Noting that the “decisive factors in productivity have shifted from land and capital to know-how, technology and skill,” and the need for an intellectual property system that will “balance the private rights of inventors with the public needs of society” the Holy See gave the following opening statement at the 51th WIPO General Assembly.
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Statement by H.E. Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva
51th Series of Meetings of the WIPO Assemblies
September 24, 2013
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Delivered September 24, 2013, during NGO statements on agenda Item 5.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
As regards the Marrakesh treaty, KEI offers its sincere and profound thanks to Secretary Francis Gurry, Ambassador Trevor Clarke, Michelle Woods and Geidy Lung and others members of the WIPO staff for their dedication to a successful conclusion to this difficult negotiation.
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On 4 September 2013, the Department of Trade and Industry (the DTI) of the Republic of South Africa released its long-awaited “Draft National Policy on Intellectual Property“. This policy framework was gazetted in the Government Gazette as Vol. 579, No. 36816. Public comments will be accepted until 17 October 2013.
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More than two-and-a-half years ago, the United States tabled their text for the intellectual property chapter at the Fifth Round of negotiations which took place in February 2011 in Santiago, Chile. In March 2011, that text was leaked and contained many aggressive proposals as well as some placeholder text for pharmaceuticals in other areas. Continue Reading →
On August 30, 2013 KEI filed the following FOIA request for copies of any email correspondence between Victoria Espinel, the former US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, and employees, representatives, or member companies of the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Espinel assumed the position of President and CEO of BSA just weeks after stepping down from her position at OMB. KEI is interested in the ethical dimensions of Espinel’s new employment, in light of Executive Order 13490 — Ethics Commitments.
——– Forwarded Message ——–
From: Claire Cassedy
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On Wednesday, 27 August, the 19th round of TPP negotiations held its “stakeholder engagement” day.
Chief’s briefing changed to “dialogue”
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On August 23, 2013, the TPP Ministerial meeting concluded with a press briefing. Stakeholders were not allowed to attend, but according to media sources, the briefing lasted only 20 minutes and reportedly the ministers only took a handful of questions before ending the briefing. Apparently, Ambassador Froman confirmed that the October 2013 deadline was not possible, but that countries were now looking for “milestones” by October with the hope of concluding the agreement by the end of the year.
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The 19th round of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) began this week in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. Although this round just started yesterday, it is evident that there are many differences between this round and previous rounds.
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Media coverage of the Marrakesh Treaty for the Blind negotiations 22 June 2013, The Washington Post, Filmmakers’ group tries to reshape treaty that would benefit the blind 24 June 2013, The Guardian, US film industry tries to weaken copyright treaty… Continue Reading →
During Kamil Idris’s tenure at the helm of the World Intellectual Property Organization, a hackneyed mantra of the organization was “Intellectual property: a power tool for economic growth”. Continue Reading →