Original news and analysis on international IP policy
E-commerce represents the micro and the massive in business. It offers tremendous potential for business enterprises to access global markets and is there for organisations such as sole traders through small and medium outlets to global giants such as Alibaba and Amazon.
For its third E-Commerce Week from 24-28 April UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development had the theme, "Towards Inclusive E-Commerce."
Register Now for The Global Debate on Intellectual Property, Trade and Development: Past, Present and Future - A Conference in Honour of Pedro Roffe, taking place on 15 June at the University of Geneva, Uni-Bastions, Geneva, Switzerland. Registration is open and free, see details.
Cynthia Ho writes: In the first known investment dispute regarding patents, Eli Lilly & Co v. Canada, Canada recently prevailed over the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. Although Canada won in a unanimous decision, the ruling does not, however, guarantee domestic discretion going forward, contrary to the suggestion of some.
Electronic commerce should be the realm of young people under 30 and of small enterprises, according to Alibaba founder Jack Ma, speaking at an event on digital trade in Geneva this week. He also pressed countries to just get on the e-commerce train, and worry about regulations later. Meanwhile, World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevêdo said at the same event that without help small companies would no better survive the competition of large companies online than they did in the real world.
Antony Taubman, director of the World Trade Organization Intellectual Property Division, has been in a good position to view the world and intellectual property for some time. Today, designated as World IP Day, we caught up with him to ask his views on the theme this year.
Electronic commerce is booming but mostly for high income economies, speakers said at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which is holding a weeklong event on digital trade. Technical assistance is needed for developing countries to hop on the e-commerce train, they said, as UNCTAD launched a platform designed to help developing countries navigate the arcane of electronic trade.
A group of ministers from developing countries today released a roadmap for global digital commerce discussions, aimed at paving the way to discussions on electronic commerce at the World Trade Organization ministerial conference in December.
An international civil society tribunal has found that agro-business multinational Monsanto conducts activities that violate basic human rights. The five international judges of the Monsanto Tribunal presented their condemning verdict yesterday.
The World Trade Organization has issued a call to hire a legal analyst specialised on intellectual property law, including the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
NEW DELHI, India -- Biopiracy is ongoing in many developing countries, and as long as there are no international obligations for patent applicants to disclose the origin of the genetic resources or traditional knowledge they use, the issue will endure, according to speakers at a recent conference in New Delhi. The broken conversation at the World Trade Organization needs to be rekindled so that an international regime of protection is set up, they said.
A United Nations Development Programme report released today places importance on transforming global institutions, and establishing fair trade and investment rules. The report calls for global reform of the intellectual property rights regime and investor protection regime. In addition, the report ranks countries on their human development level, putting Norway first followed by Australia and Switzerland.
Minister Celso Amorim of Brazil has had a significant impact on the state of global negotiations in his professional lifetime, including on global intellectual property rights.