The third meeting of the Global Network of Intellectual Property (IP) Academies (GNIPA) meeting in Munich, Germany, on June 9 and 10, 2009, at the European Patent Office (EPO), agreed to further intensify cooperation among its members. The event provided an opportunity for representatives of IP academies and training and research institutes to review progress on a common action plan, to exchange practical experiences and to share best practices with a view to enhancing IP education and training, and the management of IP Academies.
A gathering of senior policy makers and intellectual property (IP) administrators from 36 African countries meeting in Pretoria, South Africa on May 26 and 27, 2009, to examine the importance of IP as a catalyst for economic and commercial development, marked the launch of a Japanese-financed program to promote the use of IP in Africa and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
WIPO’s top copyright negotiating forum has agreed “to continue without delay” its work on facilitating the access of the blind, visually impaired (VIP) and other reading-disabled persons to copyright-protected works. This subject - as well as broader questions of limitations and exceptions to copyright law as they relate to libraries, archives and educational activities - is at the heart of current work of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR).
The number of international trademark registrations topped the one million mark when Austrian “eco” company Grüne Erde, which specializes in natural wood, textile and cosmetic products, registered its mark this month under the WIPO-administered Madrid system for the international registration of marks.
This year’s World Intellectual Property Day on April 26 focuses on promoting green innovation as a key element in meeting the challenges of climate change In his message to mark the day, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry highlights the contribution that a balanced intellectual property (IP) system can make in enabling the development of technology-based solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change.
The WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) agreed late Friday at the close of its week-long session from March 23 to 27, 2009, on a range of work items that will continue to clarify and focus attention on key substantive issues relating to patent law and practice. Delegations from 103 countries, 10 international organizations and 28 non-governmental organizations participated in the Committee which was chaired by Mr. Maximiliano Santa Cruz from Chile.
A committee of international experts meeting at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva from March 16 to 20, 2009 agreed to simplify the structure of the international system for classifying patents. Reform of the system, known as the International Patent Classification (IPC) system, will ensure more consistent search results and their wider use by industrial property offices.
Allegations of cybersquatting by trademark holders continued to rise in 2008, with a record 2,329 complaints filed under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), a quick and cost-effective dispute resolution procedure administered by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. This represented an 8% increase over 2007 in the number of generic and country code Top Level Domain (gTLDs and ccTLDs) disputes handled and brings the total number of WIPO cases filed under the UDRP since it was launched ten years ago to over 14,000. To improve efficiency and respond to growing demand, WIPO proposed in December 2008 an “eUDRP Initiative” to render the UDRP paperless.
Peru became the 141st contracting state of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) when it deposited its instrument of accession at WIPO on March 6, 2009. The Treaty will enter into force for Peru on June 6, 2009.
Chile became the 140th contracting state of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) when it deposited its instrument of accession at WIPO on March 2, 2009. The Treaty will enter into force for Chile on June 2, 2009.