Original news and analysis on international IP policy
In an effort to clean up a draft treaty text providing limitations and exceptions to copyright for blind and visually impaired persons, World Intellectual Property Organization members will meet this week for intense drafting sessions. The text, once cleaned, is expected to be sent to a top-level treaty negotiation in June.
Ahmed Abdel Latif says of the Novartis case: The ruling is also a revealing tale about the changing role of developing countries in the global intellectual property landscape and the growing influence of the judiciary in these countries in the implementation of international intellectual property rules.
A significant gap remains in advanced and developing economies' access to information technologies, according to the 2013 "Global Information Technology Report" released today by the World Economic Forum.
During the recent Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED) Colloquium 2013, participants highlighted the value of research and development in supporting public health and the importance of building self-reliance for countries through government investment, according to organisers. Some of the themes discussed during the event will be included in a report on public health policy, which will be published in The Lancet later this year.
A full room of country delegates and ambassadors gathered yesterday to celebrate the accession of India to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks at the World Intellectual Property Organization. However, beyond the joy of accession, the recent decision of the Indian Supreme Court on a Novartis drug patent loomed in the room.
A student group is holding top research universities in the US and Canada accountable for how much they are – or are not – contributing to global public health. According to a recently released report by Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, a non-profit organisation, most institutions are falling short when it comes to investing in neglected diseases and promoting access to medicines.
A draft protocol for the protection of new varieties of plants proposed by an inter-governmental African regional economic community is provoking the ire of civil society concerned about the potential impact of the protocol on small farmers, and the lack of consultation of farmers.
Following the Indian Supreme Court decision in Novartis AG v. Union of India, Prof. Frederick Abbott says, "the judgment is well-crafted, with close attention to the facts presented, and appears to take a balanced view of the matters brought before the Court."
Multilingualism not only expands cultural horizons but also provides a tool for innovation, speakers gathered at an international roundtable yesterday said. However, language uniformity is a tempting road taken by many - often for cost-related reasons - while multilingualism should be promoted as a factor in development, they said.
New Delhi - On 1 April, in a packed room in India’s Supreme Court, two judges - Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Desai - delivered a verdict that has the potential to dramatically change the national and global conversation about patents and patients.
The Government of Singapore today has revealed a set of initiatives it plans to implement over the next decade to further develop the country as an intellectual property hub.
Bangkok, Thailand - Experts on geographical indications ended two days of discussions here by acknowledging greatly the benefit of GIs to national economies and cultural heritages, but conceded that it has been tough to reach a multilateral agreement on the protection of this type of intellectual property. [Updated]