Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The World Intellectual Property Organization development committee opened its meeting this week with a heavy list of subjects to cover but developing country delegates insisted on diving headfirst into the issue of an independent review to measure how WIPO applies a development dimension to its activities.
An article in the local Geneva press today asserts that World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry is in the hot seat over the inability of member states to pass a budget for the UN agency. The article ties the budget delay in part to member states’ concern over Gurry’s signing of a deal to set up an external WIPO office in Moscow following a 2011 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It also raises serious issues over alleged DNA taken on several WIPO employees without their knowledge during the tumultuous transition of Gurry’s WIPO predecessor, who stepped down a year early in 2008.
The World Intellectual Property Organization today issued its second-ever report on global IP trends, focussing on brands, the relevance of reputation, and image in the global marketplace. Increases in trademark applications and the global value of brands are presented in the report, which looks at economic impact, competition, and concerns over counterfeiting of brands.
There appears to be consensus at the World Intellectual Property Organization on establishing a procedural treaty to facilitate the international registration of industrial designs. But a weeklong committee meeting last week could not solve the issue of how to include technical assistance in the treaty. The WIPO General Assembly in December will decide on whether to convene a high-level meeting next year to finalise the treaty. Meanwhile, the United States proposed resuscitating discussions on geographical indications (GIs) in the committee, which stirred resistance.
Seong-Joon Park is the director general of the Trademark & Design Examination Bureau at the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). He sat down this week with Intellectual Property Watch to present TM5, a joint global initiative on trademark and design with four other IP-intensive offices, and his vision for trademark and designs in South Korea. As part of the initiative, KIPO is holding a weeklong series of events on trademark and designs in December.
It was clear at today’s opening of a World Intellectual Property Organization committee on industrial designs that developing countries were standing firm on their request to include mandatory technical assistance and capacity building in a potential procedural treaty aimed at facilitating international registration of this form of intellectual property right.
The World Intellectual Property Organization has scheduled an Extraordinary General Assembly from 10-12 December, in order to complete unfinished work from the annual WIPO General Assembly in September.
Alongside last week’s meeting of the World Trade Organization intellectual property committee, the United States, European Union and Jamaica organised an event on the relevance of intellectual property in sports. Speakers from professional organisations such as the International Olympic Committee, the Association of European Professional Football Leagues, and the Nike company were invited to share their experience in the matter.
The United States has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.
A seminar on the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications was held at the United Nations last week with panellists exploring the intersection between intellectual property and human rights in the context of public health, agriculture, and the role of flexibilities to achieve balance between private and public interests.
Two scientists with a connection to Geneva have published an unorthodox e-book entitled, Guide for the perplexed entering the Maze of Genetic Resources Traditional Knowledge and Folklore.
Academics and experts from international organisations met last week at the World Trade Organization to discuss the role of know-how in today’s global economy, stressing the relevance of trade secrets in global value chains and international transfer of technology.