WHO Heralds Breakthrough On Ebola Vaccine: “Turning Point In History Of Health R&D” 31/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Organization announced today that a vaccine preventing Ebola has proved efficacious in Ebola-stricken Guinea, hailing it as a “turning point in the history of health R&D.”
Medicines Patent Pool At 5 Years: Promises Kept, Changes Ahead – An Interview With Greg Perry 30/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Medicines Patent Pool in Geneva is celebrating five years of existence this month. MPP Executive Director Greg Perry sat down with Intellectual Property Watch Catherine Saez to describe progress made since its inception, the success of its licensing agreement model, and plans for the future, including a possible extension to other diseases such as tuberculosis and hepatitis C.
WIPO Model Law Needs Revision, Developing Countries Say; Developed Countries Reluctant 30/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Intellectual Property Organization provides legislative assistance to developing countries and least-developed countries upon request by individual member states. This week at the WIPO patent law committee, the Latin American and Caribbean Group tabled a proposal to revise the 1979 WIPO model law for developing countries on inventions, arguing it is obsolete.
WIPO Patent Committee Searching For Common Ground For Future Discussions 29/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment After a slow start this week due to late approval of the agenda, the World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee is now sailing through the proposed schedule. However, previous positions remain unchanged and the core issue of the session is to find common ground on the future work of the committee.
New Agenda Adopted For WIPO Committee On Patent Law 27/07/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Intellectual Property Organization committee on the law of patents got a slow start this morning as delegates did not agree on the draft agenda submitted by the secretariat for this session. After informal consultations during the morning, WIPO members accepted a draft revised agenda proposed by the committee chair.
WIPO Patent Law Committee Seeks To Overcome North-South Divide On Priorities 27/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee meets this week with a work programme reflecting strong interests that are not equally shared by member states. Developed countries in the past have focused on ways to share work between patent offices, while developing countries would favour more time being spent on limitations and exceptions to patent rights, in particular in the area of health.
France Spearheads Push For Plain Packaging Of Tobacco Products 23/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The country that made smoking cool is now taking steps to make it uncool. France this week organised what it defined as “the first international ministerial meeting” on plain packaging for tobacco products, gathering countries that support the public health measure aimed at discouraging tobacco use.
Coalition Asks WIPO To Follow Proposed Guidelines To Better Defend IP Rights 22/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment An international coalition of intellectual property rights defenders wrote a letter to World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry yesterday providing suggested international guidelines to protect IP rights.
WIPO Program And Budget Committee Works Through Issues 22/07/2015 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee (PBC) last week took note of WIPO’s mostly positive 2014 progress report, walked through its proposed program and budget for 2016-2017, and addressed issues of investment, governance, new external offices, and development. Many issues will be carried forward to the next PBC meeting in mid-September, just prior to the annual WIPO General Assembly.
Investor-State Cases Could Have Cost Cash-Strapped Argentina $80B, Paper Says 21/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new developing country policy brief warns against use of the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism, arguing that it has a low capacity to adapt to exceptional circumstances that can afflict developing countries.