Multi-Agency Conference Addresses Positive Aspects Of ‘Respect For IP’ 26/10/2018 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Conference delegates at the Respect for IP international conference held in South Africa this week were participants in a series of top-level panel discussions about the conference theme that included views about balancing intellectual property’s economic value with achieving social development goals.
USPTO Director: It’s A New Day At The PTAB! Is It A New Day For Low-Quality Patents? 26/10/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu yesterday proclaimed what industry patent attorneys may have wanted to hear, that the recently implemented system for challenging the quality of patents in the United States could be reined in under his leadership.
US Releases New Medicare Drug Plan To “Pay The Prices Other Countries Pay” 26/10/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States Department of Health and Human Services has released a new plan intended to reduce drug prices for some patients on Medicare, based on an international pricing index model. In his announcement of the plan, President Trump said the US would save money “for our seniors by paying the prices other countries pay. Nothing special, just the prices that other countries pay.”
ICANN Frees .Amazon Domain For Company Delegation 25/10/2018 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has lifted the stop on delegating the .amazon top-level domain, effectively handing it to the company over the South American region, depending on agreement with states in the Amazon region.
Near-Monopolies On HCV Diagnostics Curb Competition, Keep Prices High, Research Finds 24/10/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Monopoly prices of diagnostic tools and lack of competition in the market constitute a barrier to treatment for people with hepatitis C virus (HCV), but the increased use of “open” diagnostic platforms could reduce prices, a health advocacy research study has found.
US Interference In EU SPC Manufacturing Waiver “Unacceptable,” Says EU Generic Industry Group 24/10/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Generics industry group Medicines for Europe has declared United States interference in the European Union legislative process on the supplementary protection certificate (SPC) manufacturing waiver “unacceptable,” and an attempt to “influence the outcome of this EU legislative proposal.”
WHO Members Consider Possible Changes To Pandemic Influenza Framework 23/10/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A hundred years ago, the influenza pandemic known as the “Spanish flu” infected one-third of the world population, and resulted in an estimated 50 million deaths. Last week, the World Health Organization held a consultation on possible changes to its 2011 agreement to prepare for the next pandemic influenza. Two major questions were on the table: whether to extend its agreement to seasonal influenza, and how to deal with pandemic influenza genetic information, which is increasingly used instead of biological samples of viruses.
ICANN63: The “Practical Peace Project” – Tested By IP Rights Concerns And A Privacy Tussle 23/10/2018 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment BARCELONA, Spain — The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is struggling over Europe’s privacy legislation. Is there a data “war” in the making? It is exactly 20 years since the founding of ICANN and two years after being finally fully privatized, and the self-regulatory internet domain name body has been named a “practical peace project underway” by its President and CEO Göran Marby. But it is now struggling with an old issue: privacy and access to personal information in the Whois database.
G77+China Plan To Take UN TB Declaration Forward: Increased Resources, Access To Medicines 19/10/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Group of 77 developing countries plus China delivered a statement at the recent United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis, calling for forward progress on the commitments to funding and action made in the UN political declaration on TB.
New US Law Requires Reporting Of Biologic, Biosimilar “Pay-for-Delay” Pacts 18/10/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act became effective in the United States on 10 October. Among other things, it extends to biologic and biosimilar products a 2003 law requiring drug manufacturers to notify US antitrust authorities of patent settlement agreements. The idea is to cut down on so-called “pay-for delay” tactics which can slow the introduction of cheaper medicines into the market.