Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The World Health Organization has published a paper that explains to policymakers and others how to take measures to protect public health against tobacco while staying within the bounds of international trade and investment law, under intense industry pressure. Key aspects of the report deal with intellectual property rights policy, as it relates to international trade.
A World Trade Organization review of China’s trade policy includes assessments of the country’s progress on adopting - and becoming a leader of - the global intellectual property rights system.
The United Nations agency on trade and development this week published its Economic Development in Africa 2012 report, which argued, among other things, that the region’s sustainable future depends on using flexibilities in intellectual property rights as appropriate.
Intellectual property enforcement was discussed at yesterday’s session of the World Trade Organization council on IP-related issues in two different contexts, both involving the United States. Cuba complained about the US failure to comply with a 10-year-old ruling on a Cuban rum brand name, and the US added an agenda item on enforcement against counterfeit goods, both of which created some stir.
International trade rules related to intellectual property rights enshrine the notion that there may be cases where exceptions to IP rights are needed by governments, such as sovereign decisions on a nation’s public health. Using those flexibilities could save millions of lives but may mean taking a tough stance in free trade negotiations with bigger trading partners, concluded a meeting of Asian stakeholders this week.
The World Trade Organization this week celebrated 15 years of a tariff-cutting agreement on information technology products, and issued a publication charting the history of the agreement. Industry representatives invited to a symposium joined voices asking that the agreement be expanded, while some called for strategies to incorporate development into technology trade promotion. And a link was made between the agreement and a rise in patents on technology.
The Republic of Korea has opened its fourth satellite copyright office, in the Philippines, in a bid to protect its copyrighted works amid the popularity of Korean entertainment in this Southeast Asian nation.
A report released today asserts that trade secret theft is occurring on a massive scale worldwide, and that most companies are not taking sufficient steps to stop it. The report, which comes on the eve of bilateral economic meetings between the United States and China, offers a set of recommended actions for companies and others. Also today, leading Democratic members of Congress urged the Obama administration to demand improvements in China on intellectual property rights protection.
The United States Trade Representative’s office yesterday issued its annual report naming countries that it says are the biggest infringers of US intellectual property rights, among them some of the country’s biggest trading partners. Meanwhile, questions were raised about the close adherence to industry views in the report.
A major consumer group today released the results of its annual survey of 30 countries' copyright laws and concluded that bias against consumers in favour of multinational copyright holders is "entrenched" and that there is a "global outcry" about overly strong copyright enforcement legislation. Meanwhile, international journalists groups joined songwriters, composers, film directors, screenwriters, illustrators, photographers and visual authors across Europe today to launch a public campaign "to bring an end to the unfair contractual practices facing creators."