China set to get fifth UN leadership role in IP and patents
Some say this gives the country too much influence over intellectual property rights and new technologies
04 March 2020 - 13:28
Geneva — A Chinese lawyer is one of two Asian favourites to head the world patent office, a post that would give Beijing its fifth UN leadership role and, according to its critics, an unprecedented level of influence over new technologies.
Voting opened on Wednesday at the 193-member Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which shapes global rules for intellectual property (IP) and oversees a patent system in which China and its firms, such as telecoms giant Huawei Technologies, have a growing stake...
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