Original news and analysis on international IP policy
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…
Washington, DC–United States technology industry leaders today decried the rapid growth in research and development in major industrialized and developing nations, including the rapid rise in patent applications in Asia, and urged fast action by the US government. In calling…
Intellectual property experts from a wide range of backgrounds are finding common ground in informal proposals to ensure the right of individuals to access knowledge, including possibly through a negotiated treaty at the U.N. The issue has come of age…
Washington, D.C.–The nations responsible for the majority of the world’s patent filings have agreed to move ahead with private negotiations to iron out differences in their patent regimes. The talks will take place outside the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation,…
A meeting next week of the world’s top patent-producing nations to try to bring their patent regimes closer together is raising concerns among developing countries and others who perceive it as a threat to efforts to address development issues at…