Five Decades of Intellectual Property and Global Development

[Peter Yu] The 2016-2017 biennium marks the historical milestones of several major pro-development initiatives relating to intellectual property law and policy. These important milestones include the Intellectual Property Conference of Stockholm in 1967, the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development (UNDRD) in 1986 and the establishment of the WIPO Development Agenda in 2007. On January 1, 2016, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also came into force. Adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development featured 17 SDGs and 169 targets. Prominently mentioned in Target 3.b of SDG 3 are the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health. Click here for more.

Librarians, Archivists, Call On WIPO Members To Create Safe Harbour Against Copyright Liability

[Catherine Saez] The age of digitisation has opened new doors to distribution of information including for libraries and archives. However, librarians and archivists are often confronted with risk of liability for copyright infringement, nationally and in cross-border activities. This week, they asked the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee to provide them not only with some exceptions to copyright, but with protection against liability. The WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) is taking place from 14-18 November. On the SCCR agenda is copyright exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives. On 17 November, librarians and archivists took the floor to explain why an international standard protecting them against liability is indispensable. Click here for more.

APEC Ministers Endorse Best Practices in Trade Secret Protection and Enforcement Against Misappropriation

[Mike Palmedo] Much of the news covering last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation  (APEC) conference discussed the TPP, RCEP and FTAAP, but there was also work to establish new intellectual property norms. The main outcomes reported by the Chair include an agreement among the trade Ministers “to foster cooperation in intellectual property (IP) rights protection and enforcement, and raise SMEs awareness of IP commercialization. They encouraged the completion of the APEC Best Practices in Trade Secrets Protection and Enforcement on the basis of consensus at the earliest possible time.” Click here for more.

WIPO Adopts Open Access Policy for its Publications

[WIPO Press Release] The World Intellectual Property Organization today announced its new Open Access policy to promote the widest possible public access to its publications, furthering the Organization’s commitment to the dissemination and sharing of knowledge. As the world reference source for intellectual property-related information, WIPO houses extensive collections of publications that include studies, reports, guides, and other learning resources. The Open Access policy will facilitate access for policy-makers, researchers, practitioners and anyone else seeking to use and build upon these resources. “WIPO’s publications are unique collections of valuable information,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. “Our Open Access policy formalizes our efforts to ensure that this wealth of knowledge is ever-more readily available for use by everyone.” Click here for more.

Open Education and Open Government in Chile

[Werner Westermann]  The 2016 Open Education Conference (Open Ed) was an inspiring experience where I got the chance to meet individuals engaged in innovative and equitable open teaching and learning practices. I was happy to see that open pedagogy is now at the forefront of the OER movement – we see that creating and using OER is now a widely accepted way to improve educational outcomes. We also know that there’s a need to develop strong policies at all levels to promote and sustain OER efforts, especially in K-12 schools. To feed the policy rationale, more and different types of research need to be outlined, specifically those concerning efficacy and impact, which suited my contribution at Open Ed related to the ROER4D project perfectly. Click here for more on creativecommons.org.

TRIPS Council Meets on Public Health, Access to Medicines

[International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development] WTO members reviewed last week a series of recommendations by a UN panel aimed at supporting access to medicines, debating in particular the report’s findings relating to trade and intellectual property rights. The discussions took place under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council, which is the WTO body that administers the TRIPS Agreement. The 8-9 November meeting was chaired by Ambassador Modest Jonathan Mero of Tanzania. Click here for more.