Category Access to Knowledge/ Education

The Copyright Manifesto: How The EU Should Support Innovation And Creativity Through Copyright Reform

Teresa Hackett writes: “Copyright divide in numbers”, the graph on the first page of the newly launched ‘The Copyright Manifesto. How the European Union should Support Innovation and Creativity through Copyright Reform’ tells a story. In an illustration of the results of the European Union’s (EU) 2014 consultation on copyright, publishers, authors and collective management organizations express strong support for the current system, while end users and institutional users (such as libraries) are strongly in favour of copyright reform. So if copyright is supposed to benefit everyone, the copyright system sure isn’t working for everyone.

WIPO Re:Search Celebrates 3 Years, Looks To The Future

Several years ago, the World Intellectual Property Organization set up a project aimed at helping bring together those with intellectual property rights and those with ideas for research to develop medical products for people in need. The project, WIPO Re:Search, has gathered numerous partners and is beginning to look ahead to its next phases, including the possible eventuality of drug development, according to the WIPO secretariat.

WHO Report: Access, Affordability Of Medicines Key To Reducing Non-Communicable Diseases

A new report from the World Health Organization examines the Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013-2020 (known as the Global NCD Action Plan) and provides some “lessons learnt from implementation.” The report calls for urgent action by governments to stop the “epidemic” of cancer and mostly preventable diseases from sources like tobacco use, salt intake, physical inactivity, and high blood pressure. This includes ensuring treatment is available and affordable, it says.

The Latest News In Intellectual Property From ANEPI Ecuador

Welcome to (ANEPI), the first Intellectual Property News Agency of Ecuador. The Agencia de Noticias Especializada en Propiedad Intelectual (ANEPI) publishes news, analysis, interviews, feature articles, a weekly update and more on Ecuador and the region, at http://www.anepi.ec. Articles are primarily in Spanish with some translation. Below is the list of the week's stories on ANEPI, including in English: "Latin America, Patents, Innovation and Brands within the Intellectual Property System."

Bienvenido a (ANEPI), La Primera Agencia de Noticias de Propiedad Intelectual del Ecuador: Síguenos http://www.anepi.ec/ANEPIEcuador

Key Hepatitis C Patent Rejected In India

Today's rejection by the Patent Office Controller of India of a patent application by Gilead company for a key drug against hepatitis C is being hailed by advocates as a path to dramatically lower costs of treatment for the disease. Hepatitis C has been noteworthy for exorbitantly priced medicines over the past year. A look at the decision shows that a provision in India's law continues to stop patent applications if they fail to show sufficient novelty and inventive step - and are subject to opposition.

Most-Read IP-Watch Stories In 2014: A Tale Of Staff Issues, India, Hot-Button Topics

All year long, Intellectual Property Watch expends great energy and resources to bring hundreds of carefully written, detailed stories on policymaking - technical committee meetings, legislation, negotiations, legal cases, and latest reports and papers. But in what is perhaps typical of readers everywhere, many of the best-read IP-Watch stories of 2014 were those few that involved elections and personnel issues and India, followed by a range of hot button issues such as high-priced medicines, copyright and knowledge access, patent valuation, or internet surveillance.