Category Venues

UN Political Declaration On TB Finalised: No Commitment To TRIPS Flexibilities

Members of the United Nations concluded negotiations on the draft of the Political Declaration on the Fight Against Tuberculosis on 20 July. After weeks of heated negotiations over the inclusion of references to TRIPS flexibilities in the operative paragraphs, with the Group of 77 pushing for inclusion and the United States against it, the final text of the political declaration reflects the deadlock of these positions. Due to the inability of member states to reach agreement, the final text does not include substantive reference to TRIPS flexibilities.

If no countries object, this final draft of the Political Declaration on TB will be adopted by the General Assembly at the High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis, which will take place on 26 September at the United Nations in New York, and will serve as the authoritative agreement from which action plans will be drawn. According to sources, countries have until tonight in New York to decide whether to object, and G77 nations are considering their options.

South Africa’s Proposed Copyright Fair Use Right Should Be A Model For The World

Copyright laws the world over are under massive pressure to reform to fit the digital environment. One key area often in need of reform is in the exceptions to copyright that enable the digital practices. Without exceptions, common practices may be illegal, such as sharing photos on social media, making technical copies to send and stream, and uploading excerpts to closed networks for student access, writes a group of experts on the issue.

Native Tribes Can’t Shield Patents From USPTO Review

The strategy was breathtaking in its boldness. Just days before the USPTO was to hear a challenge to Allergan Inc.’s patents on a dry-eye drug, Restasis, the company transferred those patents to a Native American tribe; the tribe then sought to dismiss the USPTO proceedings by asserting sovereign immunity. Following this action, a number of other patentees made similar transfers to Native tribes, in order to protect their patents. More patentees were poised to do so, should this ploy prove effective. It, however, did not. On 20 July, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the tribe’s sovereign immunity did not protect its patents from USPTO review. The ruling thus kept intact a key component of America’s patent system.

US Continues To Block Progress On WTO Appeals Body, While Rapidly Adding Cases To The System

The United States is piling up dispute settlement cases against its trading partners at the World Trade Organization while at the same time ironically blocking any progress on the selection of panellists for appeals in the WTO dispute settlement process.

NGOs: Countries Pressured To Drop Reference To Affordable Medicines In UN TB Negotiations

United Nations members in the final days of negotiating the text of the declaration for a late September high-level meeting on tuberculosis have come under pressure from the United States to omit language referring to the importance of making affordable medicines available to patients in need, according to an urgent bulletin today from a health advocacy group.

Oppositions Filed Against Gilead Hepatitis C Patent Applications In India

Oppositions have been filed in India against two patent applications from US pharmaceutical company Gilead for important hepatitis C medicines, according to non-governmental sources. The opposition filings assert that these applications are “evergreening” patents and therefore violate Indian patent law.

Central Banks Consider Blockchain-Based Digital Currency At ITU Meeting

NEW YORK – The UN International Telecommunication Union’s Digit Fiat Currency (ITU-DFC) Focus Group is meeting in New York this week to consider the potential promise and pitfalls of central bank-issued digital currency.

Dangers Of Means Plus Function Limitations In US Patent Prosecution

Broad patent protection is one of the goals when securing patent protection for inventions (i.e., new products and services). However, issues start to arise when the claim language becomes too broad. For example, broad claims might be construed as a means plus function limitation against the intentions of the patent prosecutor, and in some cases, those patents are invalidated as being indefinite. At least, this is the case with US patent prosecution. The patent laws of other jurisdictions treat means plus function style of claiming differently, and in my experience, less detrimental to the validity of the patent, writes James Yang.

WIPO Looks At Importance Of Standards Documents, Collaboration Of IP Offices And Standards Organisations

Common standards are essential for technologies, particularly for interoperability. However, a number of technologies essential to standards are patented, which has created issues relating to licensing or high royalties. Last week, the World Intellectual Property Organization organised an information session on patents and standards, including aspects of patent quality, issues relating to international trade, and the role of the organisation in facilitating the relationship between patents and standards.