Original news and analysis on international IP policy
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…
By Martin Vaughan for Intellectual Property Watch Washington, DC—With negotiators set to resume work this week, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador are resisting demands by the United States for patent protections that go beyond those enshrined in international trade law in…
By Sarah Lai Stirland for Intellectual Property Watch A wall of opposition from the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and independent inventor communities this year gutted some of the most controversial provisions from an ambitious patent reform bill introduced in July in the…
Failure to get agreement on a proposal to harmonise national patent laws by World Intellectual Property Organisation members will not impact the functioning and credibility of the organisation, a top WIPO official said today. Failure to agree “is not necessarily…
The World Intellectual Property Organisation is said to be different from many United Nations bodies in that it has long been seen as more of a technical body than the domain of career diplomats who are expert at political wrangling.…
Governments’ failure to reach agreement on a way forward on patent harmonisation talks at the World Intellectual Property Organisation today has cast a pall on the future of the issue within the UN body, sources said. The meeting of the…
The stakes are high for many participants in a 1-2 June negotiation at the World Intellectual Property Organisation, as the future of efforts to harmonise international patent laws is on the table. Developing country governments and non-governmental organizations raised concerns…
Experts attending the U.N. World Health Assembly this month debated a proposal to create an international treaty on medical research and development aimed at making medical treatment affordable globally while ensuring continuing innovation in the area. The proposed treaty was…
Consumer representatives, United Nations diplomats, drug industry representatives and others this week discussed a proposal to form a patent pool for essential medicines. The proposal was put forward by Consumers International and the Consumer Project on Technology (CP Tech) at…
Brazil, a developing country leader on international intellectual property issues, has come under pressure at home and abroad over whether to lift domestic patents on foreign pharmaceuticals for AIDS to allow cheaper generic versions to be produced. This week, nearly…