Intellectual Property/TRIPS

The final World Trade Organization panel ruling on the European Union's moratorium on approvals of products with genetically modified organisms contains findings that will likely limit the extent to which future WTO panels will consider multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), according to private-sector sources.

Greenpeace International today released a legal assessment of the World Trade Organisation

South Korea and the United States will start two-day working-level talks in Singapore Monday focusing mainly on procedural matters regarding Korea

Many more cases are being filed in India by groups representing HIV/AIDS patients against the granting of patents for HIV/AIDS medicines, adding to the initial two cases after a 2005 amendment to the Indian patent law.

The Ministers of Health of ten South American countries have issued ajoint declaration on intellectual property committing themselves toavoid 'TRIPS plus' provisions in bilateral and regional trade agreements, to facilitate the use of compulsory licensing and parallel importing and to avoid broadening the scope of patentability and the extension of patentable areas.

Basic problems and practical difficulties in the attempt by WIPO members to globally harmonise patent laws were highlighted on the second day of the WIPO open forum on its draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) on 2 March.

The final day of the WIPO open forum on patents saw heated exchanges on the impact of patents and 'flexibilities' of the system on access to medicines, as well as an interesting debate on whether genes and life forms should be patented.

The WIPO meeting on a Development Agenda was moving slowly towards how to categorise the many proposals presented by members, so that further discussion can be held on how to treat these proposals.

The process on a Development Agenda for the World Intellectual Property Organisation resumes with a week-long meeting starting 20 February.