Drop In R&D Funding For HIV Vaccine 21/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Global research funding for HIV vaccine decreased by 10 percent in 2008 from the previous year, representing the first time the levels have fallen since investment trends have been tracked, according to a new report. The report was released this week by the HIV Vaccines and Microbicides Resource Tracking Working Group, an initiative of UNAIDS […]
ACTA Talks May Open Up, Slightly 20/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The latest round of negotiations for an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) held in Rabat, Morocco on 16-17 July resulted in the announcement that after closed-door discussions on transparency, the only agreement reached on transparency was to release draft agendas of future closed-door negotiating rounds. Public interest groups and technology companies are seeking a voice and […]
Innovation Policy Needs National Focus, Use Of TRIPS Obligations, Panellists Say 20/07/2009 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Innovation is a main driver for economic growth and development for developing countries, said speakers at an event focusing on innovation in Brazil, India and South Africa. But although innovation is increasing and is a priority in developing economies, one expert said invention capabilities remain in the hands of historical players and governments need to seek innovative policy responses.
Shift In Top IP Posts At WHO 17/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment From the ip-health listserv Friday, an internal communication from World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan announcing a change in staff responsible for innovation and intellectual property issues. On 1 August, Elil Renganathan of Malaysia, the current director of Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property, will move to become director of Planning, Resource Coordination and […]
‘Drop Internet Issues From ACTA, Add Public Interest’ 17/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Nine organisations representing the technology industry, libraries, digital rights and privacy interests have sent a letter to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging that issues related to the internet be dropped from negotiations for an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). They also demanded that in the secretive ACTA negotiation, negotiating documents be made available to […]
Life-Saving Mosquito Nets Subject Of Tiff Over Trade Secrets 17/07/2009 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment COPENHAGEN – While sales of insecticide-treated bed nets have skyrocketed in recent years and boosting their use is among the UN Millennium Development Goals, two producers of the nets have been caught in a rigorous legal case involving trade secrets. Now the English High Court has ruled that one of the companies, Bestnet, has misused the trade secrets of the other company, Vestergaard Frandsen (VF).
US Measures To Strengthen Trade Enforcement 16/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk on Thursday announced new measures to strengthen the enforcement of the country’s trade rights seen as a key part of US economic recovery and growth strategy. “Our new approach to enforcement is simple,” Kirk said in a statement, available here. “We will deploy our resources more effectively to identify […]
ECOSOC Calls For Intensified Efforts On Public Health And Use Of TRIPS Flexibilities 16/07/2009 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The United Nations Economic and Social Council, a key coordinating body meeting this summer in Geneva, is considering ways to move nations faster toward global public health goals, with a warning from developing countries that intellectual property rights should not interfere with access to medical products and innovation.
Double Serving In Geneva: McDonald’s’ IP Tax Move 16/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment McDonald’s is shifting its European headquarters to Geneva in an apparent attempt to avoid new tax rules in the United Kingdom that would result in double taxation of revenues earned from intellectual property rights, according to a spokeswoman for McDonald’s quoted in the Guardian newspaper this week. The move seeks to benefit from advantageous intellectual […]
UK Parliament Report: Health Access A ‘Treatment Timebomb’ 15/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment “Maintaining HIV/AIDS treatment to keep people alive will cripple developing economies, or place unbearable strains on richer countries trying to support them and action is needed now, to avert crisis later,” says a report released this week by a cross-cutting parliamentary group in the United Kingdom. The All Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS, a backbench […]