Original news and analysis on international IP policy
With a generous pledge and a grand vision, Bill Gates launched the “Decade of Vaccines” two years ago. By endorsing a “Global Vaccine Action Plan” during the World Health Assembly, the world’s health authority stands as the lead agency in advancing the initiative.
A proposal at this week’s World Health Assembly to negotiate a binding convention on research and development for neglected diseases - those predominantly afflicting poor populations - ran into resistance from developed countries which hold the view that another approach might be possible. But an agreement was reached on a way forward for the expert report that recommended the binding convention.
The United States and China will hold early next week what is becoming the largest bilateral programme between their courts in the area of intellectual property adjudication. Set to gather more than a thousand participants, the discussions will largely revolve around patent litigation, according to a top US judge.
A drafting group has embarked on the task of combining four different proposals on the table at the annual World Health Assembly aimed at financing research and development for neglected diseases mostly afflicting poorer populations.
Members of the World Health Organization at their annual meeting tomorrow will address proposals for ways to finance research and development for diseases which afflict mainly developing countries but for which there are not lucrative markets.
The annual World Health Assembly being held this week has a rare chance to achieve a breakthrough on health research for the global poor if it can agree to move forward on a proposed convention, proponents said at a recent meeting.
The escalating battle between Big Pharma and India’s generic drug manufacturers is pushing down medicine prices in one of the world’s fastest growing pharmaceutical markets.
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2012 was hailed as a success at its closing ceremony today by the secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Yet sharp debates about the reluctance of the UN to hire an executive secretary for the Internet Governance Forum, the reluctance of the ITU to allow the global public to see and contribute to the coming International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR), and the need for a new UN platform for enhanced cooperation clearly illustrated that the global internet governance ship is cruising through rough seas.
The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill currently in the in-tray of South African President Jacob Zuma and awaiting a signature, holds the hope that it will finally pave the way for the protection of the country's most famous red tea, Rooibos, as well as other local staples.
The tiny island state of Singapore has begun to ramp up its capacity for patent search and examination ahead of a bold move to adopt a new patent system, one of the proposed major amendments to its Patents Act. The Southeast Asian economic high-flyer is pressing for changes to its laws to position itself as an Asian hub for intellectual property.
After the thirteenth quadrennial session of the United Nations body focusing on trade and development, which was to set its mandate for the next four years, delegates reached consensus and avoided major pitfalls, according to several developed and developing country sources. The governments also worked out differences on UNCTAD’s mandate for work on intellectual property rights.
The information and communications technology (ICT) for development community is meeting in Geneva this week for a series of conferences on the 2003-2005 World Summit on the Information Society. Government stakeholders, civil society, and the private sector will evaluate progress towards meeting the goals set at the last WSIS in Tunis in 2005 and establish new common goals looking beyond 2015.