Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Candidates from around the world vying to be the next director general of the World Health Organization in recent weeks have presented their views to member states on a range of public health issues. Two of the six candidates answered a question put to them by Intellectual Property Watch relating to medicines prices, innovation and intellectual property. Here are their answers.
Q. Todd Dickinson is a shareholder at Polsinelli law firm, and was director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under President Clinton, a former lead IP counsel for two Fortune 50 corporations, and most recently executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). In an interview with Intellectual Property Watch on 18 November in the margins of the IP Dealmakers conference in New York, Dickinson discussed US prospects for national and international IP policy after the presidential election, changes in Geneva, reform of US IP law, and repairing relationships.
A new report from UNAIDS shows that antiretroviral therapy is now accessed by 18.2 million people living with HIV, and fewer people are dying from the virus infection. However, there is stalled progress on HIV prevention among adults, and growing antiretroviral drug resistance among people living with HIV over a long time.
Part of the decision whether to file a patent in a particular country rests on how likely it is the patent can be effectively enforced, but until recently the information needed to answer that question was mostly anecdotal, Nikolaos Papageorgiadis, University of Liverpool Management School (UK) international business lecturer, said at a webinar. To remedy that, he and Cranfield School of Management Economic Policy, Sustainability and Performance Reader Konstantinos Alexiou created the Index Of Patent Systems Strength, which ranks the effectiveness and efficiency of the patent systems of 49 countries.
A recent multinational crackdown on illegal activity in the anonymous channels of the so-called Darknet resulting in multiple arrests around the world was intended to thwart rampant online intellectual property theft. But how much the dragnet will help to thwart cybercrime in the future remains in question.
Intellectual property in Russia will become a subject of antitrust regulation starting next year, according to recent statements of an official spokesman of the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS).
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Patent protection is a challenge to many an inventor in developing countries. Inventors in most African countries, for instance, are compelled to surmount huge obstacles to protect their inventions. In order to remedy the situation, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in collaboration with the World Economic Forum has launched an Inventor Assistance Programme (IAP). Now, the local inventor community in Kenya has a few words for WIPO on how to expand the programme to make it more effective on the ground. Trust is one of them.
A new international alliance to support the United Nations Resolution on Antimicrobial Resistance was launched this week. The Conscience of Antimicrobial Resistance Accountability (CARA) aims to bring together organisations committing to reporting on mutually agreed upon indicators in countries around the world, and to hold the UN and other stakeholders accountable to their commitments.
When countries belong to several international instruments, some aspects of those instruments may run contradictory to one another. A symposium held recently by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) sought to explore the interrelations between the convention and the international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Farmers' rights lie at the intersection of the two treaties and while some find the treaties complementary, some others view them as contradictory on farmers' rights. Meanwhile, farmers themselves have been blocked from participating in deliberations.
Now in her final weeks in office [Update: she has continued in the role under President Trump], United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Michelle Lee today looked back over the Obama administration's work on patents and made predictions for the next administration due to take over in January. She hailed the outgoing administration's successes and said to expect a continued focus on a strong IP system, legislative changes on hot button issues but not right away, and continued engagement around the world.
Governments around the world are increasingly cracking down on use of communications apps like WhatsApp and Facebook. Of the 65 countries assessed, governments in 24 impeded access to social media and communication tools, up from 15 in the previous year, the report said.
A global consultation on farmers’ rights recently co-organised by Indonesia and Norway provided recommendations to the international plant treaty, calling for the establishment of an ad hoc working group on farmers’ rights. They also recommended that contracting parties of the treaty revise their intellectual property laws and other legislation that may create obstacles for the realisation of farmers’ rights.