Original news and analysis on international IP policy
In recognition of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, the secretary of the United Nations on 9 August raised the complex issue of intellectual property rights and indigenous knowledge. The Director General of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization also issued a message straddling the issue of IP rights and community ownership of traditional knowledge and resources.
Across the world, the Caribbean is renowned for its unique flavors in music and entertainment, its beaches, cricket, and its commonly acclaimed fun and sun. While these are well-deserved, and are sources of just pride, this common perception provides foliage which bars the examination and explanation of the real problems and needs in intellectual property in the Caribbean, writes attorney Abiola Inniss.
Delegates working on an international instrument to protect traditional knowledge and folklore against misappropriation today agreed this afternoon to ask the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly in September to extend the mandate of the committee working on those issues.
In the face of a severe food shortage, Kenya's Cabinet has approved imports of genetically modified maize, though it has drawn the line on use of GM maize as seeds, a regional newspaper reports.
Global public health experts in charge of exploring ways to finance R&D on diseases endemic in developing countries last week provided a preliminary summary of assessments on proposals provided by various stakeholders. They also made recommendations to establish global mechanisms, including a binding global instrument for R&D and innovation for health.
The World Intellectual Property Organization has taken its first public steps in the climate change debate by holding a conference on the subject this week. The organisation’s expertise in intellectual property policy and technology transfer is being sought by several other actors in the field, in particular the United Nations climate change agency.
El Medicines Patent Pool y la compañía farmacéutica Gilead Sciences ha anunciado hoy un acuerdo de licencia para permitir la producción medicamentos clave para el combate contra el VIH a un menor costo y en una formulación más fácil de usar, haciéndolos más accesibles a los países en desarrollo.. El acuerdo se extiende al uso de tratamientos para la hepatitis B por primera vez.
India has at least seven diverse intellectual property (IP) legislations related to protection already in place. Its focus should therefore arguably be directed - along the lines of many other IP jurisdictions - on more stringent enforcement modus operandi of the IP rights. Is there scope for introducing yet another IP legislation – the utility model protection law - in the Indian IP landscape and if so, what should be its scope and implication, asks Swarup Kumar.
Civil society groups say a leaked document from regional free trade negotiations between countries bordering the Pacific Ocean shows the United States favouring giant pharmaceutical companies at the expense of public health. Separately, the tobacco industry is allegedly also trying to push for a clause to prevent plain packaging.
The Medicines Patent Pool and pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences today announced a breakthrough licence agreement to allow for the production of key HIV medicines at lower cost and in an easier-to-use formulation, making them more accessible to developing countries. The agreement also opens up the use of treatments for Hepatitis B for the first time.
The World Intellectual Property Organization is continuing its push to become involved in some of the biggest policy questions of the day with an international conference on climate change next week. This follows recent efforts on public health and food security.
The World Intellectual Property Organization recently stepped into the agriculture field with its first seminar on the use of intellectual property to increase productivity. In the seminar, proponents of IP rights defended the value of protection and the necessity of relying on technology to answer the needs of an inflated world population.