Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Negotiators attending closed meetings at a UN body in Geneva in mid-April could shape the policy agenda for development and intellectual property for years to come, participants and observers say. It is not clear how the consecutive meetings at the…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The rejection at the recent WIPO Assembly of a Secretariat proposal to increase fees for patent applications filed under the terms of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) has prompted a broader interest in WIPO’s financial management and its accountability to…
In an October 15 speech, the Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Jonathan Dudas, vowed that the U.S. government will “fight” proposals that aim to “fundamentally change the WIPO charter and philosophy” away from its current focus…