Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Ongoing concerns in India that their legitimate generic drug shipments are being delayed as potential counterfeits while in transit through Europe may reach the dispute settlement body at the World Trade Organization, according to sources.
Indian generics manufacturer Cipla can get marketing approval for its generic cancer treatment Soranib, the Delhi High Court ruled Tuesday, and the Indian drug regulatory authority does not have to check its patent status first. The court this week rejected a complaint by drug multinational Bayer against the Union of India, the Drug Controller General of India and generic drug producer Cipla.
Bayer sought a court order requiring DCGI to consider the patent status of kidney cancer drug, sorafenib tosylate (sold under the brand name Nexavar), before granting marketing approval for a generic version of the drug.
At issue was whether it is legitimate to link a potential violation of IP rights to processes regulating a drug’s entry onto the market that are generally based on drug quality, efficacy and safety.
A potentially paradigm-shifting legal case that could restrict the granting of business method patents in the United States, Bilski v. Doll has attracted the attention of policy makers world-wide, who expect its outcome to influence the international patent system (IPW,…
A group of experts working as a think-tank for the United Nations Human Rights Council raised the issue of patents and food at a meeting this week. Meanwhile, a new report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food expected to be available at the end of August will focus on the intersection between intellectual property and the human right to food.
A group of US congressional members have sent a letter to US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke calling for a temporary arrangement between the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (which manages technical aspects…
Online auction site eBay, the owner of popular, proprietary voice-over-internet protocol software Skype, has warned that the service might not continue if it loses an intellectual property dispute with Joltid, the company from which it licences Skype’s core technology. “If…
With governments looking to close the long-stalled Doha Round of trade liberalisation talks in 2010, what will happen to remaining disagreements on intellectual property issues is still unclear. But proponents of amending the World Trade Organization intellectual property agreement reasserted the need to have them addressed.
A Northern California academic and a top national fundraiser for President Obama may be the next US ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, according to sources. Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, wife of eBay CEO and President John Donahoe, holds a law degree, two master’s degrees and a PhD in a variety of subjects, and is rumoured to be the nominee for the post empty since January.
Joel Tenenbaum, who is involved in a high-profile challenge of the music industry’s suit against him on the charge of unauthorised sharing of music, has written an editorial about his experiences of intimidation tactics. It is available from the Guardian…
The Development Agenda at the World Intellectual Property Organization is a “potentially revolutionary” agreement, according to a book released this month, but whether it will fulfil that promise depends on its implementation into concrete practice, said a panel of academics at the book’s launch.