Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The US biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences has ended its dispute with the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche regarding the right to the anti-influenza drug, Tamiflu (oseltamivir) “in the interest of working together to address public health needs,” Gilead announced today. Tamiflu…
Lyon, France—Calling counterfeit medicines a “form of terrorism against public health,” a senior Nigerian health official urged a 14-15 November international conference in Lyon, France to support the adoption of an international convention to fight the problem. “I urge this…
Lyon, France–Japan has proposed an international treaty to combat worldwide counterfeiting and piracy, complementing the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The proposal came at a 14-15 November conference near Interpol headquarters in Lyon,…
Consumers worldwide are being left in the dark as to governments’ stockpiles in case of an avian influenza pandemic, and the pharmaceutical industry has been unclear about the medicine supplies available, concluded an intellectual property right panel in Geneva recently.…
Panelists at a Geneva workshop on intellectual property issues related to a possible avian influenza pandemic argued that IP rules and prices could make it difficult for nations to prepare sufficient stockpiles. Panelists argued that practical problems could arise with…
The World Health Organisation does not think patents will stand in the way of an effective public health action in the event of an outbreak of avian flu in humans because pharmaceutical companies have showed a willingness to co-operate, a…
Strategy for a possible outbreak of avian flu has been elevated from a national to an international level with a high-level meeting on a “plan of action” being held this week at the World Health Organisation. Intellectual property rights are…
Geographical indications (GIs) have become a political issue and a key priority for the European Union in the run-up to the December World Trade Organization ministerial in Hong Kong as GIs today officially became part of the EU’s agriculture package.…
The United States, Japan and Switzerland have taken bilateral actions through the World Trade Organization to probe China’s intellectual property rights enforcement, despite Chinese objections. The three nations are requesting more transparency based on Article 63.3 of the WTO Agreement…
While Swiss-based Roche, the rights holder to the most-favoured medicine for avian influenza, is pursuing sub-licenses, India is moving ahead with exploring the option of compulsory licensing. If this goes through, India would be able to export Tamiflu to developing…
Roche, the Swiss-based company with rights to a medicine believed to be the most effective in the event of an avian influenza pandemic, has expressed openness to discussing arrangements with companies or governments to produce more of its flu treatment…
A high-level group of legal scholars, artists, scientists and experts has launched an initiative urging governments to change the global intellectual property scheme which they argue has shifted too much toward private interests at the expense of the public. John…