Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The United States may have hoped for a different result last week when it alienated allies at the World Intellectual Property Organization by issuing a rash criticism of Switzerland’s policy on patents and genetic resources and threatened to follow with more.
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Prices for drugs have long been a problem for developing countries but now have become out of reach for many in developed countries, sparking policy debates and efforts to address it. One of the top figures in the patent monetization business, industry maverick Erich Spangenberg offers a lively opinion on the underlying problem and how to fix it. To start? Stop granting patent extensions for minor changes.
The agenda of next week’s meeting of the World Trade Organization council on intellectual property will include an item on sustainable resources and environmental technology, and a proposed discussion on electronic commerce. These are in addition to the usual list of agenda items.
Indigenous peoples have been the victims of repeated acts of biopiracy while the international community has failed to act to prevent it, indigenous representatives said in an interview this week. The World Intellectual Property Organization has been discussing ways to address that issue for some 16 years, without success. As negotiators continue to seek consensus on what a potential treaty could achieve, indigenous peoples feel the spotlight has drifted from their issues to technical issues of the intellectual property system and highlighted attention on users of the system.
With discussions in full swing at the World Intellectual Property Organization on how to protect genetic resources in intellectual property rights, and in particular whether the disclosure of the source of genetic resources should be mandatory in patent applications, the United States has tabled a document hypothetically applying the mandatory disclosure legislation of Switzerland to a US patent.
In the light of the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, this series of sponsored articles challenges experts to give their views on the policies that best support the development of solutions to societies’ greatest challenges and how enabling policy environments, including IP systems, influence the development and flow of new technologies and services in different sectors, fields of technology, and jurisdictions. The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors. Below is an interview with Dr. Kristina M. Lybecker, Associate Professor of Economics at Colorado College in Colorado Springs (US).
A revised version of what is hoped by a large number of World Intellectual Property Organization members to become a treaty protecting genetic resources from misappropriation was issued today.
As standardisation increasingly takes place at the global level, Europe needs a speedier, more streamlined way to set the technical specifications that define requirements for products, production processes, services and test methods, the European Commission said today. As part of its single market strategy, the EC announced plans for a joint initiative on standardisation (JIS), guidance to boost the development of European standards, and an annual reporting system among EU institutions on how the standardisation policy is working and contributing to competitiveness, jobs and growth.
According to a new study by experts at the World Health Organization, prices of hepatitis C treatments are unaffordable globally and put a major strain on national health systems. Hepatitis C can cause liver cirrhosis and cancer, and with an estimated 80 million people affected in the world, if untreated, the sickness could lead to 700,000 deaths per year worldwide, the study said, suggesting that governments and industry stakeholders should develop and implement fair pricing frameworks.
The German Constitutional Court today ruled in favour of the “freedom to sample” - or freedom to remix - in a case between the singer/songwriter Sabrina Setlur and the band Kraftwerk.
Last week, the World Intellectual Property Organization held a seminar on intellectual property and genetic resources. For over a decade, WIPO members have been discussing ways to protect genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge from misappropriation. The seminar allowed speakers from different regions and interests to offer their views on the topic.