Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) held its Council meeting on 21 October, approving the participation of two public interest groups that were rejected at a previous meeting as observers to the Council (IPW,…
NAGOYA, JAPAN - Discussions on a draft protocol to prevent biopiracy were intense again on Wednesday, with night sessions going late as delegation try to find common language on a legally binding instrument. Around the discussions, undertaken mostly behind closed doors, side events convened by civil society are warning about numerous cases of biopiracy, and the urgent need for a meaningful protocol.
Europe has promised at the "highest levels" to fix laws that caused generic medicine seizures in the Netherlands, the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry said today. The minister is in Geneva for meetings on the ongoing Doha Round trade liberalisation talks at the World Trade Organization.
Copyright law is not always a barrier to access to knowledge, but lack of adequate or predicable copyright enforcement in developing countries can prevent the evolution of their own local creative industries, said several representatives from such industries yesterday.
A study showing the economic benefits of biodiversity and the costs of its destruction was released today at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity conference in Nagoya, Japan.
The Medicines Patent Pool, recently established with the support of drug-purchasing mechanism UNITAID, is searching for a new business director to manage relationships with current and potential new licensors and licensees of medicine-related patents. The business development director will help…
The World Health Organization has moved responsibility for intellectual property and innovation issues out of the direct control of the WHO director general and into the company of information, evidence and research, according to sources.
NAGOYA, JAPAN - Prospects for completing and approving a protocol protecting natural resources from biopiracy and providing equitable sharing of benefits derived from the commercial use of those resources are promising, according to delegates. But hard negotiations lie ahead if they are to meet a deadline to present an agreed draft protocol to the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by the end of this week.
United States Attorney General Eric Holder today called on other governments to join in intensifying the fight against intellectual property infringement, on the theme that, “intellectual property crimes are not victimless.” But his law enforcement argument may need finessing to reach all stakeholders.
Entrepreneurial law firms in the United States and United Kingdom are targeting suspected internet infringers through mass letter-writing and lawsuit campaigns. Are “copyright trolls” the way of the future for protecting digital content?