Original news and analysis on international IP policy
After two weeks of high level negotiations between the United States and the Group of Least-Developed Countries, the World Trade Organization committee on intellectual property rights today agreed to extend a waiver allowing LDCs to avoid applying and enforcing IP rights on pharmaceutical products until 2033.
Patent offices should align their work in support of national health and medicines policies when carrying out the examination of patents, a new South Centre paper argues.
NAIROBI, Kenya - After a five year gruelling court battle, the indigenous Maasai community in Northern Tanzania has lost the right to its traditional land after the High Court handed it to a US-based tourism company in a court ruling on 27 October.
From Third World Network: London, 3 Nov (Sangeeta Shashikant) The United States and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at the World Trade Organization have reached agreement ad referendum on a pharmaceutical patent exemption for a duration of 17 years, according to trade diplomats.
Negotiations have been ongoing at the World Trade Organization over the extension of a waiver allowing least-developed countries not to grant or enforce intellectual property rights on pharmaceutical products.
Trade, health, and intellectual property came together today as the heads of three specialised international organisations held an annual symposium to stimulate discussions on how the three can best help public health, and notably access to medicines in developing countries.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa - While Médecins Sans Frontières have blamed stock-outs of ‘Aluvia’ on the refusal to licence a patent for a generic of the HIV medicine in South Africa by AbbVie pharmaceutical company leading to persistent supply problems, the company said it has taken measures to address the problem.
The treaty on plant genetic resources held its governing body meeting earlier this month with new initiatives to bring financial sustainability to the treaty, in particular to study the possibility of a subscription system to access the treaty’s plant genetic materials. Also, the Governing Body approved the first work programme of a global information system, which includes an initiative to enhance the use of gene bank materials, to the dismay of farmers’ organisations.
Governments and international organizations are failing to ensure adequate protections to whistleblowers and sources of information, according to a new report* by the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye.
On 15-16 December 2015, government officials from more than 190 countries will meet in New York to discuss the future of the internet. They will review progress made in achieving the goals set forth 10 years ago at the Tunis World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) meeting. The aptly named WSIS+10 Review is a pivotal point in determining the fate of the open internet – discussions at the review can influence how the internet is governed for the next decade, as well as whether the internet will continue as a means of economic development and opportunity for the global economy.
Alongside this week’s WSIS+10 stakeholder meetings at the UN, Intellectual Property Watch’s William New sat down with the Senior Director of Global Internet Policy at the Internet Society, Constance Bommelaer, to discuss what to expect in New York and the impact this meeting will have on the future of the internet.
The European Patent Organisation has been in turmoil for years facing serious staff dissent and complaints aimed at EPO President Benoît Battistelli of France. The EPO's effort appears to have intensified in recent months, and on Friday the EPO Administrative Council, the agency's supervisory body, announced an action to back Battistelli and endorsed a request for the dismissal of a high-level staff member. The action sent critics to new levels of criticism.
Panellists at a recent discussion on women and intellectual property proposed steps institutions and women themselves could take to increase the number of female entrepreneurs, in order for the IP system to benefit men and women equally.