Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Brazil, a developing country leader on international intellectual property issues, has come under pressure at home and abroad over whether to lift domestic patents on foreign pharmaceuticals for AIDS to allow cheaper generic versions to be produced. This week, nearly…
Ambassador Linnet Deily, the United States representative to the World Trade Organization, has informed staff that she will be leaving office on June 15, according to a US trade official. Deily, who said she will be returning to the United…
On the coattails of last week’s multi-sided seminar on intellectual property and development at the World Intellectual Property Organisation came a half-day Georgetown University forum on “intellectual property, technology diffusion and economic development.” The Georgetown forum, held in Geneva outside…
Washington, D.C.–The free trade agreement signed last year by the United States, five Central American nations and the Dominican Republic still faces a tough fight in the U.S. Congress for a number of reasons, one of which remains provisions on…
Governments negotiating to amend the World Trade Organisation intellectual property agreement to allow countries to export generic pharmaceuticals to other countries in need failed to reach agreement by a 31 March deadline, according to sources in Geneva. The deadline was…
In what could be seen as a “test case” for the balance between intellectual property protection and the promotion of public health, the Indian government today appeared to meet a World Trade Organisation obligation by passing a law on the…
Negotiations to expand the availability of medicines under a World Trade Organisation agreement on intellectual property rights by 31 March broke down Monday after informal consultations showed no compromise forthcoming, according to diplomatic sources in Geneva. At issue is an…
Officials negotiating to implement and update a 10-year-old agreement on intellectual property rights at the World Trade Organisation made a little progress toward that goal last week, according to official sources in Geneva. While small gains on the WTO Agreement…
Protection of pharmaceutical patents may not be the biggest reason the Bush administration is struggling to line up congressional votes for a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, but it remains critical to its…
Recent efforts to rally Congress to approve a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) reached earlier this year with Central American countries has reignited debate about USTR’s approach to intellectual property and the implications for access to essential medicines. The Agreement with…