WHA: Experts Discuss Innovation, Access For Middle Income Countries 23/05/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch and Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Country officials, academics and leading global health advocates this week raised one of the key concerns of this year’s World Health Assembly: innovation and access to medicines in middle-income countries. Government procurement strategies, voluntary and compulsory licensing, de-linkage models and UNITAID mechanisms were among some of the solutions put forward.
WHA Adopts Resolution On Hepatitis; Member States Concerned Over High Prices 22/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Member states today unanimously adopted a resolution on hepatitis drafted by the Executive Board meeting in January 2014, with two small amendments decided upon in informal intersessional consultations since the Board meeting.
World Health Assembly: Panels Discuss Diagnostics, Surveillance, R&D Models For Antibiotic Resistance 22/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Multiple stakeholders are pushing for a World Health Organization-led global action plan to curb antimicrobial resistance.
BRICS Ministers Join Forces For Access To Medicines 20/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment At a side event to the opening of the 2014 World Health Assembly, strong statements were made by BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) country ministers and representatives to assume leadership and cooperate to tackle the issue of inaccessibility to affordable medicines in theirs and developing countries.
WHO Report Compares Prices, IP Status Of HIV Treatment In Middle-Income Countries 16/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new report from the World Health Organization concludes that prices of HIV treatments vary greatly between middle-income countries (MICs), often depending on patent landscape, licensing agreements, whether drugs were sourced from originator companies, and regulatory approval. For third-line treatments, the price of drugs remains a challenge for all, with newer products more likely to be patented in key countries of production.
IP-Watch Subscribers – Updated List Of IP Delegates In Geneva 13/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch and Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Geneva IP delegates list is updated! As a special feature for our subscribers, Intellectual Property Watch has assembled a new list of many of the leading government delegates working on intellectual property issues in Geneva.
Special Report – Students To Universities: “We Have A Drug Problem” 13/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments BASEL — Students from around the world are gathering momentum to challenge their universities’ licensing policies and research and development systems. That was one of the messages emerging from the annual meeting of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) Europe.
Panel: Good Governance Is Key To Achieving Global Health Goals 09/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As the future United Nations development goals are being debated and decided, two important reports make the case for inclusion of a discussion on global governance and its impact on health.
Digitisation Projects For Orphan And Out-Of-Commerce Works Presented At WIPO 06/05/2014 by Jos̩phine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch and Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Digitisation of copyrighted works is in growing demand, and books are increasingly being made widely available in digital form. Two forms of works however Рorphan and out-of-commerce works Рare in danger of missing out, said speakers at a recent World Intellectual Property Organization event, and there is a risk of forever losing an important part of our cultural heritage embedded in these works. Another panel, meanwhile, illustrated that laws on copyright and licensing also present obstacles to cross-border use of digitised works by universities, libraries and archives.
Soft Law Presented At WIPO As A Solution In International Copyright Law 01/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A presentation of the Tunis Model Law this week at a World Intellectual Property Organization side event addressed how it could be updated and used as a tool to help developing countries implement new developments in international copyright-related law.