Category Biodiversity/Genetic Resources/Biotech

Medicines Access Again Captures Attention At WTO As Progress Urged In Round

Access to medicine and preservation of biodiversity topped the agenda at the World Trade Organization Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Council meeting this week, as a new alleged drug seizure in France, a concern over a largely-unused amendment to TRIPS intended to help developing countries gain access to medicine, and a renewed mandate on biodiversity at the World Intellectual Property Organization influenced the issues on the table.

Bilski Impact On Biotech Seen As Minimal; Experts See Court Shift

The intellectual property community is anxiously awaiting the United States Supreme Court’s reaction next month in the closely watched Bilski v. Kappos case, a legal feud over the validity of a patent covering a method of commodities trading.

The outcome of the case could have broad implications for the patentability of business methods and software, which could potentially wallop the technology industry. It likely will have less impact in the biotechnology arena, experts said at the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s Intellectual Property Counsels Committee conference in Washington on Tuesday.

Changing Winds For Gene Patenting In the US? Stakeholders React To Draft Report

A United States health department advisory group this month produced a new draft report on gene patenting and licensing with recommendations suggesting that excessive patenting can limit patients’ access to gene testing and might not foster genetic research. The recommendations were supported by a variety of health professionals but put the biotechnology industry on edge.

Perpetual Protection Of Traditional Knowledge “Not On Table” At WIPO

Protection of traditional knowledge under intellectual property rights may have a time limit, though determining duration of protection measures will be more difficult than it is with Western scientific innovation, World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry said yesterday.

Advocates Warn Against ‘Monsantosizing’ Of Global Food Sources

As the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food prepares to present his report today at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a global appeal is being filed by farmers and environmental organisations against patents on plants and animals derived from conventional breeding.

Panel Calls For An Ethical Framework For IP And Climate Change

BANGKOK - Normal negotiation strategy is unlikely to result in an impact on climate change, since the most important stakeholders in fighting it - not yet born - have no seat at the negotiating tables, said a panel last week in Bangkok. An ethical approach is a better way to achieve results, speakers said, and an ethical take on intellectual property rights and alternative forms of innovation may have a place in new climate-friendly economic models.

Bangkok Climate Meeting Leaves Political Issues, Compulsory Licences Unresolved

BANGKOK – Humanity may be facing the single greatest threat to its future in history, yet significant political disagreements still stand in the way of common action needed to combat what will be a common crisis. One potential blocking point appears to be whether compulsory licensing may be encouraged for poor countries needing climate technologies.

IP Rights In Agriculture: High Stakes, Entrenched Positions At WTO Public Forum

The economic, climate and food crises were on the lips of speakers at the 2009 World Trade Organization Public Forum last week. Suggestions for better global governance were sought from stakeholders who took the podium in different sessions, and trade in agriculture was a focal point of the event.

New Text Shows Delegates Must Overcome Conceptual Differences On IP, Climate

BANGKOK – Delegates gathered in Thailand to try and pull together a slow-moving UN negotiation on a plan to fight climate change have yet to bridge fundamental conceptual differences on key issues, including intellectual property. The vast majority of consensus found so far at the two-week informal gathering has been textual rather than political, said several participants.

Work Plan For WTO Negotiations Includes Potentially Critical IP Issues

The new work plan for negotiations for the coming months at the World Trade Organization includes intellectual property issues that some members say are critical to any outcome in the current round of trade negotiations.