Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The coming months could spell changes in the long-running World Trade Organization talks on creating a register for wines and spirits geographical indications and amending WTO rules to better protect biodiversity rights. Developed countries that have been blocking progress on the issues for years may be pushed at a political level, according to some sources.
BANGKOK - The European Union told Asian countries Thursday that protecting geographical indications of their products would benefit their poor, rural people as the EU is offering to renew its intellectual property cooperation with regional countries with GI enforcement as a greater element.
BRUSSELS - India’s status as a top world supplier of generic medicines could be threatened by a free trade agreement its government is negotiating with the European Union, a new study has concluded. Separately, the World Customs Organization has abandoned its intellectual property rights enforcement group, replacing it with a non-policymaking information committee.
Seizures of legal generic drugs was the focus of heated discussion Monday at the World Trade Organization Council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), raising questions about the implementation of enforcement measures in the European Union.
Health advocates have raised alarm over reports that several million pills of generic medicine were held up in Frankfurt airport in May despite being destined for a different port. And new information has come to light indicating Dutch seizures were more numerous than originally thought. These developments have prompted outcry and the assertion that a European-wide law on customs and intellectual property is problematic.
COPENHAGEN - As a candidate for the European Parliament elections on Sunday, the Swedish Pirate Party has “good chances” of winning one, two or possibly even three mandates, it says, referring to Swedish opinion polls.
Récemment, une cour fédérale des États-Unis a annoncé une mauvaise nouvelle au gouvernement américain et à de nombreux titulaires de droits d’auteur étrangers, comme ceux des œuvres de Sergueï Rachmaninov, de Dmitry Chostakovitch, de Sergueï Prokofiev et d’Igor Stravinski. En effet, la cour en question vient d’invalider une loi américaine qui avait rétabli la protection des droits d’auteur appliqués aux œuvres de ces auteurs étrangers
Recientemente, un Tribunal Federal de los Estados Unidos (EE UU) dio malas noticias al gobierno de este país así como a varios titulares de derechos de autor extranjeros –incluidos los de Sergéi Rajmáninov, Dmitry Shostakóvich, Sergéi Prokófiev e Igor Stravinsky. El tribunal derogó un estatuto estadounidense que había restablecido la protección de los derechos de autor a las obras de estos autores extranjeros.
一家美国联邦法院最近给美国政府以及许多外国版权拥有者带来的一些不祥的消息。其中这些外国版权拥有者中就包括谢尔盖•拉赫玛尼诺夫（Sergei Rachmaninoff）、季米特里•肖斯塔科维奇(Dmitry Shostakovich)、谢尔盖•普罗科菲耶夫(Sergei Prokofiev)与伊戈尔•斯特拉文斯基(Igor Stravinsky)。该法庭宣布美国的一项恢复保护外国著作者版权的法律无效。
An informal special session at the World Trade Organization on a register for geographical indications - product names associated with a particular place and characteristics - was nudged toward “substantive” talks last week, according to some participants.
Counterfeit medicines were left off this year’s truncated World Health Assembly agenda but still managed to have an impact. The contentious, intellectual property-related issue arose during a discussion on the World Health Organization’s future plans, as several nations objected to a budget line referencing a programme to combat counterfeit drugs.
As cases of swine flu in humans pile up and fears that a more serious outbreak could occur in the future, member states, drug manufacturers and public health advocates gather Friday and Saturday to see if they can come up with a way to facilitate sharing of both viruses and vaccine related materials.
Intellectual property laws are a key point of contention at the reconvened meeting.