Original news and analysis on international IP policy
A recent European Union regulation on customs enforcement of intellectual property rights has raised concerns among civil society actors who find that the regulation might not be an improvement over its previous version under which seizure of legal generic medicines in transit occurred a few years ago, leading to a World Trade Organization dispute.
Innovation experts participating in a two-day seminar at the United Nations in Geneva last week highlighted the complexities as well as the potential benefits linked to the promotion of innovative practices in public administrations at the national, regional and local levels.
A new study of 12 leading international standard-setting organisations (SSOs) found a high degree of inconsistency and lack of clarity when it comes to intellectual property rights and licensing. The study also includes analyses on how standards policies are evolving in Brazil, China and India.
The GAVI Alliance launched a mid-term report this week showing that the public-private partnership is on track to immunise more than 250 million children by 2015 and prevent some four million deaths. GAVI’s CEO said it uses multiple tools to help reduce prices of vaccine and that intellectual property rights do not pose a serious threat to its success.
Infojustice.org reports: Last week, the report Brazilian Patent Reform: Innovation Towards Competitiveness was launched at an event at the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies.
Climate change calls for new technologies to face its consequences, governments agree. But research and development efforts are mainly conducted by the private sector in developed countries and are patent-protected, which is doing little to diffuse the technologies in developing countries, said a lecturer in Geneva this week.
The United States has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.
The World Health Organization is putting the finishing touches on an implementation plan for industry's financial participation in the global influenza preparedness strategy. This week the advisory group met to discuss a draft plan presented by the WHO secretariat, which should now come up with a revised version for implementation in early 2014, according to the chair of the advisory group.
A seminar on the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications was held at the United Nations last week with panellists exploring the intersection between intellectual property and human rights in the context of public health, agriculture, and the role of flexibilities to achieve balance between private and public interests.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) yesterday approved the US International Trade Commission’s ban on imports of certain electronics from Samsung, based in part on the fact that the patents in the case do not involve standard essential patents (SEPs). By contrast, concern over SEPs was a big reason for the recent White House decision to overturn a USITC finding that Apple had violated Samsung’s patents.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) last week held a mandated seminar on the right of everyone to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications. In some cases, intellectual property rights may not be helping, according to speakers.
A panel of industry representatives presented their views at the World Trade Organization on the diffusion of innovation, calling intellectual property rights key to the process. Meanwhile, another panel looked at innovation as a growth strategy for the global South.