Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The European Commission has issued a formal request to Italy to remove linkage between patents and generic medicines authorisation that it says is causing delays in generics reaching the market.
A private sector-led effort to compile a global register of geographical indications is gaining support, topped by a sizeable donation from the Italian government. The effort is being undertaken outside the World Trade Organization in spite of an agreed - but long stalled - mandate at WTO to create a register.
A much-referenced book now out in paperback remains one of the few books with a broad social sciences perspective on current conflicts over intellectual property policy, with a focus on the national level set within the context of shifting global patterns.
A range of some of the world’s top public and private partners in public health today announced an “unprecedented” level of cooperation to fight diseases primarily afflicting poorest populations worldwide for which there is insufficient research and development and inadequate health systems. But how the initiative will tie in with governments’ efforts at the World Health Organization to craft a global framework to address these issues remains to be seen.
The World Health Organization Executive Board this week agreed to propose to the May World Health Assembly the establishment of a mechanism for international collaboration on counterfeit and substandard medical products, but with the exclusion of trade and intellectual property issues.
The World Economic Forum annual gathering of private sector leaders today released a "Cyber Resilience Initiative to Safeguard the Digital Environment" that includes a commitment to protect intellectual property rights online.
While most of the 27 member states of the European Union signed the much-debated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) yesterday in Tokyo, joining the United States, Japan and other ACTA partners, hackers brought down the website of the European Parliament, and a key official stepped down. This may be only the beginning of the protests and petitioning.
Two top international organisations in Geneva are working to adapt to trends in global intellectual property systems with an eye toward contributing to a positive economic impact, officials told a private sector conference this week. But they heard a complex message about the role of IP in addressing public policy concerns.
The Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Michel Kazatchkine, announced that he would step down by 16 March in a letter published on the Fund’s website.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) yesterday released a business guide to key intellectual property policy issues worldwide.