Original news and analysis on international IP policy
For the first time, more than half of people in the world living with HIV have access to treatment, UNAIDS said in a report released today in Geneva. In addition, AIDS-related deaths have been nearly cut in half since 2005, it said. As of 2016, nearly 20 million people were living with HIV.
The World Intellectual Property Organization has proposed a 10 percent reduction in the contributions its member states make to the UN agency. The proposal, which met with some unanswered questions from WIPO member states at a committee meeting last week, is said to reflect the agency’s robust finances and will be taken up again in September. The move would shrink government contributions to WIPO’s overall budget to less than 5 percent of its total revenues.
Member states’ first reading of the proposed budget by WIPO for 2018/2019 also led to some amendments in programmes, notably new indicators of progress.
3D printing used to be an expensive product design tool, but it is quickly becoming an affordable and accessible technology. First emerging in the 1980s, the availability of low-cost, high-performance 3D printers has put the technology firmly within reach of consumers. While this provides a number of opportunities for designers and manufacturers, there is also concern around the impact on IP rights, writes Jia Li.
KAMPALA, Uganda -- For a long time, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions were timidly recognised as intellectual efforts worthy of legal protection. Of recent, indigenous peoples, local communities, and some governments have demanded the recognition of traditional forms of creativity and innovation as protectable intellectual property.
In its newly issued objectives for renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has put a strong focus on protecting and exploiting intellectual property rights in the digital environment.
The global network of national influenza centres is at the core of the World Health Organization system of influenza surveillance and response. All year round those national influenza centres collect, interpret and share flu samples or genetic information with the WHO so that seasonal vaccines can be manufactured, and potential pandemics adequately identified and contained.
A new study by the World Health Organization finds that most countries will have the technological and the financial ability to reach universal health coverage in the next 13 years, according to authors.
MUNICH -- The German Federal Supreme Court in a decision drawing significant attention on 11 July upheld a temporary compulsory licence granted for the HIV drug Isentress (X ZB 2/17). The antiretroviral drug, based on raltegravir, has been the object of a prolonged court fight between Japanese drug company Shionogi and its US competitor Merck.
An event on 17 July at the United Nations in New York will address the "UN Secretary General's High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines: Advancing Health-Related SDGs through Policy Coherence."
Attracting a World Intellectual Property Organization external office appears to be a critical priority for a number of countries that have put forward their candidacy for four possible new openings. During the WIPO Program and Budget Committee this week, some of those candidates delivered presentations highlighting their most striking assets, such as bridging continents, region, and economic blocs. But discussions could not lead to the chosen winners this week.
A new project that stimulates the development of affordable and effective drug regimens to treat tuberculosis (TB) is catching notice in policy circles.
Positions on the new draft European Union Copyright Directive lie so far apart in the European Parliament that compromise before an expected October vote seems nearly impossible. Critics of a new special copyright for press publishers - and of a radical change towards holding internet intermediaries liable for what their users upload - were highly alarmed by this week’s developments in Brussels.