Original news and analysis on international IP policy
In response to the concerns about industry lobbying voiced by civil society recently at a symposium on agricultural biotechnologies, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) director general insists on the UN agency’s neutrality.
Priorities for the pharmaceutical industry in 2016 are antimicrobial resistance and the quest for new antibiotics, the strengthening of regulatory systems to facilitate access to drugs, and work on non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, according to the head of an international pharmaceutical industry group.
World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are discussing ways to protect genetic resources from misappropriation and ensure that those resources, when their access has been agreed - if exploited commercially - open up rights to the sharing of benefits from this exploitation. Negotiators yesterday discussed what type of instrument might be agreed, and debated a proposal to require disclosure of origin of genetic material.
The World Intellectual Property Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, was unique among Geneva-based UN agencies for offering views at both recent meetings of the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines held in Geneva and New York this month. Now WIPO has come under criticism from public health advocates for the views it gave.
The World Intellectual Property Organization committee working on policy solutions to protect genetic resources and traditional knowledge from misuse and misappropriation resumed its work today after a year hiatus. The newly elected chair, from Australia, issued an indicative methodology and programme for the week.
Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said today that two “highly effective” vaccines against Ebola have been developed over the course of 15 months in Russia. The combined vaccine GamEvac-Combi was presented during a briefing, with the two scientists who developed it, who own the intellectual property rights on the vaccines in Russia.
An international symposium on how agricultural biotechnologies can benefit small farmers organised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation is taking place this week. Small farmers and civil society raised concerns about the influence of agribusiness on FAO policies, as the ghost of a 2010 conference and farmers’ ire lingers.
The United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines has announced that the deadline for the submission of stakeholders’ contributions has been extended to 28 February 2016. The panel also lifted restrictions on the number of contributions authors can submit.
The Serbian government and parliament are currently drafting a new trademark law for the country which is to introduce the trademark opposition system into national IP legislation. Meanwhile, the cabinet of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic recently appointed Vladimir Maric as the new acting director of Serbia’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
The European Patent Office (EPO) and Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) will cooperate more closely in the area of plant-related patents and plant variety rights, they said on 11 February.
Movements at the World Economic Forum, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, along with changes in the academic and private sectors worlds marked the beginning of 2016. The early part of the new year has also brought some changes in the intellectual property divisions of law firms.
In an update on research and development against the Zika virus, the World Health Organization today said several companies are working on diagnostic tools, and two candidate vaccines are being considered. Discussions are ongoing with countries to encourage sharing of samples of the virus with the WHO, and leading organisations and scientific journals signed a declaration yesterday on the sharing of data for public health emergencies.