On 14 September 2011 and 16 September 2011, the World Trade Organization (WTO) undertook a trade policy review of India. All members of the WTO are subject to review under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). The TPRM takes place in the “Trade Policy Review Body which is actually the WTO General Council — comprising the WTO’s full membership — operating under special rules and procedures” (Source: WTO, Trade Policy Reviews: Brief Introduction). Continue Reading →
As Geneva awakes from its summer slumber post-Jeûne genevois (6 September 2012), the following conferences and negotiations are expected to shape the knowledge governance landscape in the second semester of 2012 at WHO, WIPO and WTO.
World Health Organization
Here are upcoming meetings of the WHO in 2012 of relevance to public heath, innovation and access.
This statement was delivered by Ecuador on 5 June 2012 at the WTO TRIPS Council on copyright limitations and exceptions.
CONSEJO DE LOS ADPIC
5-6 DE JUNIO DE 2012
PUNTO L. DE LA AGENDA
INTERVENCIÓN DEL ECUADOR
Señor Presidente,
El Ecuador da la bienvenida a la iniciativa organizada por Brasil y Estados Unidos con respecto al punto L. sobre las limitaciones y excepciones a los derechos de autor en el marco de las negociaciones en curso en la OMPI.
This was the statement delivered by Brazil on 5 June 2012 at the WTO Council for TRIPS under Agenda Item L-Copyright Limitations and Exceptions: Ongoing Negotiations At WIPO-Briefing By Brazil and the United States.
The following is the Brazilian intervention.
Last April, the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, visited the United States.
On 5 June 2012, India delivered the following intervention at the WTO Council for TRIPS on agenda item K, “Exchange of information on securing supply chains against counterfeit goods”.
“Roma locuta causa finita est” (Rome has spoken, therefore the case has been decided) was the maxim employed by medieval jurists to describe the absolute irrevocability of papal judgements in canon law. Today, in modern international trade law, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body fulfills a similar function as the international trading system’s “Supreme Court”. In the words of the WTO,
[t]he Appellate Body was established in 1995 under Article 17 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU). Continue Reading →
The following information is taken directly from the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement web page which reports that on 13 March 2012, Ukraine requested consultations with Australia under the WTO’s dispute settlement system with respect to Australia’s Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 which the WTO website noted imposes “trademark restrictions and other plain packaging requirements on tobacco products“.
These are the interventions delivered by the United States of America on 28 February 2012 during WTO Council for TRIPS discussions on ACTA under “IP Enforcement Trends”.
N. IP ENFORCEMENT TRENDS
[U.S. First Intervention]
• We appreciate this opportunity to discuss enforcement of IP rights, and hopefully to dispel some misperceptions about IP enforcement in general and the ACTA in particular.
• Effective enforcement of intellectual property rights is critical to sustaining economic growth across all industries and globally.
According to informed sources, the delegation of Ecuador delivered the following statement to the WTO Council for TRIPS on Tuesday, 28 February 2012 raising concerns that the damages section found under Article 9 of ACTA could potentially chill the flexibilities found under Article 44 of the TRIPS Agreement which sets out the WTO rules on injunctions.
CONSEJO DE LOS ADPIC
28-29 DE FEBRERO DE 2012
PUNTO N. DE LA AGENDA
INTERVENCIÓN DEL ECUADOR
