Original news and analysis on international IP policy
While exceptions and limitations for librarians and archives are under negotiation at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week, librarians and archivists called on WIPO delegates to address an issue of contract licences for digital content, which they say often override such exceptions and limitations.
The World Intellectual Property Organization committee seeking to establish international instruments to protect genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore from misappropriation next week will attempt final clean-up of potential treaty texts ahead of the annual General Assembly in September.
After a day of informal discussions on a proposed treaty on protecting broadcasters’ intellectual property rights, the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee yesterday issued two informal discussion papers showing a narrowing of the issues to be addressed. In particular, webcasting has been cast aside in the discussions for the moment.
The World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committeebegan a week of discussions with delegates trying to decide what rights the treaty protecting broadcasting organisations should confer and if it should include internet transmissions. At the outset, a proposal to include industry…
The World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee has agreed to split its week between work on a proposed treaty to protect broadcasters’ rights and efforts to provide copyright exceptions for libraries, archives, and research and educational institutions. It also has lined up many side events throughout the week.
Recent months have seen a few interesting intellectual property symposia in the Caribbean, in particular the WIPO–JIPO Regional Conference on IP and creative industries which was held in Jamaica from February 10-12 2014. It is quite interesting that in spite of the intention that it should be regional as indicated in the title of the conference, there seems to have been little participation from the fifteen member countries of Caricom and that most of the sessions focused on Jamaica and its situation, perhaps a natural outcome of the WIPO–JIPO collaboration. Progressive Caribbean intellectuals in the area of intellectual property were also notably absent from the forum, writes Abiola Inniss.
An amendment to elevate the status of geographical indications at the World Intellectual Property Organization appears to be on track for a high-level final negotiation in 2015 after a meeting last week.
The World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee meets next week with some uncertainty. Unable to agree on the future work of the committee at the end of the last session, delegates will have to decide how they want to advance work on a proposed treaty protecting broadcasting organisations, and on limitations and exceptions to copyright for the benefit of libraries and education.
The United Nations Office in Geneva today announced the official arrival of the new ambassador of the United States to the UN in Geneva, Pamela Hamamoto.
A World Intellectual Property Organization working group considering amendments to the Patent Cooperation Treaty ended a weeklong meeting in relative agreement, in contrast to recent WIPO meetings. Agreement was found on delicate issues such as reduction of fees or procedures for appointing international authorities. Integration of the Patent Prosecution Highway, however, was not accepted.