Original news and analysis on international IP policy
LYON, FRANCE - A new level of willingness to cooperate on major public health initiatives may indicate increased convergence in goals between large pharmaceutical companies and patient advocacy groups, particularly when addressing neglected diseases, a panel at an international life sciences conference said Monday.
The World Health Organization on Friday issued a statement on a high-profile debate over Dutch customs authorities’ delays of shipments of legitimate generic pharmaceuticals passing through the European country on their way to patients in developing countries. The goods were apparently believed to be counterfeit medicines.
World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy on Wednesday kicked off informal talks on two key intellectual property issues that have been stalled by disagreements on the forum and mandate for their discussion.
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Trademark issues are emerging with the upcoming introduction of new generic top-level domains on the internet, and the board members of the body introducing the names has passed the ball back to intellectual property experts to find answers.
Brazil, once criticised for lax intellectual property rights protection, has been stepping up implementation and enforcement of international IP rules in recent years, a World Trade Organization body announced Wednesday. But some major rights-holding nations urged the government to undertake further work.
The World Intellectual Property Organization is facing the possibility of negative income for the first time in its history, the United Nations agency’s director general said Monday. Director General Francis Gurry made the remarks during a press conference on its annual report on trademark filings at WIPO in 2008 that showed a new record high for trademark registrations but signs of a slowdown late in the year.
On 3 March, 2009, bills were introduced in the US Congress setting forth the proposed "Patent Reform Act of 2009". The legislation proposes significant changes to post-issuance proceedings available to challenge patents in the United States. US attorneys Matthew A. Smith, Stephen B. Maebius and Jon W. Dudas argue the proposed legislation will be a step toward improving patent quality.
A World Trade Organization group tasked with creating a register for highly protected names of wines and spirits associated with geographical locations buckled down Thursday to a technical discussion on what it would look like. The focus on these issues sidestepped some broader political questions that have delayed these talks, but fundamental disagreements also remain over the register’s parameters.
Health advocates on Friday escalated their alarm over recent seizures by the Dutch government of shipments of legitimate generic pharmaceuticals passing through Europe on their way to developing countries. The European Commission has defended its actions as permissible under its own and international rules, but is being asked to look more carefully at those rules.
The World Health Organization is soliciting new ideas for funding sources to stimulate research and development on diseases predominantly afflicting developing countries, with some in developed countries. The web-based public hearing, being held online from 7 March to 15 April, will contribute to an intergovernmental mandate to come up with ways to address the shortage of research in this areas.
Developing nations led by Brazil and India, along with public health providers and advocates, this week continue to press strong concern over seizures of legitimate shipments of generic pharmaceuticals destined for poor patients in the developing world. Raising the issue at the World Trade Organization again, they say new research into numerous shipments of legitimate drugs delayed by authorities in the Netherlands have elevated doubts and may mean potentially thousands of patients put at risk.