Original news and analysis on international IP policy
A recent decision issued by Advocacia-Geral da União (Advocacy-General of the Union) restricts the role performed by Anvisa - the National Agency for Health Surveillance - in examining pharmaceutical patent applications. This may represent a huge setback for commitments made by Brazilian government related to the protection of public health, writes Felipe Carvalho.
The appointment of former United States Register of Copyrights to the board of directors of the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) was announced yesterday.
The European Parliament today approved a new law aimed at preventing falsified medicines from entering the legal supply chain, according to a Parliament press release. The law needs to be formally approved by the Council of Ministers.
A respected US law professor has been named senior advisor to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for consumer protection and competition issues that affect the internet and mobile markets.
The head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Program intends to retire from his position in June, according to a press release. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s leading international advocate for intellectual property rights has joined the Gates Foundation Global…
Shortly after passage last year of the US healthcare reform act called for a regulatory pathway to bring follow-on biologic drugs, or biosimilars, to market with 12 years of data exclusivity for brand-name producers, the Obama administration has proposed to reduce that time to its original 7 years, according to sources. The move, contained in the 2012 budget proposal, is expected to allow lower priced generic versions of drugs to enter the market sooner, a benefit to consumers.
Watchdog organisation Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) yesterday filed a complaint at the European General Court against the European Commission's denial of access to information on the EU-India bilateral trade talks.
The international protection of wines and spirits named after geographical locations has seen renewed attention at the World Trade Organization since the beginning of the year as part of a push to conclude the Doha Round of trade liberalisation. Legal effects and costs of a register for such wines and spirits were addressed last week.
A United Nations independent expert yesterday issued a statement on Australia's aid programmes for countries in need, praising some of the country's work but warning that it not use such aid to pressure regional governments to enter into free trade agreements with it.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office yesterday submitted a request to the US Congress for a budget increase in 2012 on expectations of a rise in patent and trademark applications and promises of reductions in application processing times.
A new study finds that publicly funded research has had a greater positive impact on public health than previously believed.
The non-profit ETC Group has released a report on global governance of nanoscale technologies that showed that thousands of patents are being granted on this still little understood area of science.