Battle For A New WIPO Treaty On Broadcasting Begins In Earnest 19/06/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New World Intellectual Property Organization members are engaged in a critical weeklong meeting that will determine the fate of a proposed WIPO treaty on broadcasters’ rights. At the end of a second slow day, it was unclear which way it will go, according to participants, but things are intensifying and WIPO is watching […]
WIPO Development Meeting Side-Events Held On Patents, Competition, Implementation 19/06/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Side-events were held by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), an intergovernmental organisation and the Canadian competition authority last week alongside the negotiations for a Development Agenda at the World Intellectual Property Organization. They focused on implementation of such an agenda in developing countries, the relationship between intellectual property rights and competition […]
Regulators Wrestle With Data Exclusivity For Pharmaceuticals Worldwide 18/06/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch A debate over how long to give exclusive rights over data submitted by pharmaceutical companies to governments in order to receive approval to sell a drug in their markets is controversial not only in India, but worldwide.
Imperfect Compromise Seen In India Data Exclusivity Report 18/06/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch When the Indian government published its report recently on yet another pharmaceutical patent-related issue predicted to split the industry, the Indian newspapers were divided as to whether brand name producers, generics producers or public health advocates had won. The reason for the confusion is that the report is an exercise in appeasement, said Shamnad Basheer, a law professor at George Washington University Law School, and expert on this latest controversial subject, called data exclusivity, which is the rights drugs producers have over the data used to obtain marketing approval in a country.
Novartis Case Against India’s Patent Law Resumes This Week 18/06/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch The latest chapter in the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis’ challenge to the Indian intellectual property system begins on 18 June when the Indian Patent and Trademark Appellate Board (IPAB) is scheduled to hold its first hearing. However, lawyers expect “teething” problems to delay the proceedings. Although the IPAB […]
In A ‘Major Achievement’, WIPO Negotiators Create New Development Mandate 18/06/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New Members of a World Intellectual Property Organization committee addressing proposals for a WIPO Development Agenda last week potentially rewrote the UN body’s mandate, pending approval. Negotiators concluded a weeklong meeting with agreements on a wide range of proposals for new development-related activities – some hard to imagine for WIPO two years ago […]
US, China Fail To Resolve Differences In Consultations On WTO IP Cases 11/06/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The United States and China last week failed to resolve differences raised by the US dispute at the World Trade Organization over China’s intellectual property protection and market access for US copyrighted material, according to the Chinese government. The United States filed two WTO disputes on 10 April (IPW, Subscribers, 24 April, […]
G8 Summit Agrees On Africa Declaration With Weakened TRIPS Language 08/06/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The Group of Eight (G8) final declaration on “growth and responsibility” in Africa is being met with initial reactions from observers that it contains a weaker approach to address patents and medicines to ensure “universal access.” Discussions about patents and medicines in any forum appear to lead to the World […]
TRIPS Council: Big Boost For Biodiversity Amendment; Enforcement Debated 06/06/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Broad new support emerged this week for a proposal to amend World Trade Organization rules on intellectual property to better protect countries’ biological resources, while efforts to increase discussions on intellectual property protection remain unresolved. The issues led the agenda at the 5 June meeting of the WTO Council on […]
EU Urged To Back Poor Countries’ Use Of TRIPS Flexibilities 06/06/2007 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – The European Union should stop demanding that poor countries apply its intellectual property rules to medicines through trade negotiations with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) bloc, legal experts argued at a 4 June event here. The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, is hoping to […]