Original news and analysis on international IP policy
On the eve of the World Health Assembly, the permanent mission of Brazil organised an informal meeting on sanitary regulation and how to improve cooperation among drug regulatory agencies. Major stakeholders were invited to present challenges and ongoing efforts to improve global quality, safety and efficacy of medical products.
International standards can help economic, societal and environmental issues, Rob Steele, secretary general of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), told a press briefing this week. The organisation also has interests in intellectual property protection.
BOSTON - Early stage innovation is still strong in the United States, but parties need to work better together and address bottlenecks in the middle stages, a panel of university and private sector experts said this week. Meanwhile, the president of global biotechnology company Genzyme said the industry is not in crisis and the company is hopeful about its recent merger with Sanofi.
The tiny island state of Singapore has begun to ramp up its capacity for patent search and examination ahead of a bold move to adopt a new patent system, one of the proposed major amendments to its Patents Act. The Southeast Asian economic high-flyer is pressing for changes to its laws to position itself as an Asian hub for intellectual property.
The World Trade Organization this week celebrated 15 years of a tariff-cutting agreement on information technology products, and issued a publication charting the history of the agreement. Industry representatives invited to a symposium joined voices asking that the agreement be expanded, while some called for strategies to incorporate development into technology trade promotion. And a link was made between the agreement and a rise in patents on technology.
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) has released a policy brief in support of the proposed R&D convention to be considered at the upcoming World Health Assembly.
With the launch of a new report concerning research and development for diseases predominately afflicting developing countries, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) today convened a panel of public health specialists to discuss the findings.
The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization is by its nature a crossroads of IP technical expertise and global public policy wrangling. But the difference between the two became more pronounced at last week’s meeting of the WIPO Standards Committee, according to participants.
A new draft proposal suggests that World Health Organization members postpone negotiations for a convention on financing of research and development for diseases predominantly afflicting poor populations. The negotiation of a convention is up for discussion by members at the annual World Health Assembly this month.
With just over two weeks until the annual UN World Health Assembly begins, member states face a substantive agenda, including a sweeping reform programme, an innovative public health proposal, the global strategy for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, a mechanism to fight poor quality medicines, and progress in pandemic influenza preparedness.
A report released today asserts that trade secret theft is occurring on a massive scale worldwide, and that most companies are not taking sufficient steps to stop it. The report, which comes on the eve of bilateral economic meetings between the United States and China, offers a set of recommended actions for companies and others. Also today, leading Democratic members of Congress urged the Obama administration to demand improvements in China on intellectual property rights protection.
Intellectual property rights have been around for centuries in some cultures, but in recent decades have taken off as a global set of rules, bringing with it many business opportunities and policy concerns. Today, on the annual day designated for the celebration of IP rights, some new industry and civil society initiatives were launched and several gatherings in praise of IP were held.