European Council Advances SPC Waiver For Generics; Negotiations Coming

The European Union Council of member states has approved a mandate for negotiations with the EU Parliament concerning a draft regulation aimed at boosting EU-based generic and biosimilar manufacturing for export by providing an exception to the extended intellectual property protection granted by special protection certificates (SPCs). The mandate brings the draft regulation a step closer to adoption, and it also suggests that Parliament’s recent amendments to the regulation are likely be key areas of debate in the negotiations, which are expected to begin in the coming weeks.

Supporting UHC And Better Explaining IP – The 2019 Pharma Industry Agenda

In 2019, IFPMA work will continue to focus on constructive engagement in supporting UHC and working with others to strengthen health care systems. The association will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders, particularly multilateral organizations, to better explain the benefits of IP and exchange ideas to address issues of coverage, capacity, affordability and sustainability of healthcare.

UNCTAD Finds Growth In Global Creative Economy Led By ‘New Breed’ Of Countries

In a new report on the creative economy, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) found that despite a slowdown in global trade since the 2008 financial crisis, the creative economy has remained robust and has exhibited significant growth. Leading this growth is China, with four times the creative goods exports as the United States in 2015.

Time To Put A Stop To The Abuse Of Orphan Drug Regulation- The Latest Scandal

Ellen 't Hoen writes: Today, the Dutch Medical Journal (Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde) reported on the case of lutetium-octreotaat, a cancer drug developed by researchers in the Dutch Erasmus medical centre in Rotterdam. For the last 18 years, the hospital pharmacy made the medicine to treat their patients, keeping prices relatively low. But now the drug is being marketed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, and its price has skyrocketed to Euro 23,000 an infusion from an original price of Euro 4,000 an infusion.

What’s The Cost Of Allowing Patent Theft? Don’t Wait To Find Out

Russ Genet writes: Protecting patents can be expensive, especially for companies competing in a global arena where aggressive startups, cut-rate competitors and industrial giants are all vying for the next big innovation to snatch up or move to market. However, failing to protect patents can be equally expensive. It is estimated that patent theft costs the US economy billions each year. And for the corporate patent owner, failing to defend patent rights today can significantly limit their value in the future.

US IP Attachés: China’s IP Policy ‘Hijacked’ By Local Interests In 2018; Bad Faith Filings A ‘Cancer’

WASHINGTON, DC – Two out of three United States intellectual property attachés based in China last week had tough words for China’s manipulation of IP policy and law over the past year, suggesting they at times “hijack” the legal process in favour of local interests, and are in a mad rush to become the world’s top patent and trademark filers regardless of quality to the point that it has become a “cancer” on the IP registration system. A third US IP attaché, however, took a friendlier and more patient view of China’s actions, downplaying concerns and urging US companies to allow it to continue.

EIFL Looks Forward To An Exciting 2019 At WIPO

Teresa Hackett, EIFL Copyright and Libraries Programme Manager, attended the 37th meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the global body that sets international copyright law and policy, that took place in Geneva from 26 - 30 November 2018. During a full week advocating for libraries, EIFL participated in discussions on copyright limitations and exceptions, gave presentations at two civil society organized events, and engaged with government delegates from EIFL partner countries on library issues.

At the last SCCR of 2018, the main focus for libraries was on activities in the WIPO action plan 2018-2019; civil society presented ideas for the upcoming regional seminars on limitations and exceptions, as well as views on how to fix the draft broadcast treaty.

India Proposes Expediting Patents For Women, Small Entities, Waiving PCT Fees

The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion recently published draft amendments to the Patent Rules of 2003 that would expand the eligibility for expedited examination of patent applications to include women and small entities, and would waive the fees for online filing of international patent applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), among other changes.

Do Patent Trolls Exist? Two Studies Reach Different Conclusions (Part 2)

Two recent academic papers examine whether Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs) deserve their reputation as patent trolls – but the papers reach conflicting conclusions. As discussed in the first part of this article, a paper published by Stanford’s Hoover Institution found that 26 publicly-listed NPEs invest in R&D and do little harm to America’s high tech sector. These findings, however, are less significant than they appear. Another paper, published by Harvard Business School (HBS), found that NPEs do on average behave as patent trolls. How important – and trustworthy – are the HBS findings?