For non-trade specialists, a ‘non-violation complaint’ at the WTO effectively amounts to a complaint that a country has violated the spirit but not the letter of trade law. While countries can launch such disputes at the WTO for trade in goods and services, there is a moratorium on doing so over intellectual property rights. Continue Reading
On Tuesday, 25 February 2014, India delivered the following intervention at the WTO TRIPS Council on agenda item 11 (Contribution of Intellectual Property to Facilitate the Transfer of Environmentally Rational Technology). Ecuador tabled this agenda item.
WTO TRIPS Council (February 2014) – India’s intervention on IP and Innovation: University Technology Partnerships
On Tuesday, 25 February 2014, India delivered the following intervention at the WTO TRIPS Council on agenda item 12 (IP and Innovation: University Technology Partnerships). The United States of America tabled this standalone agenda item on University Technology Partnerships in the context of IP and Innovation.
Agenda 12 : IP and Innovation: University Technology Partnerships
TRIPS Council (February 2014) US tables agenda item on IP & Innovation: University Technology Partnerships
The following WTO airgram WTO/AIR/4240/REV.1 (14 February 2014) contains the agenda for the upcoming WTO Council for TRIPS meeting to be held in Geneva from Tuesday, 25 February 2014 to Wednesday, 26 February 2014.
Public Comments by Brian Pomper-Executive Director of the Innovation Alliance and Alliance for Fair Trade with India
Brian Arthur Pomper is a partner at the law firm of Akin Gump.
Mr. Pomper formerly served as chief international trade counsel to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). In that role, he was responsible for advising Chairman Baucus and other members of the Senate Finance Committee on all aspects of the Committee’s international trade and economic agenda.
2014. Trade associations critiquing South Africa’s IPR policies, in Docket USTR-2013-0040
Special 301: NFTC puts plain packaging policies of Australia, EU, Thailand, UK, Ireland and New Zealand under the spotlight
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) submission (7 February 2014, Docket USTR-2013-0040) to USTR’s 2014 Special 301 Review contains a section on plain packaging policies in the context of the protection of trademarks. Continue Reading
Composition of the WIPO Coordination Committee: 83 countries invested with power to nominate the WIPO Director General
According to a press release issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on 6 December 2013, four candidatures for the post of Director General were received before the deadline for nominations (5 PM, 6 December 2013) expired.
The WIPO press release noted that,
The candidates are (in alphabetical order of names of candidates): Mr. Francis Gurry (Australia), Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama (Nigeria), Mr. Jüri Seilenthal (Estonia), and Mr. Alfredo Suescum (Panama).
WIPO norm-setting on IP and genetic resources: will impasse on mandatory disclosure and the nature of instrument be resolved?
It is crunch time for WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC). The 26th session meets from 3-7 February 2014 in Geneva. This week’s session will focus on setting international norms for the protection of genetic resources against misappropriation and resolving two key areas of divergence: 1) the nature of the instrument and 2) the disclosure of origin requirement. Continue Reading
UPDATED- SCP20: Current state of play as countries clash on patents and health (WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents)
On Friday, 31 January 2014 (6:30 PM Geneva time) the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) resumed in plenary mode to discuss the facilitator’s text (Mr. Victor Portelli, Australia) on the future work of this committee including activities on 1) Exceptions and Limitations to Patent Rights, 2) Quality of Patents, including Opposition Systems, 3) Patents and Health, 4 Confidentiality of communications between clients and their patent advisors and 5) Transfer of Technology.