LDC Coordinator Thanks WTO For ‘Accountability To Humanity’ On Pharma IP 08/11/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Last week’s decision by a World Trade Organization committee to allow least-developed countries to not apply global IP rules for pharmaceuticals for 17 more years made WTO members accountable to humanity, the coordinator of the LDC Group has said. Pharmaceuticals are different from all other forms of IP, he said.
‘One Battleship Has Arrived In Port’ – A Japanese View On The TPP 07/11/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The TPP is done, or not quite. But what is still lacking, what are next steps and what does the finalised deal do to the grand picture of the mega-trade deal landscape? Japanese economist Nakagawa Junji, Professor of International Economic Law Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo, shares a view from Japan with writer Monika Ermert.
LDC Pharma IP Waiver Until 2033 Approved By WTO TRIPS Council 06/11/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments After two weeks of high level negotiations between the United States and the Group of Least-Developed Countries, the World Trade Organization committee on intellectual property rights today agreed to extend a waiver allowing LDCs to avoid applying and enforcing IP rights on pharmaceutical products until 2033.
New WIPO Group B Coordinator; MPP Adds Members To Board 06/11/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment October saw a flurry of changes in law offices in the United States. In Geneva, the coordination for Group B developed countries at the World Intellectual Property Organization changed hands, and the Medicines Patent Pool added four members to its Governance Board.
TPP Text Is Out, Finally, With Lots Of Bilateral Specialities 06/11/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch and William New Leave a Comment Four weeks after the finalisation of the agreement, the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was finally released by the United States and other partners of the first of the regional mega-trade deals. The parties hurried to underline the success of the negotiations, but early reactions were deeply divided.
Public Health Considerations Should Guide Patent Examination, Paper Argues 05/11/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Patent offices should align their work in support of national health and medicines policies when carrying out the examination of patents, a new South Centre paper argues.
Northern Tanzania Maasai Land Loss Threatens Indigenous Knowledge 04/11/2015 by Fredrick Nzwili for Intellectual Property Watch 8 Comments NAIROBI, Kenya – After a five year gruelling court battle, the indigenous Maasai community in Northern Tanzania has lost the right to its traditional land after the High Court handed it to a US-based tourism company in a court ruling on 27 October.
Well-Designed IP Systems Can Benefit Africa, Leaders Say; WIPO Director Urges Action 04/11/2015 by Sadibou Marone for Intellectual Property Watch and Babacar Dione for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment DAKAR, Senegal — As Africa is emerging to become a centre of economic growth, strong and well-developed national intellectual property systems can help the continent unlock its citizens’ creativity and innovation and further boost economic growth, World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry said today in Dakar, the Senegalese capital where the African Ministerial Conference kicked off. Gurry was joined by top officials from a number of African nations.
UN Works Through Issues Of A Changed Internet 03/11/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Most nations in the world agree that all aspects of society now depend on the internet. But this year’s process of reviewing the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is showing how many challenges to the internet have arisen and how far apart nations are on the ways to address them.
17 Year Exemption From Pharmaceutical Patents Agreed At WTO – TWN 03/11/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment From Third World Network: London, 3 Nov (Sangeeta Shashikant) The United States and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at the World Trade Organization have reached agreement ad referendum on a pharmaceutical patent exemption for a duration of 17 years, according to trade diplomats.