Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The round of negotiations in Tokyo last week on the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will be the last in the several-year long process to come to a final agreement, negotiators have said. The latest text - along with highlighted issue areas on which certain countries still have reservations - will be released before the end of the week, negotiators told Intellectual Property Watch.
Member governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization this week set in motion negotiations that could lead to international treaties or other instruments on exceptions and limitations to copyright, the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore, and harmonisation of industrial design laws. Negotiations won’t be without difficulty, however.
Echoes of the struggles and advances in patent policy around the world were heard this week in the annual meeting of the member governments of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization. At stake is no less than the future of societies everywhere.
Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter and UN Messenger of Peace Stevie Wonder today called on the governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization to create a system for copyright law to assist those with disabilities in getting access to education and reading materials. It is time to "declare a state of emergency and end the information deprivation that continues to keep the visually impaired in the dark," he told assembled delegates.
The second global symposium of intellectual property authorities met last week at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva to discuss global IP infrastructure and collaboration between IP offices, particularly in ways that might bring greater benefit to small offices.
The combined forces of strengthening copyright law and the explosion of information has led to huge transaction costs in managing legitimate transactions of copyright material, the top economist from Google said yesterday at the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The global economic crisis led to a significant drop in patent and trademarks filings in 2008 and particularly in 2009 but there are signs of recovery, according to the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2010 report released today. China is still showing vigorous growth and demand in intellectual property protection.
Some African nations signed a protocol on the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore at the beginning of August gaining the praise of the World Intellectual Property Organization. However, a United Nations report launched in January warned against the application of western legal and economic principles to collectively owned knowledge in traditional communities.
The powerful World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee is meeting this week for three days of discussions on a new strategic plan, the status of its audit function in the aftermath of past financial mismanagement, the financing of new projects related to the Development Agenda, and new policies on WIPO financial reserves, languages and investments.
An analysis of practices and policies involving intellectual property, technology transfer and development shows the difficulties of achieving a positive correlation between those areas, writes Cheikh Kane.