Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The United States Congress passed a bill on 5 December that implements several international treaty obligations, including a treaty on industrial design, according to sources. The bill now heads to President Obama for signature.
The United States now stands alone in its opposition to a World Intellectual Property Organization treaty on copyright exceptions for blind and and other print-disabled readers, the World Blind Union (WBU) said today.
For most people, champagne evokes a sophisticated bubbly white wine, associated with luxury and celebration. Champagne is also a region of France where this particular wine originates. The protection of geographical indications, such as champagne, but also Darjeeling tea or Idaho potatoes, is being discussed in several fora, and next week at the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The international intellectual property rights system must urgently make headway toward an easier-to-use, globally agreed upon, inclusive and effective architecture, a high-level panel of IP policy leaders said on 29 November.
International copyright flexibilities are ill-suited to the need of developing countries to create effective access to printed materials in schools, a new book argues. The author, whose work was presented last week at the World Intellectual Property Organization, urges a normative and institutional rethinking of the current system.
After a long week of discussions, delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization last night adopted a working draft text that could become a treaty or other instrument providing copyright exceptions for visually impaired people, and agreed to send the text to the WIPO extraordinary General Assembly next month.
Negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization on the draft text of a treaty on copyright exceptions to benefit visually impaired persons are heading into the final evening of a weeklong committee meeting. Negotiators have made several modifications to the text since yesterday, and work is continuing.
Non-governmental organisations this week vehemently voiced their positions at the World Intellectual Property Organization on a text that could become a treaty increasing access to books by visually impaired people. The NGO exercise unveiled a range of stances on what the treaty should and should not do.
Despite long hours of discussions yesterday, World Intellectual Property Organization delegates working on a draft document that could become a treaty/instrument to provide exceptions to copyright for visually impaired persons will have to come back to the text (below) today to try and bridge differences. For now, the meeting has moved on to a possible treaty on broadcasters' rights.
Pressure mounted as delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization today engaged in what was planned to be the final day of negotiations on the text of a treaty on copyright exceptions for the blind. The ultimate outcome of the negotiations depends on the convening of a diplomatic conference, which could yield an instrument facilitating access to reading material by visually impaired and print-disabled persons.
The first results of the World Intellectual Property Organization negotiations on the draft text of a treaty to facilitate visually impaired persons’ access to books in special formats were presented this morning. Progress was reported by the WIPO secretariat, but some countries asked that more delegates be allowed to participate in the small group drafting discussions.
Visually impaired and print-disabled persons have high expectations for the results of this week's negotiations on copyright exceptions and limitations at the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry told the opening of a committee meeting today.