Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The Medicines Patent Pool has announced seven new sub-licensing agreements to produce generic HIV medicines in order to make more affordable versions available to developing countries.
Unfertilised human eggs that can't develop into human beings are generally not “human embryos” within the meaning of the EU directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions, a 17 July European Court of Justice Advocate General opinion said. The opinion is good news for researchers into stem cell therapies, said a member of the industry group IP Federation, who added he hopes it will be upheld by the ECJ. But one biotech civil society member said the ruling, if it stands, could be abused.
Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, today hailed open knowledge in government, science, the internet, and education, and called again for "urgent reform" of copyright.
A joint United Nations commission on food safety this week has set several new standards on level of lead, arsenic and drugs appearing in food.
According to a report released today by the United Nations programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), around 19 million of the 35 million people living with HIV do not know that they have the virus. But if the right steps are taken, the epidemic could be ended by 2030, it says.
As the governments of the largest emerging economies gather this week in Brazil, a civil society coalition has issued a call for them to lead change in the global system of internet governance in light of revelations of mass surveillance. The groups provide suggestions for constructing a system that ensures human rights, equity and social justice for all people.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay today released a report criticising government mass surveillance, including the coercion of companies to release individuals’ information without their knowledge or consent. This activity is “severely hindering” accountability in human rights violations, and that governments must prove the legality of their actions, she said.
The Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources will enter into force on 12 October, following the ratification of 12 more countries last week.
The World Intellectual Property Organization is currently engaged in an unprecedented process for the selection of the new top management team to serve under recently re-elected Director General Francis Gurry. The open call for applicants resulted in some 360 applications from around the world, including from the upper echelons of WIPO itself, according to sources.
At its recent session, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the internet. It also addressed a legally binding instrument on corporations’ responsibility to ensure human rights.
A World Health Organization report launched yesterday showed progress has been achieved in the fight against non-communicable diseases but it has been uneven, as some 38 million people die each year from those diseases.
At the recent University of Geneva summer course on internet law, one panel addressed challenges and strategies for internet intermediaries facing an increased burden of intellectual property rights protection online.