Original news and analysis on international IP policy
A recent book comes in time for the international policy debates coming to a head over access to medicines, intellectual property rights and public health in developing countries.
A copy of a key judgment by the High Court of Kenya last week that found a national anti-counterfeiting law was overly broad and might interfere with access to generic medicines is now available on Intellectual Property Watch.
The 2012 Global INET Forum is uniting some of the architects and builders behind the internet with the industry leaders and policymakers who are shaping it today in an event taking place in Geneva from 22-24 April.
The High Court of Kenya yesterday ruled that the country's 2008 Anti-Counterfeit Act was too broad and could interfere with the flow of legal generic medicines to patients, leading the UNAIDS organisation to issue a statement praising the decision. It also said intellectual property rights are not more important than life and health, according to UNAIDS.
The US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Monday re-issued a request for proposals to manage the sensitive IANA contract. IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority function, includes the management of the central root zone of the internet domain name system, the allocation of internet protocol addresses to the Regional Internet Registries and other core parts of the internet infrastructure.
The rapporteur of the lead committee of the European Parliament on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, David Martin, today published his draft recommendation on the highly controversial agreement. If the International Trade Committee agrees on the draft, the plenary will be asked to state that it "declines to consent to conclusion of the agreement."
A recently published book by Harvard Law School Professor John Palfrey offers a thoughtful and useful handbook for executives or just about anyone else to better understand and use intellectual property, in ways that encourage sharing and openness.
The annual US list of barriers to trade in other countries was published today, with profiles of dozens of trading partners from very large to very small.
Using on-the-ground research in Africa and the Netherlands, the authors of a recent book looked at the impact of intellectual property on agriculture and health in developing countries. The study made some surprise findings in relation to IP and development, such as IP-related obstacles to knowledge and technology transfer.
The Indian Supreme Court today postponed hearing the high-profile case involving Swiss pharmaceutical producer Novartis' challenge of India's patent law until July, according to sources.