Original news and analysis on international IP policy
From The Hindu: Even as the government has initiated the process of vetting a draft Bill on the protection and management of traditional knowledge (TK), experts caution against creating monopoly rights on TK and classifying it under intellectual property rights.
Indigenous Peoples' knowledge and creativity is a valuable source of inspiration for all, but might benefit from being better protected, the head of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization said this month. WIPO is currently negotiating an international instrument or instruments to better protect genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions (folklore).
Intellectual Property Watch is seeking a dynamic person to help expand our fundraising and outreach activities. [Position closed]
“IP is a very crucial part of our business and I can’t imagine being in biotech without a very strong emphasis on intellectual property,” a biotech industry executive said during a panel organised at the World Intellectual Property Organization yesterday.
Burcu Kilic and Courtney Pine write: As the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations approach their endgame, biologics exclusivity is still considered “one of the most difficult outstanding issues in the negotiation.”[2] Pharmaceutical companies seek longer data and marketing exclusivities to further delay market entry of cost-saving biosimilar drugs. Data exclusivity prevents follow-on pharmaceutical developers from relying on originators’ test data submitted for marketing approval while seeking such approval for its own product. The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) requires some protection against unfair competition for this sort of data, but it does not require countries to adopt rules conveying exclusive rights over it in the same way as it does regarding patents.[3] Currently, the US provides 12 years of exclusivity for new biological products under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA).[4] The provision providing 12 years exclusivity was buried inside the 20,000-page healthcare law, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A robust debate over what would be an appropriate exclusivity period, if any, was overshadowed by other controversial aspects of the bill commonly referred to as Obamacare.
The World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee (PBC) is meeting this week with a full agenda of issues relating to planning for the next biennium as well as management matters.
KAMPALA, UGANDA -- Member states of African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) have adopted a protocol for the protection of new varieties of plants. The measure is aimed at modernising African agricultural practices, but some say it comes at the expense of age-old traditional farming practices, such as saving and re-using seed.
In the quest to find solutions to protect traditional knowledge and genetic resources from misappropriation, some countries have resorted to private databases to be used by patent examiners. Indigenous peoples are wary of the process primarily because they are not sure their knowledge will remain safe in those databases. Speakers at a World Intellectual Property Organization this week discussed the pros and cons of such defensive protection.
The issue of genetic resources or traditional knowledge that are shared among different countries was discussed at a World Intellectual Property Organization seminar this week. Panellists presented national and regional efforts to protect such resources.
Keen on maintaining momentum in the discussions on the protection of traditional knowledge and genetic resources, while the normative agenda on the issue is suspended, the World Intellectual Property Organization is holding a seminar on the subject this week.
World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevêdo said at a press event yesterday that 2015 is a decisive year for the organisation. One of the main features is the potential conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda. He also said a recent agreement on geographical indications at the World Intellectual Property Organization would provide a boost to IP talks at WTO.
Intellectual property protection is vital to finance innovation and in particular for start-ups, according to speakers at an event co-organised this week by the European Union, Switzerland, and the United States at the World Trade Organization.