Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Ambassador Linnet Deily, the United States representative to the World Trade Organization, has informed staff that she will be leaving office on June 15, according to a US trade official. Deily, who said she will be returning to the United…
Washington, D.C.—The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday cited rising global piracy and counterfeiting as a top foreign trade barrier to U.S. products and services in 2005. “There is a discouraging upward trend [in piracy and counterfeiting],”…
Washington, D.C.–The biggest copyright case in the United States in decades will be felt around the world and have an impact on the future of the Internet regardless of the outcome, both sides of the case say. The case, MGM…
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…
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…
[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…
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…
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…
This table provides a sample of the recommendations offered by three of the major U.S. industry associations regarding the placement of countries in the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) 2004 ‘Special 301’ Report. The far right-hand column…
In the wake of a series of U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs) which include ‘TRIPS-plus’ commitments on intellectual property, civil society groups are again urging the United States to better incorporate public interest views in the formulation of its trade…