Original news and analysis on international IP policy
In what could be seen as a “test case” for the balance between intellectual property protection and the promotion of public health, the Indian government today appeared to meet a World Trade Organisation obligation by passing a law on the…
Washington, D.C.–U.S. and Andean negotiators last week discussed several intellectual property issues but saved the most difficult ones for the next round, a senior U.S. trade official said Monday. Regina Vargo, assistant U.S. trade representative for the Americas and the…
Negotiations to expand the availability of medicines under a World Trade Organisation agreement on intellectual property rights by 31 March broke down Monday after informal consultations showed no compromise forthcoming, according to diplomatic sources in Geneva. At issue is an…
Both sides claimed victory Tuesday in a World Trade Organisation dispute brought by Australia and the United States against the European Union’s protection of foods with names deriving from specific geographical regions. The WTO panel ruling Tuesday found that the…
Officials negotiating to implement and update a 10-year-old agreement on intellectual property rights at the World Trade Organisation made a little progress toward that goal last week, according to official sources in Geneva. While small gains on the WTO Agreement…
Washington, D.C.–U.S. trade negotiators working toward bilateral free trade agreements with Middle Eastern countries are seeking to maintain the same level of intellectual property rights protection achieved in other bilateral deals, a U.S. trade official said Monday. “We want to…
A key group of developing countries this week sent a potential shockwave through fledgling efforts at the World Intellectual Property Organisation to restart talks on the international harmonisation of national patent laws. The 14-member “Group of Friends of Development” issued…
Protection of pharmaceutical patents may not be the biggest reason the Bush administration is struggling to line up congressional votes for a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, but it remains critical to its…
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has come under fire from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) fearing exclusion from key meetings in April on WIPO’s Development Agenda. But a spokeswoman from the Geneva-based U.N. body on Wednesday said it is complying with…
The World Intellectual Property Organisation on Friday announced a recommended path for future work on harmonising patent laws around the world. The announcement came after a two-day informal consultation with WIPO Director General Kamil Idris and a group of mostly…
[Editor’s Note: This story was modified at 6.30pm on Friday 18/2/2005] Washington, D.C.—A key U.S. official based in Beijing on Thursday cited several ways that China’s interpretation of its criminal code may violate the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade-Related…
A group of nations hand-picked by the head of the World Intellectual Property Organisation on Thursday concluded informal consultations on ways to move the harmonisation of national patent regimes forward while addressing development concerns of some countries seen as delaying…