Category Access to Knowledge/ Education

Brazil’s Federal Court Reviews Medicines Mailbox Patents

This week the media reported that the Brazilian federal court removed the patent protection for eculizumab, sold under the brand name Soliris by Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. Eculizumab is used in the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare and life-threatening blood disease. The product was approved by the US FDA for this indication in 2016. Brazil’s health care system spent $184.2 million to treat 442 patients with Soliris, an average of over $416,000 per patient. The patent office expects that more revocations may follow. This blog explains why this is.

The Changing Copyright Climate And WIPO: Interview With IPOS Chief Executive Daren Tang

The copyright committee of the World Intellectual Property Organization is meeting at the end of May with some complex issues on the agenda that may see new approaches for moving them forward, including the protection of broadcasting organisations, and limitations and exceptions to copyright for certain actors such as libraries and archives. Daren Tang, the chair of the committee, and chief executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), recently engaged in an interview with Intellectual Property Watch's Catherine Saez, providing his insights on the discussions, changes in the world affecting copyright, and what to expect of the next session of the committee.

World IP Day: Women Are Celebrated But Gender Gap Persists

The annual World Intellectual Property Day (26 April) is dedicated to women this year at the World Intellectual Property Organization. On the occasion, several countries are organising an exhibition and the screening of a film celebrating the life of Hedy Lamarr. Austrian/American actress who was also an inventor.

US Supreme Court Rules Inter Partes Review Legal

United States Patent and Trademark Office inter partes reviews are legal and do not violate Article III of the Constitution or the 7th Amendment, the US Supreme Court said today. While the decision was expected, practitioners before the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board can now rest easy, as one patent lawyer put it.

Music Creators Unite To Lobby US Congress On Music Modernisation Act

WASHINGTON, DC -- What better way to get the music community's message across than sending an army of creators to meet with policymakers. In a nutshell, that's the purpose of Grammys on the Hill, an initiative from the Recording Academy, which organises the prestigious US music awards, and which has also developed a strong advocacy activity.

Patents On Delivery Devices Can Extend Drug Patent Protection For Years, Study Finds

The number of patents for drug delivery devices has shot up in recent years, and has had the effect of significantly extending the protection enjoyed by patented pharmaceuticals, delaying cheaper versions of the drugs and leading to higher prices, a recent paper found. And in a Q&A below, one of the authors raises an issue for policymakers.

IPRs Seen To Impact Climate Change Technology Transfer In Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya -- With high vulnerability to adverse effects of climate change, African countries are keen to develop, acquire and disseminate technologies for mitigation and adaptation.

US House Judiciary Committee Approves Landmark New Copyright Package Seen Likely To Advance

American songwriters and performers achieved a rare feat in a highly polarized and partisan political environment: unite policymakers from all sides of the House of Representatives, and even get on board tech companies and broadcasters to support the most significant piece of copyright legislation in the United States since the 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Better Cyber Security Problematic, Says US Financial Industry: Power Struggle Over Encryption

A decision to keep third party listeners out of communications on the internet taken by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) at their recent meeting in London elicited an alarmist message from the US financial industry. The premier internet standardisation body would provide “privacy for crooks,” and practically prohibit “bank security guards from patrolling and checking particular rooms” online, BITS, the technology division of the Financial Services Roundtable, argued in a press release last week. Has standardisation gone rogue?

Federal Circuit Ruling in Oracle v. Google Could Affect Global Software Industry

Google’s use of 37 of Oracle’s Java application programming interface (API) packages in its Android operating system infringed Oracle patents and copyright, the US District Court for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) said on 27 March. The latest decision in the long-running case was not unreasonable but could stifle software innovation, lawyers said.