Original news and analysis on international IP policy
“Ex Africa semper aliquid novi”, which can be freely translated from Latin to mean “there is always something new coming out of Africa,” said Pliny, the ancient Roman writer and scholar. Presumably then, as is the case now, the concept of “new” included an expression of sarcasm and deprecation as in “absurd, nonsensical and ridiculous.” Well, Pliny has been proved right once again, writes Prof. Owen Dean.
As some developed countries prepared to ink a secret plurilateral trade agreement against rampant global piracy and counterfeiting in recent days, leading emerging economies and non-governmental groups warned the World Intellectual Property Organization that such outside agreements need to respect broader societal impacts of IP rights enforcement or risk abuses of international rules on trade and development.
In reaction to the recent IP-Watch Inside Views post “Health Impact Fund – Raising Issues of Distribution, IP Rights and Alliances,” by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr and Proochista Ariana, the authors offer a response on behalf of Incentives for Global Health (IGH), the non-profit organization that is developing the Health Impact Fund (HIF) proposal.
A proposal for a new United Nations body for internet governance oversight did not please the majority of delegates, be it from governments, private sector or civil society, at the sixth Internet Governance Forum in Nairobi last week. But while India and Brazil sought to defend their proposal, forum stakeholders were unable to move to reshape the annual event.
Penye nia, pana njia. A Swahili proverb for “when there's a will, there's a way,” this might well be the motto for innovative entrepreneurs the world over. Whether they’re based in Nairobi, Brussels or Silicon Valley, what matters the most to entrepreneurs is the success of their businesses. Of course, what's "in the way" of that success can vary considerably, writes Jonathan Zuck.
This piece raises several issues with the public health financing proposal called the Health Impact Fund. It questions the relative distribution of costs and benefits; the persistent issue of intellectual property rights; as well as a lack of alliance with existing efforts to increase innovation of and access to essential medicines for the poor.
United Nations members this month are setting the future course for global action against a rising public health problem well-known in developed countries and spreading to developing countries: noncommunicable diseases. But whether they will – or should - address concerns that intellectual property rights issues might interfere with access to treatments for such diseases as diabetes, cancer, or heart disease remains to be seen.
While the global loss of biodiversity is widely recognised, the question of whether the influence of intellectual property rights on the protection of biodiversity is positive or negative does not achieve such consensus. A discussion among specialists on 14 September showed that clear evidence is lacking about the impact of IP rights. Some said the IP system as it stands might be ill-fitted to answer the needs of this particular field.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that Trevor Mundel has been named president of the foundation's Global Health Program. Mundel is global head of development for Novartis Pharma in Basel, Switzerland and will start at Gates on 1 December.
A new multi-stakeholder declaration demanding that the public interest be returned to intellectual property rights was issued this week and is open for signatures by anyone, already collecting hundreds of supporters. The declaration contains numerous principles and actions, such as restraint in enforcement, open access, and development priorities, that the drafters hope will help change the course of IP policymaking.
The United States Senate on Thursday passed historic patent reform legislation – but not before some heated debate on the chamber’s floor. It now goes to President Obama for his signature. Intellectual Property Watch offers a look at who wins and what will now change.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotiated last year will be open for signature for two years, until the first of May 2013. But while this looks like a long time, it likely will be needed by the 37 negotiating governments (including the United States, Japan, South Korea and the 27 European Union members) to iron out problems on their way to implementing what some rights owners welcomed as a possible new “gold standard” for the enforcement of intellectual property rights.