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Brazil, China, India, South Africa Put UN High-Level Panel On Medicines Access On TRIPS Council Agenda

For next week's World Trade Organization intellectual property committee meeting, the major developing economies have submitted a request to discuss the recently released report of the United Nations Secretary General's High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, according to Knowledge Ecology International (KEI). A key element of the UN report was to make it harder for countries deter or discourage other countries from trying to use patent flexibilities built into the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) - something the major developing economies have been discouraged from doing in the past.

Chan Issues Clarion Call For Increased WHO Funding

World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan today warned of serious funding shortfalls for the current biennium endangering the implementation of certain programmes. Areas most in need of financing include non-communicable diseases (such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases), food security, and antimicrobial resistance. The high-profile Health Emergencies Programme is also underfunded and Chan proposed to ask countries to raise their assessed contributions at the next World Health Assembly.

Power Struggle In Russia As Internet Pirates Vie For Upper Hand

The Russian intellectual property industry is on the verge of a new scandal. Following the recent arrest of Sergey Fedotov, head of the Russian Authors’ Society (RAS), Russia’s leading public association for the protection of intellectual property rights, on the charge of multi-million ruble thefts, the Russian police has announced the initiation of criminal proceedings against Maxim Ryabyko, head of the Russian Association for the Protection of Copyright on the Internet (RAPCI).

Reader Alert: EU-Canada Trade Agreement (CETA) Signed In Brussels

With a delay of mere days, CETA, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada, will be signed Sunday in Brussels by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker. This follows two weeks of uncertainty over the deal that includes not only tariff reduction, but also an attempt to harmonise regulation and set up a reformed investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism.

Poland To Simplify Patent Procedures, Amend Patent Attorney Law

Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development has announced it is developing a package of 11 executive ordinances - of which nine are yet to be signed by the minister - to improve the procedures for obtaining trademarks and contacting the Polish Patent Office, reduce the costs of registering and protecting trademarks and industrial designs, and facilitate these procedures for small- and medium-size companies.

Standards Symposium Highlights Security, Privacy On Eve Of World Telecom Standardization Assembly

The 2016 Global Standards Symposium (GSS2016) organised by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Hammamet, Tunisia, this week in its conclusions heavily supported privacy by design and collaboration on privacy issues. The consensus of participants was a little shaky though, with some representatives like the United Kingdom and United States questioning the procedure to approve conclusions immediately after the one day event on 24 October.

High Quality Patents Could Keep Patent Trolls In Check In Europe, EU Report Finds

A new report by respected economists under the European Commission has found that problems of patent assertion entities in Europe could be better controlled if patent quality stays high in the region. It also found that the majority of patent assertion entities in Europe have focused on vulnerable targets – mainly in the telecommunications sector - and the report provides significant research on such entities operating in the European Union. The findings shine light on the key role of standard essential patents, with suggestions for policymakers and predictions about the impact of the prospective changes to the European patent system.

WHO: More Hepatitis C Patients Being Treated In Developing Countries; Price Still An Issue

Innovations in medicine bring the hope of cure for millions of patients who can access them. When a novel effective hepatitis C drug was put on the market at very high prices, concerns erupted about access in both developing and developed countries. A new report by the World Health Organization found that over one million people have received new treatment for hepatitis C in developing countries. The report, which targets high prices as a major barrier to access to treatment, also compiles ways countries have overcome the access barriers.

Protecting Online Access To Safe And Affordable Medication

High drug prices are a global public health crisis. This is mostly the case among lower income countries but also for citizens and residents in the US, where tens of millions are not filling prescriptions due to cost. The international online marketplace is a much-needed lifeline for consumers who cannot afford prescription medication where they live. People deserve the widest possible access to safe and affordable medication, including online access, and the Internet community can help, says Gabriel Levitt.