Category Multilateral Fora

Policy Incoherence for Stagnation: How Richer Countries’ Position at WIPO Contradicts their Commitments to the Rest of the World

[International Federation of Library Associations] ... The European External Action Service runs many projects on education, culture and research. Yet in its position at WIPO, it works against these goals. For a start, blocking progress towards an international instrument removes a key impetus to carry out reforms that would allow key actors in culture, education and research to do their jobs in a digital age.

WIPO: Request for Comments on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on IP

[World Intellectual Property Organization] WIPO is seeking to develop, through an open process, a list of issues concerning the impact of artificial intelligence (Al) on intellectual property (IP) policy that might form the basis of future structured discussions. Member states and all other interested parties are invited to provide comments and suggestions on the draft issues paper. Comments are welcome on any aspect of the IP system that is impacted by AI.

Second Medical Use Patents – Legal Treatment and Public Health Issues

[Clara Ducimetière] Abstract: This paper attempts to give an overview of the debate surrounding the patentability of new therapeutic uses for known active ingredients, both in developed and developing countries. After close scrutiny of international patentability standards, this paper concludes that second medical uses do not qualify per se for patent protection and have only been protected in several jurisdictions by means of a legal fiction.

Medicines and Intellectual Property: 10 Years of the WHO Global Strategy

[Germán Velásquez] Abstract: The negotiations of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (IGWG) (2006-2008), undertaken by the Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO), were the result of a deadlock in the 2006 World Health Assembly where the Member States were unable to reach an agreement on what to do with the 60 recommendations in the report on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property submitted to the Assembly in the same year by a group of experts designated by the Director-General of the WHO.

Access to Knowledge? WIPO Not Ready to Decide

[Electronic Information for Libraries] ...During the SCCR/39 session, and at the International Conference, three core issues emerged from the discussions: 1) there was clear recognition that L&Es are intrinsic to a balanced copyright system; 2) there was wide acknowledgement that copyright laws in many countries are falling behind in the digital age, and 3) there was emerging consensus on the urgent need to support preservation and access to cultural heritage, a core public interest activity of libraries, archives and museums.

UNESCO Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER)

[Zeynep Varoglu] There is good news on the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Educational Resources process: UNESCO Member States, at the CI Sector Commission of the General Conference, recommended the adoption of the UNESCO OER Recommendation draft by the Plenary Session of the 40th General Conference next week.

What Can We Learn From the Open Education Movement About Attaining Educational SDG in the Digital Age?

[Andressa Barp Seufert and Dominik Theis] The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on Quality Education (SDG 4), aims to “ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning”. The open movement is trying to break down the social, political, and technical barriers preventing people from accessing and contributing to education and free knowledge. Open Educational Resources can be an instrument to bridge knowledge gaps and promote educational equity as well as to contribute to the achievement of the SDG 4.

WIPO SCCR Progresses L&E Agenda Amid Controversy

The 39th Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) concluded with measured progress on the agenda to discuss international instruments on limitations and exceptions amid increasing controversy over the management of the Committee.

Comments on the Way Forward on Limitations and Exceptions by WIPO Deputy Director General for Copyright, Silvie Forbin

The following statement was made by Deputy Director General Sylvie Forbin at the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights summarizing the conclusions from the international conference on limitations and exceptions held October 18-19 in Geneva, Switzerland. The text below is a transcript of an oral presentation and may contain small errors and incomplete syntax given the mode of presentation. A fuller written report on the conference and regional seminars will be published by the Secretariat two months before the 40th meeting of the SCCR. The date for the 40th SCCR has not been set.

Uganda Tells ARIPO: No More Patents for Pharmaceuticals

[Ellen 't Hoen] Uganda has notified the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) that pharmaceutical inventions are not eligible for patentability in the country, Managing IP reported. With this notification, Uganda is exercising one of the TRIPS flexibilities specific for least developed country members of the World Trade Organization that allows them not to grant or enforce pharmaceutical patents and protection of undisclosed data.

Civil Society Letter to WIPO Delegates Attending the 39th SCCR

[Letter endorsed by 10 civil society groups] We are shocked by the attached proposal of the Chair to change the title of the agenda items on limitations and exceptions and prioritize discussions of the “role of licensing, contractual-based solutions, etc.” We are also troubled by the measures that will have the effect of reducing action on limitations and exceptions to “capacity building” and “tool kits.”