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intellectual property

Thailand: Academics call for temporary suspension of FTA talks with US
13-Nov-2004 MCOT
Thai academics called on the government on Friday to temporarily suspend ongoing free trade area (FTA) negotiations with the United States, and suggested it to identify impacts on the country’s intellectual property rights and agricultural products.
EU takes piracy fight to non-EU countries
12-Nov-2004 Out-law.com
The European Commission yesterday launched a new campaign to tackle IPR deficiencies in countries outside the European Union.
Copyright inquiry could save FTA
8-Nov-2004
An inquiry into computer and television piracy could break the impasse threatening to delay the start of the free trade deal with the US.
Central America is Not for Sale
5-Nov-2004
A call for organizational sign-ons from the Central America is Not For Sale Coalition
NGOs request "EFTA countries shall not endanger public health and food security in Southern Africa"
4-Nov-2004 Berne Declaration
Today 57 organizations sent a letter to the trade and foreign ministers of EFTA member states urging them not to include provisions that would restrict access to medicines and farmers rights under the EFTA-SACU FTA
US-Andean talks even worse than feared
3-Nov-2004 Colombia Week
Barring major turns, any deal emerging from the talks will be a disaster for most Colombians.
US, Andean countries fail to make progress in FTA talks
1-Nov-2004 Xinhuanet
The fifth round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru ended Friday without progress in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil. The controversial issues were agriculture and intellectual property.
Bilateral agreements and a TRIPS-plus world: the Chile-US FTA
26-Oct-2004
In these issues papers, the author examines a subject of importance in the developing international intellectual property regime and highlights the key issues arising. The topics have been chosen following consultations with negotiators from developing countries and respond to their concerns.
South Korea: Indefinite general strike planned
25-Oct-2004 GLW
Korean trade union and social organisations have worked together in recent months to stop the Japan-Korea FTA, arguing that it will result in the abolition of more regulations protecting workers rights, and more privatisation of public services. They also say the average citizens’ access to medical treatment and drugs will also be undermined by the FTA’s excuse to “protect” intellectual property rights.
Australia may bow to pressure from US drug firms on FTA
22-Oct-2004 Asia Pulse
Prime Minister John Howard may bow to a concerted campaign by American drug companies against the amendments that the government was forced into accepting upon pressure from the Labor Party.
EU-Mercosur resume trade talks in Lisbon
20-Oct-2004 MercoPress
The European Union and Mercosur will resume trade negotiations today and decide whether the association agreement — an “utmost geo-strategic and commercial interest” for Brussels — can be reached before November 1 when a new team of European Commissioners takes over in Brussels.
Thai civil groups want IP off trade-talks agenda with US
12-Oct-2004 The Nation
Civil groups yesterday called for intellectual property (IP) to be excluded from the second round of the Thai-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation because of fears it would give unjustified protection to rich IP developers at the expense of Thais.
US-Mongolia Agreement on Trade Relations (1991)
8-Oct-2004
UAE, US move towards FTA
8-Oct-2004 Khaleej Times
The United Arab Emirates and US made significant progress towards a Free Trade Agreement on Wednesday, paving the way for negotiations to start in the near future.
US-SACU trade talks grind to a halt
7-Oct-2004 AllAfrica.com
Free trade talks between the five members of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the largest economy in the world have reached a dead end.
Alert from Via Campesina Brazil on EU-Mercosur negotiations
4-Oct-2004
From September 20th to 24th the negotiators for Mercosul [Mercado Común del Sur] met in Brussels. Among them were the negotiators from Brazil and the European Union to make bids on tariffs and integration processes.
USTR outlines importance of US-Andean trade accord
4-Oct-2004 US State Department
The entry into force of a U.S. free-trade agreement with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru will open important markets for the United States, bolster the economies and counternarcotics efforts in the Andean nations, and should be concluded in a timely fashion, says Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Peter Allgeier.
‘IPR laws can expedite investment pact with US’
30-Sep-2004
The United States has said that the introduction and enforcement of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) laws and the resolution of existing investment disputes in Pakistan can expedite a bilateral investment treaty between the two countries.
Farmers risk violating US patents
29-Sep-2004 Bangkok Post
Thai farmers risk being held liable for patent violations under patent application rights for genetically modified (GM) papaya being considered by American biotechnologists working with Thai scientists, experts said yesterday.
We denounce the Korea-Japan FTA
29-Sep-2004 Social Movements Network
The governments of Korea and Japan have come together today, 350km away from Seoul, for their fifth negotiation to consolidate a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. Ever since the negotiations were initiated last December, many NGOs and people’s organizations have shown concern over the planned FTA.