UN Talks On Public Health Access And Innovation Face Challenges 10/10/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Paul Garwood Next month’s round of negotiations on a United Nations plan to boost access to medicines for the world’s poor are set for a rough ride, with countries and regions split on contentious issues such as intellectual property rights and how to spur drug innovation for the benefit of all. The World Health […]
NGOs Having Major Impact On WIPO Agenda, Panel Says 05/10/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Paul Garwood Non-governmental organisations have been able to influence the debate and priorities within the World Intellectual Property Organization and make IP issues more understood in the developing world, speakers at a seminar in Geneva said Monday. Wend Wendland, head of WIPO’s programme on traditional knowledge, which began in 1998, said civil society had […]
Kenya Probes Official Link Into Bid To Strip Government Of CL Powers 28/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Paul Garwood Kenyan authorities are probing who in government may have been “compromised” by the pharmaceutical industry to try strip the African country of its right to produce medicines without patent-holder approval, a senior official said Friday. Ahmed Ogwell, head of international health relations at Kenya’s Health Ministry, said the Attorney-General’s office is investigating […]
WTO Inquiry Launched Into US Complaints Against China’s IP Record 27/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Paul Garwood A World Trade Organization panel will formally investigate United States complaints that China has failed to adequately protect intellectual property rights on goods such as software and movies, a move criticised by Beijing. WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 25 September established a panel following Washington’s second request to look into its […]
Negotiator: Ethiopian Coffee Trademark Victory To Reap Millions 27/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Paul Garwood Ethiopia’s victory to trademark its major coffee brands could earn the east African country more than US$100 million annually and increase incomes for hundreds of thousands involved in the industry, a negotiator for the Ethiopian government said Tuesday. Ron Layton, chief executive of the Light Years IP non-governmental organisation, told a luncheon in Geneva that agreements ground out between Ethiopia and companies like Starbucks will allow the poverty-stricken country to benefit more from the speciality coffees it produces. There are still some who doubt that Ethiopia got the best deal, however.
WIPO Conference Tackles IP-Health Dynamic 21/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Paul Garwood Intellectual property can help improve public health, but drug research costs must be controlled so patients in poor countries can afford urgently needed medicines, a World Intellectual Property Organization symposium heard Wednesday. The Geneva-staged event, at which representatives of United Nations bodies, foreign missions, non-governmental bodies and industry spoke, was held in […]
Development Agenda Implementation Discussed Before WIPO Assemblies 18/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Paul Garwood More technical assistance to developing countries, closer collaboration between UN agencies and overhauling the World Intellectual Property Organization were among calls made during a conference of leading players in the intellectual property community held Monday. The conference, entitled “The Reform of WIPO: Implementing the Development Agenda,” was the second such event. The […]
Kenya Rejects Bid To Remove Government’s Compulsory Licensing Flexibilities 14/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Paul Garwood Kenya’s Parliament has rejected a proposal to revoke the government’s powers to issue compulsory licenses to manufacture products such as generic medicines without patent holder approval, a move welcomed Friday by supporters of universal access to pharmaceuticals. The decision, made late Wednesday, protects Kenya’s ability to acquire affordable generic medicines, such as […]
Kenyan Parliament To Debate Scrapping Compulsory Licensing Powers 12/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Paul Garwood Kenyan lawmakers are set to debate proposed amendments to a bill that, if passed, would prevent the government from issuing compulsory licenses to produce urgently needed medicines without seeking approval from the patent holder. The amendments, which involve deleting parts of Kenya’s Industrial Property Act of 2001, were first expected to be […]