World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

IP Negotiations Monitor 14, August 2015

The IP Negotiations Monitor summarizes the latest developments in multilateral and regional fora where intellectual property negotiations are taking place, and informs on upcoming meetings and events.

(Covering period: April – June 2015) (more…)

Policy Brief 17, March 2015

Towards a More Coherent International Legal System on Farmers’ Rights: The Relationship of the FAO ITPGRFA, UPOV and WIPO

This Policy Brief outlines some key areas of interrelation among the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). (more…)

Research Paper 56, November 2014

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Protocol on Patents: Implications for Access to Medicines

This paper was commissioned to better understand the workings of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (commonly known as “ARIPO”) with regard to its Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs and to examine the effect of implementation of the Protocol (Section on Patents) on the promotion of access to affordable medicines. (more…)

Statement, 13-17 October 2014

South Centre Statement on Coming into Force of Nagoya Protocol

The following is a Statement by the South Centre on the coming into force of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. (more…)

Statement, 22-30 September 2014

South Centre Statement at the Fifty-Fourth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO

The following statement was presented by Nirmalya Syam on behalf of the South Centre at the Fifty-Fourth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO held on 22-30 September 2014 at Geneva, Switzerland. (more…)

Research Paper 52, August 2014

Tackling the Proliferation of Patents: How to Avoid Undue Limitations to Competition and the Public Domain

The steady increase in patent applications and grants that is taking place in developed and some developing countries (notably in China) is sometimes hailed as evidence of the strength of global innovation and of the role of the patent system in encouraging it. However, such an increase does not correspond to a genuine augmentation in innovation. (more…)

Research Paper 49, January 2014

Public-private Partnerships in Global Health: Putting Business before Health?

Public and private sector interaction in health has always existed at the national level; in the United Nations (UN) system, public-private partnerships (PPPs) started at the end of the 1990s with the reform of the UN system launched by Kofi Annan. (more…)

SouthViews No. 61, 6 June 2013

Reflections on the IP System: A Development Perspective

By Carlos M. Correa

The South Centre held a side event during the 50th WIPO General Assemblies on the theme of “Reflections on the IP System: A Development Perspective” on 5 October 2012 at the WIPO headquarters in Geneva. Professor Carlos Correa, Special Advisor on Trade and Intellectual Property of the Centre, was the speaker of the event. Below is a summary of his presentation.

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Research Paper 47, May 2013

Access to Medicines and Intellectual Property: The contribution of the World Health Organization

The topic of intellectual property first appeared in the WHO in 1996 and coincided with the end of the Uruguay Round and the creation of the World Trade Organization. In 1995 the Charles III University of Madrid with the WHO Drugs Action Programme (DAP) organized a conference where Professor Carlos Correa presented a paper entitled “The Uruguay Round and Drugs”. (more…)

SouthViews No. 24, 25 July 2012

Beyond ‘Patent Quality’: Basic Concepts of the Patent System Need To Be Reviewed

By Carlos M. Correa

A proposal has been made to initiate a debate on ‘patent quality’ at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The expression ‘patent quality’ ambiguously alludes to a growing problem, faced in both developed and developing countries alike: the overwhelming majority of patents are applied for and granted over incremental developments on existing technologies. Although the patent system is supposed to reward inventiveness, in many cases patents cover minor improvements or trivial ideas.

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Research Paper 45, April 2012

Climate Change, Technology And Intellectual Property Rights: Context And Recent Negotiations.

This Research Paper discusses on contexts and recent negotiations in Technology Transfer, Sustainable Development and Climate Change. In terms of proprietary rights, the author categories technologies and related products into three domains: the Public Technologies; Patented Technologies and Future Technologies. (more…)