Original news and analysis on international IP policy
A study by the Canadian Generic Pharmaceuticals Association (CGPA) suggests that the European Union’s (EU) proposed changes to Canada’s patent system could add nearly $3 billion to Canada’s prescription drug bill.
The United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator today issued an annual report on IP enforcement. One year after her appointment, Coordinator Victoria Espinel claimed significant progress on the plan for the office set up to coordinate IP enforcement activities across various US government agencies.
The United States Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday approved a slightly amended version of the Patent Reform Act of 2011.
A call for papers has been issued for an upcoming event on intellectual property rights, gender and traditional cultural expressions. Abstracts for papers are due on 18 February.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released data today that show Asian economies increased their share of global exports of information and communication technology (ICT) goods in 2009 over the previous year. This means the global financial crisis further shifted trade in these goods toward Asia, UNCTAD said.
A bill was introduced into the United States Senate last week that would prevent any individual or company from being able to get a patent on a tax strategy. The bill also is included in the patent reform bill reintroduced into the Senate Judiciary Committee last week and expected to come up as soon as this week.
A proposal for a single patent system in the European Union through an "enhanced co-operation procedure" was approved by the EU Parliament Legal Affairs Committee today.
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has taken a stance on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), welcoming most of its provisions, but requesting a harmonised approach for implementation, because the much-debated agreement would leave a lot of space for differing national implementations. GSK…
Today, the Global Fund sought to settle concerns about fraud involving millions of dollars it provided to several African countries. The fund had been strongly supported by developed countries for its direct model of providing funds for health work on the ground in developing countries, and evidence of corruption among recipients drew international attention.
Markus Kummer, the long-time Swiss diplomat who has headed the secretariat to the multistakeholder Internet Governance Forum, has become vice president for public policy at the Internet Society in Geneva. The IGF was an outgrowth of the 2003-2005 World Summit…