comité de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) chargé des questions de propriété intellectuelle, mais de nombreuses questions sont restées ouvertes en vue de la Conférence ministérielle…
A half-decade after it began, a United Nations committee on 21 November adopted a document intended to clarify nations’ responsibilities on intellectual property and human rights. The text, while not legally binding, could bolster legal disputes in other international and…
[Note to readers: This is a translation of a story appearing in the November 2005 monthly edition. For those not requesting translated versions, please accept our apologies and disregard this or any others you may receive. We are working to…
Brazil on 17 November proposed that the World Intellectual Property Organisation tie its draft treaty on broadcasters’ rights to a recently agreed treaty on cultural diversity that was seen as strengthening nations’ ability to control information flows across their borders.…
Lyon, France — The declaration that emerged from an international anti-piracy conference this week is a strong call for stepped-up efforts by industry and governments to bring about further protection of intellectual property rights, including greater powers for law enforcement…
By Steve Gibb for Intellectual Property Watch Washington, DC–A US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) plan to privatise a prestigious open-access environmental science journal is drawing criticism from Democrats in the US Congress and activists who say public…
Lyon, France—Calling counterfeit medicines a “form of terrorism against public health,” a senior Nigerian health official urged a 14-15 November international conference in Lyon, France to support the adoption of an international convention to fight the problem. “I urge this…
The last time the UN World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) copyright committee met it ended in acrimony, with still-bitter memories for some member governments who argued their objections to the outcome were wrongly ignored. But after a year and numerous…
Lyon, France–Japan has proposed an international treaty to combat worldwide counterfeiting and piracy, complementing the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The proposal came at a 14-15 November conference near Interpol headquarters in Lyon,…
To get a sense of how this week’s second UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunisia is different from the first WSIS held two years ago, one need only talk to a US technology industry lobbyist who…