Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on development today agreed on how the committee should continue work on improving WIPO technical assistance to developing countries. For the next six sessions, delegates will work on a proposal for forums and secretariat reports with the aim of raising the accountability and effectiveness of WIPO technical assistance.
The World Intellectual Property Organization has developed a ground-breaking new “artificial intelligence”-based translation tool for patent documents, according to the organisation.
Countries of the world decided in 2015 to launch an ambitious agenda to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030. What should be the role of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization in the attainment of the adopted United Nations Sustainable Development Goals? This question, discussed at the WIPO Committee on Development and IP, is dividing countries, as developed countries argue that only a few goals apply to the work of WIPO, and others argue that there should be no ‘cherrypicking’ as all the goals in one way or another do apply to WIPO's work as a UN agency.
The first review of the implementation of the 2007 Development Agenda Recommendations aimed at infusing a development dimension into the World Intellectual Property Organization found that this implementation had been mostly consistent with the expectations of member states, but the review provided a list of suggestions to fill additional gaps. In committee this week, some countries asked that the WIPO secretariat prepare a response on how it plans to implement the recommendations provided by the experts conducting the review, but this is yet to be agreed.
The World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) is meeting this week with an agenda including the presentation of a first review on how well WIPO implemented its Development Agenda Recommendations from 2008 to 2015. Also on the agenda is a discussion on what United Nations Sustainable Development Goals can be applied to WIPO’s work, and what the role of WIPO is in technology transfer.
Raising awareness, creating effective stewardship, national action plans on antimicrobial resistance, building trust and getting onto the agenda of the G20 are critical to fostering access and appropriate use of antibiotics, according to speakers at yesterday’s joint technical symposium on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
While the issue of antimicrobial resistance has arrived in high-level discussions, and there is a consensus that the problem must be tackled one way or another to avoid slipping back into a pre-antibiotic era, some voices are highlighting the need to remember that other health issues remain unmet, and access to medicines is still an acute problem.
The issue of antimicrobial resistance has been in the spotlight in recent months as a growing awareness of the threat it represents for humanity has pushed discussions at the multilateral level. This week, the World Health Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization and World Trade Organization organised a symposium on the subject. Speakers discussed needs and potential solutions.
Resistance to antibiotics by bacteria has been steadily growing and is now considered as a major threat to global public health, with some catastrophic projections of millions of death and billions of dollars in economic impact. The World Trade Organization, World Health Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization today are holding a joint technical symposium on antimicrobial resistance, and how to encourage innovation, appropriate use of antibiotics, and wide access to treatments and diagnostics.
Fresh from intense discussions at the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies earlier this month, delegates to a WIPO committee today agreed to hold an information session on geographical indications in the spring, and to further work on industrial designs. However, no further discussions to help break the deadlock on a proposed design law treaty could be arranged this week.
Imagine you’re an inventor in the Philippines and want to file a patent for, say, a fishing implement you’ve invented, but your $9,000 a year income thwarts your ability to pay the legal fees to register it and develop it commercially.
You could be stumped from the start.
A side event to last week’s annual General Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization looked at ways for developing countries to design sui generis system for protecting new varieties of plant. The event also looked into the technical assistance provided by WIPO, which, according to the groups, focuses only on the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) system.