Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The first Brazilian generic drug against erectile dysfunction recently received registration at the National Surveillance Agency - a unit of the Health Ministry. The Viagra generic’s registration was only possible because of a decision of the Superior Court that will terminate the drug patent next month, said Odnir Finotti, president of the Pro-Generics Association.
The international policy debate over counterfeit medicines and legitimate generics escalated today. Brazil and India took the first step in the World Trade Organization dispute settlement process for treatment of generics medicines falsely labelled counterfeit in Europe, and non-governmental organisations from both sides of the issue issued new releases stating their positions on the issues at the neighbouring World Health Organization.
A leader for the World Intellectual Property Organization Global Challenges Division - tasked with connecting intellectual property to critical issues such as public health, food security, and climate change - has been named more than a year and a half after the division's creation.
Three new documents from the World Health Organization programme on intellectual property and innovation obtained by Intellectual Property Watch provide new evidence on how technology transfer is working, analyse research prioritisation at the WHO, and indicate progress on a monitoring and evaluation strategy for the programme's continued implementation, according to a preliminary reading.
NEW YORK - Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the United States are “hotlining” colleagues to ascertain if there is any objection to moving patent reform quickly through the US Senate, a representative of a major stakeholder in the debate said here Friday. Meanwhile, the US Copyright Office is working to get its priorities through a restructured Congress, and a World Intellectual Property Organization official warned of a possible divide in WIPO's norm-setting activities.
A meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources drew to a close today with an unusual ending: applause, and an agreement.
A World Intellectual Property Organization committee tasked with finding an international instrument to prevent the misappropriation of traditional knowledge, folklore, and genetic resources has begun in earnest text-based discussions and is now working to find an agreement on extra meetings intended to speed the process towards creating an international legal instrument.
Intellectual property rights and access to medicines were on the agenda at the first day of a biotechnology industry group’s annual convention yesterday. The group held a panel on IP rights and also released a policy statement on access to medicine in developing countries. The director of the US Patent and Trademark Office commented positively on the initiative.
An alternative initiative to promote access to medicine with a method mimicking market mechanisms means to create additional incentives for health innovation, authors of the proposal said yesterday. But other health actors have reservations.
A public event was organised yesterday to discuss how the Health Impact Fund (HIF) could fit within existing structures and what challenges it could face.
Negotiators at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week will address longstanding efforts by many WIPO members to begin in earnest text-based negotiations for a tool to better protect traditional knowledge and genetic resources.
In the United States, trade policy is generally considered an economic issue. But for developing countries like the Dominican Republic, it can be a matter of life and death, write Tanya Baytor and Patrick Griffith of Georgetown University Law Center.
A mechanism to watch the continuing implementation of development-oriented principles into the World Intellectual Property Organization’s work has now been found. For many, the Development Agenda is the most important agreement in WIPO’s recent past, and the mechanism - which will monitor, assess and report on its implementation - was a critical area of importance in ensuring it reaches its full potential.