Original news and analysis on international IP policy
A new book and website examine the impact of intellectual property rights on access to new essential medicines and call for measures that were used to reduce prices of patented HIV medicines to be applied in the case of essential medicines.
What do global innovators make of India’s new National Intellectual Property Rights Policy? A recent discussion on “India’s National IPR Strategy: A View from Global Innovators” in Washington DC attempted to assess the opportunities and challenges ahead from the perspective of American companies.
More than 1,000 recording artists and songwriters from Europe, and artists who regularly perform there, have urged the European Commission to stop the “value gap” created by user upload services such as Google's YouTube from “siphoning value away” from the music community. Google, however, said digital services aren't the problem, and that greater transparency on royalties is needed.
Movement has been happening in international organisations in recent weeks, particularly in United Nations agencies, as new executive directors were nominated, and department directorships changed hands. The private sector and non-governmental organisations also saw a number of position switches and nominations, in particular in the health sector. Law offices kept pace with the usual chair revolving.
Panellists at a side event this week at the World Trade Organization reminded delegates of the view that patents and a strong innovative environment are key to innovation, and in particular to green technology. A Swiss start-up company developing a…
The first agreement on how to manage relationships between a United Nations organisation and non-governmental actors, such as industry, philanthropic organisations and public interest groups, was adopted on 28 May by the World Health Assembly. The framework, which had been discussed for several years, was hailed as historic by many countries, but met a mixed reaction from those primarily concerned.
Today, the annual World Health Assembly is poised to approve a new plan on research and development into medical products that are affordable to all. NGOs, industry and other observers welcomed the outcome.
If adopted as expected tomorrow by the World Health Assembly, a framework guiding the relationships between the World Health Organization and outside actors will be the first of its kind in the United Nations system, according to sources.
Medicines for Europe, representing the generic, biosimilar, and medicines in Europe, announced today during a side event at the World Health Assembly, that it joined the Global Campaign to Fight Fake Medicines.
With the end of the annual World Health Assembly looming tomorrow, member states are working away behind closed doors to finalise a resolution on how the World Health Organization shall work with outside actors going forward.