Category Venues

ICANN63: The “Practical Peace Project” – Tested By IP Rights Concerns And A Privacy Tussle

BARCELONA, Spain -- The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is struggling over Europe's privacy legislation. Is there a data “war” in the making? It is exactly 20 years since the founding of ICANN and two years after being finally fully privatized, and the self-regulatory internet domain name body has been named a “practical peace project underway” by its President and CEO Göran Marby. But it is now struggling with an old issue: privacy and access to personal information in the Whois database.

G77+China Plan To Take UN TB Declaration Forward: Increased Resources, Access To Medicines

The Group of 77 developing countries plus China delivered a statement at the recent United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis, calling for forward progress on the commitments to funding and action made in the UN political declaration on TB.

New US Law Requires Reporting Of Biologic, Biosimilar “Pay-for-Delay” Pacts

The Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act became effective in the United States on 10 October. Among other things, it extends to biologic and biosimilar products a 2003 law requiring drug manufacturers to notify US antitrust authorities of patent settlement agreements. The idea is to cut down on so-called “pay-for delay” tactics which can slow the introduction of cheaper medicines into the market.

Research Group Identifies Over-Patenting Of Pharmaceuticals In India, Calls For Patent Reform

The tricontinental research group “accessibsa” has found that while the Indian Patent Office rejects 40 percent of pharmaceutical patent applications, it should be rejecting 90 percent of applications to comply with Indian patent law, according to the results of its recent study of Indian patent data.

WEF: US Most Competitive, But Idea Generation, Agility Will Shape Future Growth

The generation of ideas, entrepreneurial culture, openness, and agility - by companies, policymakers, and workers - to adapt quickly and embrace change and not resist it, are factors that will have the greatest impact in driving growth and competitiveness in the years ahead in a world increasingly transformed by new, digital technologies, a report by the World Economic Forum said.

Antimicrobial Resistance At The World Investment Forum: UNCTAD, WHO Join Forces

The World Investment Forum 2018, a biennial event organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), will hold a session on health this year jointly with the World Health Organization. The session will address the need for investment in the development of new antibiotics, hoping to raise interest among investors.

World Health Summit Berlin: New Global Action Plan; Gates And Merkel To Open Global Challenges

BERLIN -- Ten years after establishing the Berlin World Health Summit, the M8 alliance of medical institutes around the globe sees some noticeable progress in political commitment to the health agenda. “Gifts” presented at the opening ceremony yesterday in the German capital include the announcement of German Health Minister Jens Spahn to establish a Hub for Global Health and step up its financial contributions to the World Health Organization (WHO) to 115 million euros over the next four years. The three-day summit also will receive a global action plan to catch up with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 on health and well-being for all.

“The People’s Prescription”: New Report Calls For Value Creation Instead Of Value Extraction In Pharmaceutical R&D

A new report, “The People's Prescription: Re-imagining health innovation to deliver public value,” calls for restructuring research and development innovation systems to create, rather than extract, value. It also calls for long-term “mission-oriented” public investment, and a public return on this investment.

Microsoft Joins Open Invention Network In A “Nice Validation” Of Open Source Movement

Tech giant Microsoft’s 10 October announcement that it will participate in the Open Invention Network is a “nice validation” of the organisation and a pragmatic acknowledgement that the open source software community is interdependent, CEO Keith Bergelt said in an 11 October interview. Microsoft said its decision to join reflects its changing views on patent practice.

US Music Modernization Act Becomes “The Law Of The Land”; A Boost For Songwriter Compensation

The Music Modernization Act, legislation that will transform the music licensing framework in the United States, was signed into law by President Donald Trump during a ceremony at the White House on 11 October that included several artists such as Sam Moore from Sam & Dave, Kid Rock, Mike Love of the Beach Boys and Jeff Baxter of the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan, among others.