Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Tuberculosis is now a renewed threat, with strains that prove resistant to multiple drugs and are transmissible and the potential to spread widely, according to the World Health Organization and the Global Fund, which are looking for US$1.6 billion a year to prevent the spread of the disease.
Upwards of 50 civil society groups have issued a declaration asking for the exclusion of all forms of intellectual property rights from the upcoming Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the United States. They raised significant concerns about the potential effect of IP rights’ inclusion on the public interest in the countries involved.
Five United Nations agencies are joining efforts to tackle the rising issue of private standards which they say are affecting developing countries' exports by creating market entry hurdles for those countries. A new forum will be launched this week, and will establish its priority issues.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – The role of innovation as a driving force of social, economic, and environmental development is one of the central themes in post-2015 global development agenda discussions. In a ministerial-level meeting with guidance from the World Intellectual Property Organization last week, African policymakers outlined what they would need to foster innovation at home. Among a list of recommendations, ministers widely agreed on the importance of developing national intellectual property frameworks, capacity building, and raising awareness through education. Encouraging the use of IP flexibilities, however, was largely left out of the conversation.
The year-old Economic and Scientific Advisory Board (ESAB) of the European Patent Office has concluded a one-year study of patent thickets, quality and fees, finding that many problems in the patent system could addressed by better patent quality. This means it is not necessary make a fee adjustment or have a major overhaul of the patent system at this time, it said.
A ministerial-level meeting organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Japan Patent Office, and the Tanzanian government began today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The two-day conference, which focuses on how IP can stimulate innovation and development, will be followed by a UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting and a US Department of Commerce Commercial Law and Development Program (CLDP)-led workshop on IP use and protection at the same venue.
As closed-door talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement progress this week, concerns have been raised about the proposed intellectual property chapter. Industry, public health and digital liberties groups urged negotiators to consider the possible impact on investment, digital rights, access to affordable medicines, and R&D for life-saving medicines.
Swiss innovation is internationally recognised for its high quality, and the reasons may derive from its fiscal system, labour market, research and development (R&D) model and education policy, a senior Swiss official has said.
A report released yesterday by the non-profit ETC Group claims that six companies are seeking to control current priorities and the future direction of agricultural research. According to the report, giant seed companies are launching initiatives to preserve their IP rights and deflate antitrust concerns.
The European Patent Office today announced that 2012 saw a new record for patent filings in the office, and equating the rise to Europe’s “innovative powers”. But while 36.5 per cent of applications came from Europe, the fastest growth was in applications from Asia, particularly China, Korea and Japan. Korean firm Samsung took top honours for most filings, the first time for an Asian company, and a Chinese company, ZTE, broke into the top 10 for the first time.
The United States Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the case opposing a US farmer to agro-industry giant Monsanto on the issue of patent exhaustion in patented seeds. Lead lawyers in the case and others offered comments on the heels of the hearing, while the Supreme Court Justices are considering the arguments and are expected to reach a decision sometime this spring.
The Medicines Patent Pool has announced a ground-breaking collaboration with a private sector joint venture that it said will facilitate greater availability of critical medicines for children with HIV worldwide. The announcement caused a wave of positive reactions across the public health community, with many hoping for more in the future.