Experts from WIPO member states rolled up their sleeves this week and got down to the nitty-gritty of discussions aimed at reaching agreement on an international legal instrument (or instruments) to ensure the effective protection of traditional knowledge (TK), traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) and genetic resources (GRs). Their work focused on what is considered to be the most mature of the three subjects - TCEs - covered by the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC).
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry wrapped up a three day official visit to Dhaka on July 20, 2010 during which he held a series of high level meetings, including with the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. Talks focused on ways to enhance cooperation between WIPO and Bangladesh as well as a range of issues of interest to least developed countries as a whole. Mr. Gurry also presented to the Prime Minister the results of a WIPO-commissioned study on traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) of Bangladesh.
WIPO’s Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) met from June 30 to July 2, 2010 to address industrial design law issues, the protection of state names against registration or use as trademarks, grounds of refusal for trademark registration and collective and certification marks.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry wrapped up an official visit to Ukraine this week (June 29 to July 1, 2010) during which he met a number of high level Government representatives, including Mr. Volodymyr Semynozhenko, Vice Prime Minister and Mr. Dmytro Tabachnyk, Minister for Education and Science.
The WHO, WIPO and the WTO are jointly organizing a Symposium at technical level on Access to Medicines: Pricing and Procurement Practices on July 16, 2010 at the Centre William Rappard in the WTO in Geneva
WIPO’s top copyright negotiating body this week discussed better access to copyright-protected works for the blind, visually impaired (VIP) and other reading-disabled persons, as well as updating the rights of broadcasting organizations. The Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), meeting from June 21-24, also reviewed the status of discussions on updating the rights of performers in their audiovisual performances, calling for concrete proposals to advance negotiations.
Member states of WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) – a cost-effective mechanism that facilitates the process of obtaining international patent protection – endorsed a series of recommendations to enhance the PCT’s contribution in improving the quality of granted patents and to make the international patent system more useful to developing countries. This came at the end of a round of discussions by PCT member states within the context of the PCT Working Group from June 14 to 18, 2010.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry concluded on June 8, 2010 a two-day official visit to Tunisia during which he met Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to discuss the role of intellectual property (IP) in stimulating innovation and development and ways to strengthen cooperation between WIPO and Tunisia.
WIPO launched on June 1, 2010, WIPO GOLD, a free, on-line global intellectual property (IP) reference resource that provides quick and easy access to a broad collection of searchable IP data and tools relating to, for example, technology, brands, designs, statistics, WIPO standards, IP classification systems and IP laws and treaties.
Israel joined the international trademark system following the deposit of its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks with WIPO Director General Francis Gurry this week. The Madrid System, which will become operational in Israel on September 1, 2010, offers trademark owners a cost-effective, user-friendly and streamlined means of protecting and managing their trademark portfolio internationally.