international organizations
New ECA Publication to Spotlight Breakthroughs of African Female Scientists
A new publication ‘Earth, Oceans and Skies: Insights from selected, outstanding African women scientists’ by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) will spotlight African female scientists whose contributions seek to address some of the most critical challenges of the UN’s Decade of Action leading up to the year 2030.
From exploring the depths of the ocean to studying the vastness of space, the publication features dozens of autobiographies of selected scientists including female doctors, engineers and scientists from Africa whose research and discoveries are helping to tackle complex global challenges.
Click here to read more.
International Gender Champions
The International Gender Champions (IGC) is a leadership network that brings together female & male decision-makers determined to break down gender barriers and make gender equality a working reality in their spheres of influence.
The network numbers over 250 active Champions and 160 Alumni who are the heads of International Organizations, Permanent Missions, and Civil Society Organizations.
Click here for their factsheet or go directly to their website.
UNCTAD’s Global Trade Update
UNCTAD’s Global Trade Update was published on 17 February 2022. It shows that in 2021 global trade growth remained strong, as its value continued to increase through each quarter of 2021. Trade growth was not only limited to goods, as trades in services also grew substantially through 2021, to finally reach pre-pandemic levels during Q4 2021.
EU launches WTO dispute against China over 5G IP
On February 18, the European Union launched a legal challenge against China at the World Trade Organization, arguing that Chinese courts were preventing European companies from protecting their cellular technology patents. The EU considers that China is violating the WTO TRIPS Agreement, as Chinese courts continue to issue broad anti-suit injunctions (ASIs), thus deterring owners of cellular standard essential patents (SEPs) from litigating patent licensing disputes outside of China. Alongside the broad ASIs, it has been asserted that the Chinese courts are setting unduly low global licensing rates in their rulings. While the EU case focuses on ASIs, industry experts point out that it is the combination strategy that harms the position of European and other SEP owners. The European Commission filed the challenge on behalf of the 27 EU members, and other WTO members, such as Australia and the UK, have already joined the case. The next step is consultations.
Center for Global Development series on the EU-Africa Summit
On February 17th, the long-awaited summit between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), delayed since 2020, finally began. But in the time since the first event was scheduled, the world was ravaged by a pandemic that is estimated to have stalled a decade of continuous growth and human capital improvement on the African continent.
The Center for Global Development prepared an excellent series on the EU-Africa Summit consisting of mini reports by CGD experts about the various joint priorities set out by the AU and the EU. The series offers compelling analysis and commentary on the actions needed in order for a meaningful reconstruction of the relationship between the two continents to materialize.
Find the series here.
Powered Up Festival 2021
Streaming throughout October 2021, Powered Up festival features a line-up of live-streamed sessions which aim to inspire innovation, creativity & entrepreneurship through the power of intellectual property (IP). Trade marks, designs, patents, copyright, and other IP rights, help us all to grow, protect and share our ideas, creations and products with the rest of the world.
Organised by Ideas Powered for Creatives, the festival is a mix of panel discussions, keynote speeches and one-to-one interviews, which will showcase some of the most-creative young minds and talked-about companies in Europe.
Policy approaches to close the intellectual property gender gap
Click here through Innovation Council’s presentation on “Policy approaches to close the intellectual property gender gap”. Innovation Council’s Jennifer Brant and Mark Schultz presented the findings on 29 July during the plenary session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The IC intervention starts at 01:38:52.
Nominate inventors for the European Inventor Award 2022
The European Inventor Award honours inventors not only for the genius of their scientific or technological breakthroughs, but also for the impact their inventions have on our lives. You can help determine who will receive a highly coveted Award trophy by nominating an inventor. Simply complete the nomination form, submit it before the deadline is reached and your inventor could become a finalist in Europe’s foremost innovation prize.
Nominations for the 2022 edition of the European Inventor Award must be sent to the EPO by 1 October 2021.
EPO announces winners of the European Inventor Award 2021
The European Patent Office’s European Inventor Award 2021, which took place on June 17th, celebrated outstanding inventors and inventor teams from Europe and beyond.
At the ceremony, the winners were announced for each of the five categories: Industry, Research, SMEs, Non-EPO countries, and Lifetime Achievement. These winners were selected by an independent, international jury. The public was also invited to vote for their favourite inventor from among the 15 finalists in the Popular Prize.