Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Discussion at the annual World Health Assembly on counterfeit medicines may prove lively as stakeholders continue to raise concerns that the term “counterfeit” will confuse protecting patients from unsafe drugs with protecting trademarks from infringement. And an industry-led event in the lead-up to the WHA said counterfeit medicines pose great risks and will require a coordinated international response.
Two groups this week are urging the World Health Assembly to address access to diagnosis, treatment and new drugs, for a tropical disease that is the leading parasitic killer in the Americas. At a side event on the first day of the assembly, civil society actors also expressed concern about the shrinking input of civil society in the annual WHO members’ meeting.
A critical report on financing research and development of medicines for the world's poorest was created without transparency, failed to live up to its mandate, and did not address the potential threat that intellectual property rights can pose to access to drugs, developing countries said today at the World Health Assembly. A proposal by a group of Latin American countries for a new intergovernmental working group was not accepted by developed countries and others and quick informal consultations began to work out differences before the end of the assembly this week.
World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan opened the annual World Health Assembly today with a welcome of the transparency in the “most closely watched pandemic in history,” and how the drive to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals would unleash a “host of innovations for improving health, especially among the poorest,” adding a call for vaccines as one of the “best life-saving buys on offer.”
Los programas informáticos libres se están utilizando como una alternativa legal para combatir la piratería de programas informáticos en un proyecto conjunto impulsado por una organización sin fines de lucro regional, en coordinación con el Instituto Ecuatoriano de la Propiedad Intelectual (IEPI). En este proyecto, se hace uso de las bibliotecas públicas para difundir los programas informáticos libres.
一家地区性非盈利团体与厄瓜多尔知识产权局共同发起一个项目，用自由软件作为打击软件盗版的法律替代方案。该项目使用公共图书馆来传播自由软件。
Le logiciel libre est actuellement utilisé comme une alternative légale au piratage de logiciels, dans le cadre d’un projet conjoint lancé par un groupe régional à but non lucratif et par l'office de propriété intellectuelle équatorien (IEPI). Ce projet s'appuie sur les bibliothèques publiques pour diffuser des logiciels libres.
How to proceed with the results of an initiative aimed at finding real alternatives for innovative health research financing is on the agenda at next week's World Health Assembly (WHA). The assembly also is expected to approve the continuation of a working group on pandemic influenza preparedness.
The first Brazilian generic drug against erectile dysfunction recently received registration at the National Surveillance Agency - a unit of the Health Ministry. The Viagra generic’s registration was only possible because of a decision of the Superior Court that will terminate the drug patent next month, said Odnir Finotti, president of the Pro-Generics Association.
The international policy debate over counterfeit medicines and legitimate generics escalated today. Brazil and India took the first step in the World Trade Organization dispute settlement process for treatment of generics medicines falsely labelled counterfeit in Europe, and non-governmental organisations from both sides of the issue issued new releases stating their positions on the issues at the neighbouring World Health Organization.
A leader for the World Intellectual Property Organization Global Challenges Division - tasked with connecting intellectual property to critical issues such as public health, food security, and climate change - has been named more than a year and a half after the division's creation.
Three new documents from the World Health Organization programme on intellectual property and innovation obtained by Intellectual Property Watch provide new evidence on how technology transfer is working, analyse research prioritisation at the WHO, and indicate progress on a monitoring and evaluation strategy for the programme's continued implementation, according to a preliminary reading.