WIPO Director General Francis Gurry concluded on October 18, 2010 a two-day official visit to Algeria during which he met with Government Ministers to discuss the role of intellectual property (IP) in stimulating innovation and development and ways to strengthen cooperation between WIPO and Algeria.
The WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) agreed on late Friday at the close of its week-long session from October 11-15, 2010 to include a number of key substantive issues relating to patent law and practice in its future work. Delegations from 86 countries, 5 international organizations and 25 non-governmental organizations participated in the session of the Committee, which was characterized by a very positive and constructive atmosphere among member states that resulted in significant progress in the Organization’s substantive agenda with respect to the further development of the international patent system.
Ministers and delegates from WIPO’s 184 member states, meeting at their annual Assemblies in Geneva from September 20 to 29, 2010, endorsed reforms led by Director General Francis Gurry and welcomed the new Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSP), which sets the broad direction for the Organization through the next five years. The Assemblies had opened with an impassioned call from the legendary singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, urging government representatives to reach agreement on enhanced accessibility of copyright content for persons with physical disabilities.
WIPO has launched IP Advantage, a new database which profiles the intellectual property (IP) experiences of inventors, creators, entrepreneurs, and researchers. This tool aims to promote a better understanding of how IP is created and protected, and how inventors, creators and society at large benefit from the IP system.
Some 70 ministers from across the globe participating in the high-level segment of the WIPO Assemblies, which opened today, shared their national experiences in relation to the role of intellectual property (IP) in promoting innovation, growth and development, and reaffirmed their commitment to IP in supporting these objectives.
World-famous singer-songwriter and UN Messenger for Peace Stevie Wonder called on the international community to take action to enhance accessibility for all those with physical disabilities. Speaking at the opening of the annual meetings of WIPO Assemblies, he challenged delegates to conclude an agreement on improved accessibility to copyright protected works by visually impaired persons (VIPs) within a year.
The role of innovation in promoting economic growth and competitiveness as well as the significant changes in the dynamic global innovation landscape were the focus of remarks by WIPO Director General in his opening statement to the annual meetings of the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which run from September 20 to 29, 2010. Mr. Gurry addressed his remarks to some 70 ministers who will be exploring the theme “Innovation, Growth and Development: The Role of Intellectual Property and Member States’ National Experiences in a two-day high-level ministerial segment.
WIPO launched on September 20, 2010 WIPO Lex, an on-line global intellectual property (IP) reference resource which provides up-to-date information on national IP laws and treaties. This centralized search facility, which offers a user-friendly interface and functionalities, is in line with one of the Organization’s strategic goals, namely to serve as a world reference source for IP information and analysis.
A new public-private partnership which aims to provide industrial property offices, universities and research institutes in least developed countries with free access, and similar institutions in certain developing countries with low cost access, to advanced tools and services for retrieving and analyzing patent data was launched at WIPO’s headquarters on September 17, 2010. This will support these countries in effectively leveraging the valuable information contained in patent documents to facilitate technological innovation and economic development.
WIPO launched on September 16, 2010 an on-line tool that is linked to its International Patent Classification (IPC) system to facilitate searches for patent information relating to environmentally sound technologies (ESTs). This will help to help in identifying existing and emerging green technologies, as well as potential partners for further R&D and commercial exploitation.