Two contracts relating to the construction of a new administrative building to extend the premises of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) headquarters in Geneva, were signed on Friday, February 8, 2008, with the Swiss firm Implenia Entreprise Générale SA, as general contractor, and a syndicate of two banks: Banque Cantonale de Genève and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, for part of the project’s financing. The construction of the new administrative building, comprising 560 work places, will start along the Route de Ferney in early April 2008.
Top government officials, business leaders and senior law enforcement authorities today urged national and international political leaders to engage in the battle against counterfeiting and piracy. The call for increased action came at the close of the Fourth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy held in Dubai from 3-5 February 2008. The international event brought together over 1,200 delegates from 90 countries and was held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Dubai. The event was hosted by Dubai Customs and the World Customs Organization (WCO).
More than 500 senior decision-makers from 70 countries convened today in Dubai to identify solutions to the escalating global problem of product counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property and to put an end to the damaging effects it is having on consumer health and safety, government resources and revenues, innovation and foreign investment.
The Fourth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy will meet in Dubai from February 3-5, 2008 under the auspices of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Dubai. Senior officials from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and representatives of other international intergovernmental organizations, governments, regional and national enforcement agencies and business will attend the Congress to identify solutions to the escalating problems of counterfeiting and piracy. This is the first time the Global Congress is being held outside Europe.
Ministers and top officials from least developed countries (LDCs) highlighted the importance of intellectual property (IP) as a strategic tool for alleviating poverty and promoting wealth creation in least developed countries (LDCs) at a high-level forum organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on December 12, 2007 at its Geneva headquarters. The Forum was attended by several ministers from LDCs, ambassadors and permanent representatives, and senior government officials and provided an opportunity to exchange views and gain insights into IP capacity-building measures to promote effective use and management of the IP system. It further enabled participants to explore practical solutions to questions about how the IP system can be developed to ensure that it serves the interests of LDCs in meeting their developmental objectives.
Enhancing capacity in the field of intellectual property (IP) as a strategic policy approach to utilizing the IP system for alleviating poverty and promoting wealth creation in least developed countries (LDCs) will be the focus of a high-level forum organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on December 12, 2007. The forum will provide an opportunity for ministers, senior policy-makers and Geneva-based diplomats from LDCs to exchange views and gain insights regarding IP capacity building measures for the use and management of the IP system. It will further provide an opportunity to explore practical solutions to questions about how the IP system can be developed to serve as a policy tool for economic growth in LDCs.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) hosted on November 26 and 27, 2007 a discussion grouping 15 leading economists from around the world on the economics of intellectual property (IP). The aim of the International Roundtable on the Economics of Intellectual Property was to review the available economic literature in this field and identify empirical research projects that could be undertaken in developing countries and countries in transition.
New types of marks, such as holograms and scent marks, trademark opposition procedures, and questions relating to the registration of industrial designs topped the agenda of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT). The 18th session of the SCT, which met from November 12 to 16, 2007, was attended by 74 member states, 3 intergovernmental organizations and 11 non—governmental organizations, and focused on key issues that aim to establish more clarity for the international protection of trademarks and industrial designs.
At the request of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has offered its expertise and technical input on patent issues as they relate to influenza viruses and their genes. A technical WIPO report on this question (https://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/lifesciences/ip_health.html) will serve as one input to WHO’s Intergovernmental Meeting on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness: Sharing of Influenza Viruses and Access to Vaccines and other Benefits, which will meet in Geneva from 20-23 November 2007.
The effectiveness of enforcing intellectual property (IP) rights under criminal law was the focus of discussions at a meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE) in Geneva from November 1 to 2, 2007. The Committee heard presentations on the criminal enforcement of IP laws in various jurisdictions and considered issues such as the scope and definition of IP crimes, investigation and initiation of criminal proceedings, jurisdiction, means of streamlining proceedings, evidentiary issues, sentencing options and level of penalties.