The third in a series of public symposia on the life sciences and intellectual property will be held on Friday, November 16, 2007 and will address Intellectual Property and Life Sciences Regulation. The full-day event is organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in cooperation with the Stockholm Network.
Angola became the 138th contracting state of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) when it deposited its instrument of accession at WIPO on September 27, 2007. The Treaty will enter into force for Angola on December 27, 2007.
The World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) is organizing on October 29 and 30, 2007 at its Geneva headquarters an International Conference on Intellectual Property and the Creative Industries. In a high-level segment on October 29, senior government officials responsible for cultural affairs and intellectual property (IP) will reflect on creativity and its expression within different cultural contexts and policy environments. Throughout the conference, creative artists, academics and creative business representatives will speak on the creative process, factors that underpin the success of creative industries, the sector’s significance in contributing to economic and cultural development, and strategies to stimulate and promote creative activities in diverse settings.
The Assemblies of the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) concluded on Wednesday, October 3, 2007, following a review of activities over the past year and discussions on the Organization’s future work program. The WIPO Assemblies bring together the 184 member states of the Organization. The WIPO General Assembly was chaired by Ambassador Martin I. Uhomoibhi, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in Geneva.
A cooperation plan between the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) was signed on October 2 with a view to promoting the exchange and use of patent information for business development, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This took place on the sidelines of the annual meetings of WIPO Assemblies from September 24 to October 3, 2007.
Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have agreed to continue accelerated work on intellectual property (IP) and traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore/traditional cultural expressions (TCEs), with a focus on the international dimension. The General Assembly extended the mandate of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) for two years. While recognizing the solid work done to date, they have pledged to work towards greater convergence on the issues.
The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Dr. Kamil Idris, welcomed a decision by WIPO member states on Friday, September 28, 2007 to adopt a Development Agenda consisting of a series of recommendations to enhance the development dimension of the Organization’s activities. The recommendations include a set of 45 agreed proposals covering six clusters of activities including Technical Assistance and Capacity Building; Norm-setting, Flexibilities, Public Policy and Public Knowledge; Technology Transfer, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Access to Knowledge; Assessments, Evaluation and Impact Studies; Institutional Matters including Mandate and Governance.
The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr. Kamil Idris, called on member states on Wednesday to continue to build on progress made by the Organization to ensure that the intellectual property (IP) system fully contributes to wealth creation and the socio economic development of all nations. This came at the close of a general debate by the WIPO General Assembly on the results-based Program Performance Report of the Organization for 2006. The meetings of WIPO Assemblies are taking place from September 24 to October 3, 2007.
An exhibition showcasing various facets of creativity in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) was inaugurated on Monday evening at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), coinciding with the opening day of the annual session of the WIPO Assemblies. The exhibition, "HK Creativity – Intellectual Property in Hong Kong, China," has been organized jointly by WIPO and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, in cooperation with the Government of the Hong Kong SAR.
A three year project funded by the Geneva International Academic Network (GIAN) and coordinated by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has developed a model to enhance the capacity of health research institutes in developing countries to leverage the value of their research results through strategic management of their intellectual property (IP) assets. It has already led to the filing of patents for cancer-related treatments in participating countries.