Let The WIPO Dialogues Begin!
Negotiators at the UN World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva will have a new conference hall in which to debate in 2013, with construction starting this summer, according to a press release.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Category United Nations – other
UN Project Examines Better Access To Drugs For The Poor Through Local Production
Improving access to medicines in developing countries through local pharmaceutical production is at the centre of a project involving several institutional actors working on health and trade. Technology transfer is key to local production, but some prerequisites like a favourable policy environment and the ability of developing countries to use technology transfer are essential to encourage local production, according to panellists at a recent event.
Recent Personnel Changes In Geneva
Recent weeks have seen several personnel changes at Geneva institutions working on international intellectual property rights and innovation, including at missions, international organisations and foundations.
US Promotes Multilateral System Of Internet Governance In Geneva
Betty King, United States Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, has declared US support for a multilateral system of internet governance and an open internet.
World Information Society Summit Assessment: ICT Services Deemed Less Costly
More than five years since the last UN-led World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and less than five years before the 2015 target date of the Millennium Development Goals, experts and representatives of needy countries are in Geneva to assess how it is going. One thing they are being told: the price of information and communications technology services has dropped in the past two years.
Nagoya Protocol: Key Signatories Take It Closer To Goal
The protection of genetic resources from misappropriation, institutionalised in October 2010 by the Nagoya Protocol, is getting nearer to realisation as eight new countries ratified the protocol yesterday.
Educational Tools For Seed Treaty Actors
The international seed treaty has launched a capacity building campaign under the form of educational modules to help a range of stakeholders better understand the treaty and its implementation.
UNCTAD: Bundle Of Opportunities To Improve Medicines Access In LDCs
Access to essential medicines in least developed countries (LDCs) could be facilitated through local production, according to a report released today by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
WHO: Chronic Diseases Can Be Reduced
The World Health Organization has launched today in Moscow its first Global Status Report on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs).
WIPO Begins New Era With A Light, Transparent Office Building
More than two years after construction was begun and 13 years since its approval, a large new World Intellectual Property Organization office building quietly opened doors in March and the exodus from across the street and several other locations in Geneva began for some 500 employees of the United Nations organisation.
No Toast Yet To WTO Consensus On Wines And Spirits Geographical Indications
Mandated efforts to create an international register of geographical indications have risen in importance at the World Trade Organization in recent weeks. And as the pressure to produce negotiating texts for the Doha Round discussions climaxed this week, some dissonant notes were heard in the main negotiating group of countries on GIs.
Plant Breeder’s Rights – A Blessing Or A Curse?
Niels Louwaars of the Centre for Genetic Resources, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, discusses the importance of plant breeder’s rights. He makes the case for a carefully balanced protection for plant breeders and changes to patents in agriculture, in order to ensure a competitive, diversified supply of plant varieties and seeds.