Category North America

Year Ahead: Biotech, IP Promise to Create Controversy From Farms To Big Pharma In 2014

The intersection of biotechnology and intellectual property continues to be a hot topic across the globe. From the patenting of certain plant varieties to human genes, to biodiversity and food security, to genetic resources, countries from developing to developed are attempting to navigate often blurred lines in terms of what can and cannot be patented, what should - and shouldn’t - be patented, and protecting innovators from farmers to plant breeders to drug manufacturers.

Infojustice: Graphics Show Rise In US Pharma Exports To India, Patent Grants By India

Mike Palmedo at Infojustice.org writes: "The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is currently investigating “Indian industrial policies that discriminate against U.S. imports… and the effect those barriers have on the U.S. economy and U.S. jobs.” The investigation was requested by Sen. Hatch, Sen. Baucus, Rep. Camp, and Rep. Levin, and the final report is due to be released in November. Last week it held a series of hearings, where it heard from U.S. business, Indian business, and civil society representatives."

White House Announces Actions On Patents

The White House today announced measures that it said will advance its battle against "patent trolls", and urged Congress to pass patent reform legislation toward the effort. And the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a statement on its work in support of the executive actions.

TTIP: No Lowering Of Standards, Officials Say; New Trade Consultation Body Scrutinised

After three rounds of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), European Union Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht this week welcomed the progress so far. But negotiators have to “step up a gear,” de Gucht said after a two-day stocktaking meeting with the United States Trade Representative Michael Froman in Washington, DC on 18 February. Meanwhile, USTR announced new steps to raise public participation in trade negotiations.

Biopharma Industries, Others Urge Caution In US Patent Reform

A coalition of large and small companies and organisation - including the leading trade associations for the US pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries - has asked the US Congress to use caution in rewriting patent laws so as not to cause unintended harm to their ability to innovate.

Alert: Pharma IPR 2014 Conference In Mumbai, 26-28 February

Dear Subscribers,

CPhI's 3rd Annual Pharma IPR 2014 conference to take place from 26-28 February, 2014 in Mumbai, India will have techno-legal experts from over 10+ regions speaking on the recent case studies on global Pharma and Biopharma patent laws.

Among them, Jeffery Alan Hovden, Partner, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP from US will be speaking on critical developments in US pharma patent law in the year 2013 which have affected pharma and biopharma industry. He will also share best strategies on how Indian generic-drug and biologics enterprises need to go forward with their US-related projects.

Some of the critical concerns he is planning to address include:

  • Which pharmaceutical and diagnostic compounds and processes can even obtain a US patent?
  • Whether the new, cheap and fast patent-challenge procedures are right for Indian companies in the life-sciences area?
  • How to avoid paying the attorney fees for the other side in US litigation and indeed, how an Indian company might turn the tables and have the other side pay the company’s attorney fees?

You can view his insights on "US Patent Law in 2013: Winds of Change" by clicking here.

To optimise interactions with the audience, he and other global techno-legal experts would also be available in query handling sessions as well as one-on-one meetings, to discuss your concerns related to the US patent system. Click here to go through the detailed programme agenda.

You can read more about the conference speakers here.
To be a part of this exclusive event, please contact the organisers at +91 (22) 6172 7001 / conferences-india@ubm.com, or register online and take advantage of the special offers for you as you are our subscribers.

P.S. You may find one of his earlier presentations on “From Small to Big: Some useful points in the coming shift from customary drugs to biologics” interesting - View the presentation here

Move On Data Protection Or Fail On TTIP, EU Parliament Chair Says

At the Munich Security Conference a year ago, there was a considerable first push for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Eight months after the start of official TTIP negotiations and with the Snowden revelations in between, the tone at the 50th edition of the high-level foreign policy event in Munich is somewhat changed.