IP Critical As Rocky US-Andean Trade Talks Resume17/10/2005 by Martin Vaughan for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentBy Martin Vaughan for Intellectual Property Watch Washington, DC—With negotiators set to resume work this week, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador are resisting demands by the United States for patent protections that go beyond those enshrined in international trade law in talks toward a U.S.-Andean free trade agreement continuing this fall. At the international level, trade-related […]
Drug Patents Still At Issue In U.S.-Central America Trade Deal01/04/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentWashington, D.C.–The free trade agreement signed last year by the United States, five Central American nations and the Dominican Republic still faces a tough fight in the U.S. Congress for a number of reasons, one of which remains provisions on the treatment of pharmaceutical patents. Guatemala recently responded to U.S. government and industry pressure by […]
US Trade Representative Releases Annual Trade Barriers Report30/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentWashington, D.C.—The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday cited rising global piracy and counterfeiting as a top foreign trade barrier to U.S. products and services in 2005. “There is a discouraging upward trend [in piracy and counterfeiting],” a US trade official said in a telephone press briefing on the release of the […]
Los Negociadores Estadounidenses y Andinos Eluden los Temas Mas Difíciles en Materia de Propiedad Intelectual25/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentWashington, D.C.–Un alto funcionario de la oficina de comercio de los Estados Unidos dijo el lunes que en la ultima ronda de negociaciones del Tratado de Libre Comercio EEUU-Países Andinos, los representantes de ambas partes discutieron temas en materia de propiedad intelectual, pero reservaron las cuestiones mas difíciles para la próxima ronda. Regina Vargo, Asistente […]
U.S., Andean Negotiators Dodge Toughest IP Issues For Now21/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentWashington, D.C.–U.S. and Andean negotiators last week discussed several intellectual property issues but saved the most difficult ones for the next round, a senior U.S. trade official said Monday. Regina Vargo, assistant U.S. trade representative for the Americas and the lead U.S. negotiator, said that in talks between the United States and the Andean countries […]
U.S. Seeks “High Level” IP Agreements In Middle East14/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentWashington, D.C.–U.S. trade negotiators working toward bilateral free trade agreements with Middle Eastern countries are seeking to maintain the same level of intellectual property rights protection achieved in other bilateral deals, a U.S. trade official said Monday. “We want to have high standards” on intellectual property, Catherine Novelli, assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and […]
Clash Continues On U.S.-Central America Trade Deal01/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentProtection of pharmaceutical patents may not be the biggest reason the Bush administration is struggling to line up congressional votes for a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, but it remains critical to its passage. The issue pits two sides against each other within a larger, ongoing struggle to […]
The Domino Effect of US FTAs: Public Health Groups, Members of Congress claim CAFTA will choke Access to Medicines04/11/2004 by Isabelle Scherer for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentRecent efforts to rally Congress to approve a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) reached earlier this year with Central American countries has reignited debate about USTR’s approach to intellectual property and the implications for access to essential medicines. The Agreement with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua was reached in May 2004 and supplemented […]
USTR’s Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights: Public Interest Groups Still Calling for a Voice04/11/2004 by Isabelle Scherer for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentIn the wake of a series of U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs) which include ‘TRIPS-plus’ commitments on intellectual property, civil society groups are again urging the United States to better incorporate public interest views in the formulation of its trade strategy. Since the late 1990s, consumer advocates, such as James Love of the Consumer Project […]
