A new report released today by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) indicates that the global economic and social impacts of counterfeiting and piracy will reach US$1.7 trillion by 2015 and put 2.5 million legitimate jobs at risk each year. The report was launched at the 6th Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy, during a panel session on economic impacts.
The study, Intellectual Property: Powerhouse for Innovation and Economic Growth, is the result of a collaborative effort on the part of ICC BASCAP and the ICC Commission on Intellectual Property. The report was launched during the 6th Global Congress on Counterfeiting and explores the benefits of intellectual property (IP) protection in strengthening national economies, driving innovation and technology, fostering new ideas, and enhancing society and culture.
Over 900 delegates from intergovernmental organizations, national governments, enforcement agencies and business from more than 100 countries convened today in Paris to address the serious global impact of the growing trade in counterfeit and pirated goods and the need to build respect for intellectual property in a balanced and sustainable way. The Sixth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy, meeting on February 2-3, 2011, is organized under the High Patronage of the President of the French Republic.
Following outcry in December 2010 at a decision to exclude all non-governmental stakeholders from its working group on improvements to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) has confirmed the names of five business representatives who have been invited to serve as special guests in the CSTD Chair’s special working group on IGF improvements.
The Chairman of ICC, Victor K. Fung, has described the ICC Research Foundation as the development laboratory for issues of concern to ICC and its National Committees around the world. The chief aim of the Foundation is to support research which provides useful data, analysis and policy options which can be of use to ICC members in addressing issues of common concern, including global trade, trade finance, employment, climate change.
The International Chamber of Commerce participated today in a high-level conference in Brussels jointly organized by the Council of Europe and European Commission to mark the occasion of Data Protection Day 2011.
The conference, Data protection 30 years later: from European to international standards, aimed to raise awareness on data protection and promote it as a fundamental right. It featured welcome messages from Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
As discussions on global economic recovery take centre stage at the annual Davos gathering of political and business leaders, ICC is driving home the message that international trade is crucial to restoring the health of the global economy.
The World Chambers Federation (WCF) today announced the results of its first ever election to select General Council members. More than a third of WCF’s members, from its global membership from more than 120 countries voted for their 20 preferred representatives in online elections.
More people were taken hostage at sea in 2010 than in any year on record, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) global piracy report disclosed today. Pirates captured 1,181 seafarers and killed eight. A total of 53 ships were hijacked.
A recent incident could signal a worrying development in the tactics employed by Somali pirates, according to the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
Following years of suspense, the Mexican Customs administration (SAT – Servicio de Administracion Tributaria) has appointed CANACO (the Mexico City Chamber of Commerce) as the national guaranteeing and issuing organization for ATA Carnets in Mexico.
Meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, business leaders in Business Action for Sustainable Development 2012 (BASD 2012) and representatives of UN Member States discussed the crucial role business must play in the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012, commonly known as the Rio+20 Earth Summit. In addition Chad Holliday, the Chair of BASD 2012 and Chairman of Bank of America, addressed the plenary session of the first Intersessional of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has confirmed that it expects to start accepting and issuing ATA Carnets early next year, making the federation the 69th country to join the ATA system.
Cindy Duncan, Senior Vice President, Carnet Operations, United States Council for International Business (USCIB) has been elected Vice-Chair of the ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF) World ATA Carnet Council (WATAC). In her new position, Ms Duncan will support WATAC Chairman, Peter Bishop, to coordinate the activities of the Council and its Administrative Committee. Mr Bishop was re-elected Chairman by WATAC in June 2010 to complete a final three-year term.
ICC welcomes the agreement reached in Cancun during the United Nations climate change conference as a solid step forward towards the development of a robust post-2012 framework agreement.
ICC and its Business Action to Support the Information Society initiative have joined with nine other business and Internet organizations to convey strong objection to a decision taken by the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) to compose its Chair’s Working Group on Improvements to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), exclusively of government representatives.
To read the Russian version of this text, please click here.
The Russian translation of the 10th edition of the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Intellectual Property Roadmap for Business and Policymakers was launched today at the second International Forum of Intellectual Property, entitled Expopriority' 2010, which is currently taking place in Moscow from 7-9 December.
The Intellectual Property (IP) Roadmap has been translated into Russian for the first time, demonstrating ICC’s commitment to the Russian-speaking business community, and ensuring its engagement and influence on the major IP issues it faces.
Intellectual property (IP) has not only become a fundamental factor in the process of turning a great idea into a successful product or service on the market, but also an indispensable element for the development of Mexico's global competitiveness.
There is huge support in the business community for government efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the lack of progress towards a global framework and momentum in the negotiations poses a serious risk to that continuing interest and support. The global business community agreed it must scale up its own efforts to find solutions to climate change, regardless of the outcome at the United Nations climate change talks in Cancun, and warned government officials that the absence of a global framework is a major obstacle to business efforts.
As new technologies lead us to reconsider existing privacy concepts and boundaries, ICC hosted a unique conference to deliberate how existing data protection laws apply in a rapidly changing landscape.
A ‘conference within a conference’ the one-day event took place on the second day of the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Europe Data Protection Congress in Paris on 29-30 November.