Category News

Committee Examines Undue Influence, Coordination In WHO Pandemic Flu Response

A review of the World Health Organization’s response to the 2009 pandemic influenza outbreak kicked off this week, with firm statements from those involved in the response that they were not unduly influenced by outside stakeholders. Still, serious questions remain about the coordination effort, as a nearly a year after the pandemic was declared developed countries find themselves having to dispose of excess vaccines while poorer countries are reporting they have yet to obtain as many as they need.

UK Passes Internet Access-Limiting Bill For Alleged IP Infringers

The United Kingdom Parliament late last night approved a controversial digital economy bill that allows the court to impose obligations on internet service providers to limit internet access of its users deemed to have infringed online copyrights.

UN Claims Victory In Biodiversity Talks, But Outcome Not Certain

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity last month hailed Cali, Colombia as the birthplace of a protocol they hope will lead to an international regime on access and benefit-sharing by their October 2010 deadline. But, while it is clear the late March negotiation in Cali brought significant progress, participants reported difficult disagreements and in the final days, signs that there is yet more work to be done.

Risk Of Wrongful Medicines Seizures Seen In EU-Central America Trade Deal

A new accord designed to bolster political and economic ties between the European Union and Central America could result in greater seizures of medicines whenever pharmaceutical companies allege that their patents have been infringed, public health advocates have warned.

Leaked ACTA Text Shows Possible Contradictions With National Laws

“No changes in domestic” law promised the partners currently negotiating the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. A leaked 56-page recent consolidated version of the much-discussed agreement shows that this might not be completely true. The draft version with a lot of bracketed text in it shows that some countries are more open about the potential need to change their domestic laws than others.