Category Human Rights

Conceptualizing Minimum Core Beyond Affordable Goods And Services – Trade For Human Rights As A Minimum Core Obligation

Prof. Sakiko Fukuda-Parr writes: The conception of the Minimum Core Doctrine around low cost goods and services is unnecessarily restrictive. It is also out of line with concerns to meet pressing and priority health needs of the population. It departs from the original concept of obligations of immediate effect. It limits the consideration of the wide range of measures that national governments should take to expand the enjoyment of the right to health such as by reversing damaging policies or setting new ones. A salient example is policy choices governments might make in the area of intellectual protection provisions in free trade and investment agreements.

Intellectual Property Watch
July 26, 2018

NGOs: Countries Pressured To Drop Reference To Affordable Medicines In UN TB Negotiations

United Nations members in the final days of negotiating the text of the declaration for a late September high-level meeting on tuberculosis have come under pressure from the United States to omit language referring to the importance of making affordable medicines available to patients in need, according to an urgent bulletin today from a health advocacy group.

William New
July 20, 2018
2 Comments

Oppositions Filed Against Gilead Hepatitis C Patent Applications In India

Oppositions have been filed in India against two patent applications from US pharmaceutical company Gilead for important hepatitis C medicines, according to non-governmental sources. The opposition filings assert that these applications are “evergreening” patents and therefore violate Indian patent law.

Study Reconsiders “Public Domain” In The Protection Of Traditional Knowledge

A recent study has revisited the meaning of “public domain” in line with its usage in discussions on protection of traditional knowledge (TK). The study highlights that it provides a non-Eurocentric conception of “public domain” in order to recognise the customary laws and practices of indigenous and local communities (ILCs).

UN Urged To Emphasize Health Over Profit At Upcoming UN High-Level Meeting On NCDs

An open letter sent by 242 organisations and individuals to key United Nations and World Health Organization representatives on 4 July demanded that high prices limiting access to medicines and effective treatment be addressed at the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases.

145 Organisations Urge EU Vote Against JURI Mandate On Copyright

Some 145 organisations have signed an open letter urging European Parliament to vote against the Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee mandate to negotiate on copyright reform. The European Parliament will meet on 5 July for a plenary vote on whether or not to endorse the mandate.

WIPO Marrakesh Treaty On Copyright Exceptions For Blind Readers Clears US Senate

The World Intellectual Property Organization Marrakesh Treaty on copyright exceptions enabling international access to published works by blind and print-disabled readers was ratified this week by the United States Senate, putting it one step closer to final ratification in the country.

William New
June 29, 2018
4 Comments

Disclosure, Sanctions – Still To Be Overcome In WIPO Genetic Resources Negotiations

Efforts to draft new language to bridge gaps in this week’s negotiations on a potential treaty protecting genetic resources at the World Intellectual Property Organization were praised by a number of participants. However, what is now presented as a "package" proposition, focusing the instrument on patents, left some developing countries with the feeling that the concessions they made on the patent-only focus are not being met with a similar efforts by others, in particular on a proposed disclosure requirement for patent applicants.

Indigenous Knowledge Databases: Is It Something To Be Concerned About?

Almost all information today ends up in a database. It is organised and made readily accessible. While it sounds positive, for indigenous communities, it can be crucial. Databases of their knowledge, culture, and genetic resources, if misused, can undermine generations of community effort and maybe even their sustainability. A panel of indigenous peoples’ representatives presented their concerns about databases this week to governments attending a World Intellectual Property Organization meeting on genetic resources.

US Raises Economic Concerns About Proposals At WIPO On Patents And Genetic Resources

Normally known for sanguine views of rules to strengthen intellectual property rights globally, the United States government this week submitted a paper at the World Intellectual Property Organization putting forward private sector economic concerns about proposals to strengthen international rules for patenting of genetic resources aimed largely at helping developing countries.

William New
June 27, 2018

Human Rights Council Examines Safety Of Journalists And Protection Of Media

Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “[e]veryone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.” Yet, there are still places around the world where people do not enjoy this right. This was one of the foci of discussion at the ongoing Human Rights Council meeting this week.

Internet Policy – Whois And GDPR: Sky Not Falling Just Yet?

The struggle over how to comply with Europe's new General Data Protection Regulation dominates the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Panama. With the basic question how much data ICANN can ask its contractual partners to collect and store about its domain name customers, ICANN this week opened another hot topic to be discussed when publishing a paper on unified access to registration data. Meanwhile, trademark owners weighed in.

Monika Ermert
June 23, 2018