Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The 28 European Union member governments have concluded next steps for addressing antimicrobial resistance, with a strong emphasis on reducing use of antibiotics in animals, but also including a call for new business models.
Doors to a global medical harmonisation organisation opened to the generic and biosimilar industry, which described it as an historical moment for them. The industry will now be able to sit on the assembly of the international body that joins regulators with the pharmaceutical industry.
The quest of balance between encouraging medical innovation and the imperative of broad access to medicines has so far been elusive. Two Harvard University programmes jointly organised a workshop this week with the aim of encouraging a conversation between global health actors and see if some "outside the box" thinking is possible.
A new set of guidelines for pharmaceutical patent examination has been published by the United Nations Development Programme that seek to help reduce poor quality patents and ensure efficient market entry of generic products. The guidelines, written by a well-known advocate of access to medicines, aim at advising patent examiners in assessing the patentability requirements of applications relating to pharmaceutical products and processes.
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.
Dans le sillage du Groupe de Haut Niveau des Nations Unies sur l’accès aux médicaments, cette série d’articles sponsorisés convie des experts à donner leur point de vue sur les politiques les mieux à même de favoriser l’élaboration de solutions…
NEW YORK -- Last week, United Nations members agreed on a political declaration on ending AIDS by 2030, with some new and old commitments. Alongside the 8-10 June High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, a side event looked at issues of access and got into intellectual property rights issues.
NAIROBI, Kenya - As start-up and innovation centres spring up across Africa, Kenya - which birthed the continent’s tech movement - is emerging as one of its leading innovation nuclei. But concerns are intensifying here that young inventors are losing their innovations to conglomerates, in what is alleged as intellectual property theft or abuse.
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Kenya could disband its infant innovation agency and have its functions taken up by the state’s science, technology and innovation body, if changes suggested by the government to reform the science, technology and innovation (ST&I) sector are carried through.
The United States Commerce Department National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today it found the proposal developed by the global internet multistakeholder community to fully privatise oversight over the central root zone of the internet domain name system (DNS) satisfactory.
Some 800 registered participants gathered for the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) in Brussels today to talk about internet privacy, security and access. Besides the topical issues, the opening sessions speakers came back time and again to the discrepancy of theory and practice of the much-belaboured “multi-stakeholder principle.”
The European Union presenting its new Trademark Directive during this week’s meeting of the World Trade Organization intellectual property council heard concerns of possible seizures of generic medicines transiting through Europe. Meanwhile, the new Council chair's attempts at revitalising discussions between member states received general approval. And a new agenda item on e-commerce was launched.