Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The GAVI Alliance launched a mid-term report this week showing that the public-private partnership is on track to immunise more than 250 million children by 2015 and prevent some four million deaths. GAVI’s CEO said it uses multiple tools to help reduce prices of vaccine and that intellectual property rights do not pose a serious threat to its success.
Infojustice.org reports: Last week, the report Brazilian Patent Reform: Innovation Towards Competitiveness was launched at an event at the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies.
Climate change calls for new technologies to face its consequences, governments agree. But research and development efforts are mainly conducted by the private sector in developed countries and are patent-protected, which is doing little to diffuse the technologies in developing countries, said a lecturer in Geneva this week.
A hearing to consider a United States government "green paper" as part of the ongoing reform of the US copyright system has been moved to 12 December due to the government shutdown.
The United States has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.
The World Health Organization is putting the finishing touches on an implementation plan for industry's financial participation in the global influenza preparedness strategy. This week the advisory group met to discuss a draft plan presented by the WHO secretariat, which should now come up with a revised version for implementation in early 2014, according to the chair of the advisory group.
A seminar on the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications was held at the United Nations last week with panellists exploring the intersection between intellectual property and human rights in the context of public health, agriculture, and the role of flexibilities to achieve balance between private and public interests.
The US government shutdown is now in its second week, causing more and more of the country’s intellectual property regime to grind to a halt. The shutdown’s effects also are rippling overseas, hindering US efforts to negotiate two major international trade deals containing significant IP provisions.
Two scientists with a connection to Geneva have published an unorthodox e-book entitled, Guide for the perplexed entering the Maze of Genetic Resources Traditional Knowledge and Folklore.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has helped to outline the process for public comments and participation in the ongoing reform to the US copyright system. The focal point for discussion is a "green" paper issued in July, on which a hearing is scheduled this month.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) last week held a mandated seminar on the right of everyone to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications. In some cases, intellectual property rights may not be helping, according to speakers.
Mutual understanding between the international trade community and internet stakeholders would be of great benefit to help adjust the multilateral trade regime to the rapidly changing landscape of the digital economy.