UN Agency Ties Fraudulent Pharmaceuticals To Organised Crime In West Africa 26/02/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A United Nations agency has linked shipments of fraudulent pharmaceuticals with cocaine trafficking and smuggling of migrants as illegal activities carried out by transnational organised crime syndicates that are contributing to instability in West Africa.
European Commission Seeks Comments On Licensing For Tech Transfer 21/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Commission announced today that it is inviting comments on a proposal for new competition rules for the assessment of technology transfer agreements. Under the rules, a licensor permits a licensee to exploit patents, know-how or software for the production of goods and services, it said.
UN Takes On Organised Crime And Fraudulent Medicines 15/02/2013 by William New and Tiphaine Nunzia Caulier for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The United Nations has become a focal point for global efforts to fight organised crime’s trafficking of fraudulent medicines that put millions of people – especially the poor – at risk. And a recent pharmaceutical industry report on such medicines recommended some solutions.
President Obama Calls For Dramatic Increase In R&D, Major Trade Deals 13/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In the annual state of the union speech, newly re-elected US President Obama outlined numerous initiatives aimed at strengthening the United States inwardly, but he also kept his eye on international competitiveness. For instance, he called for a massive increase in research and development, as well as a focus on education and skills, manufacturing, science and innovation, and international trade agreements with Asia and Europe.
Texts Show Details Of EU Parliament Transparency Directive Vote 13/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Parliament last week overwhelmingly adopted a text on transparency that was said to improve conditions for generic medicines in the region. The voting documents are now available.
UK Appoints IP Attaché To ASEAN Countries 12/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office has appointed its fourth IP attaché, this time to represent UK businesses in the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Letter Shows US Pressure On Global Fund For Compulsory Licensing, Generics 12/02/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A 2011 letter from the top Republican on the United States Senate Finance Committee condemned efforts by the Global Fund to train public health officials on the use of flexibilities to the patent system contained in international trade rules. The letter, which also attacked the purchase of generic medicines over brand-name drugs, came just months before the US helped remove the head of the Global Fund, ultimately replacing him with an American official.
Fate Of Google Book Search Still To Come, Expert Says 08/02/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A few years ago, internet giant Google had the idea to digitise tens of millions of the world’s books and ran into legal trouble with the publishers and authors of some of them. The cases have moved through many stages, but the ultimate fate of the massive amounts of knowledge it could have made available to the public is still to come, says a Washington, DC lawyer who has followed the case closely for years.
African Union Declares It Will Proceed With Pan-African IP Office 06/02/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The heads of state of the African Union (AU), the regional body working on African integration, have decided to proceed with the establishment of a Pan-African Intellectual Property Office (PAIPO), despite misgivings about the potential impact on their local economies.
European Commission Launches Copyright Licensing Initiative 05/02/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The European Commission has launched an initiative called “Licences for Europe” aimed at promoting copyright licences, as a next step in maintaining traditional copyright in light of new digital technologies.