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WIPO gives life to IP debate

WIPO gives life to IP debate

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has announced that it will hold two symposia on IP and life sciences at its Geneva headquarters, starting on 4 September. That day, the forum ‘IP and Bioethics’ will be introduced by WIPO deputy director, Francis Gurry, and will address the issue in the context of patent reform and wider European Patent Office (EPO) policy.

On 19 September, ‘Current Issues in Intellectual Property and Public Health’ will assess the challenges and priorities facing policymakers around the world, and make further provisions for ensuring an inclusive and informed debate into the future.

WIPO said on 30 August that the symposia were ‘addressed to a wide range of stakeholders, including international policymakers, government agencies, legislators, delegates, and civil society actors. They are open to the general public, and will not be subject to a fee.’

Key topics for debate in the symposia include:

•    What are the ethical aspects of a life sciences technology as such (eg, should research on embryonic stem cells or human cloning be permitted)?

•    What are the ethical aspects of a national authority granting exclusive IP rights over a technology (eg, should patents be granted for DNA sequences or for genetically modified mammals)?

•    What are the ethical aspects of an individual, a firm or an institution choosing to seek exclusive IP rights over a technology (eg, should a publicly funded agency patent its research results on a new vaccine production technique)?

•    What are the ethical aspects of how an IP right holder chooses to exercise its exclusive rights over a technology (eg, should the holder of a patent over a basic research tool license it in a broad or restrictive way)?

Click here for an online registration form.

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