Health Groups Urge EU Commission To Safeguard Access To Medicines In Developing Countries 14/10/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Health Action International (HAI) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF – Doctors without Borders) today issued a joint report on European Union commitments to safeguard access to medicines. Their report [pdf] comes in the context of the revision of the European Union’s trade and investment policy, released today.
Racing Against Time To Close On Difficult Issues At WIPO General Assembly 14/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment With hours to go before the end of the annual World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly, delegates are trying to find last resort solutions on a range of remaining issues. Keeping WIPO members busy are: the adoption of the budget and a new plan for financing the Lisbon appellations of origin treaty, fate of the WIPO committee on genetic resources and traditional knowledge, the work of the copyright committee, and whether to mandate the final negotiation of an industrial design treaty.
OECD Innovation Report Urges Governments To Stop Policies Unduly Favouring Incumbents 14/10/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment An Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report released today sets out principles governments can adopt to boost innovation, thereby increasing productivity and economic growth.
WIPO African Ministerial Should Embrace A Pro-Competitive And Pro-Development IP Vision 14/10/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Ahmed Abdel-Latif , Dick Kawooya, Chidi Oguamanam Note: this article first appeared as: WIPO African ministerial should embrace a pro-competitive and pro-development IP vision, 4 October 2015, BRIDGES AFRICA An African ministerial meeting, organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO), to be held in Senegal next November […]
European Council Backs LDC Extension At WTO 13/10/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Council has confirmed that it will support the request of least developed countries at the World Trade Organization for the extension of a waiver of intellectual property obligations for pharmaceutical products.
WIPO Assembly Still Divided On Normative Work On Traditional Knowledge 13/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Discussions on the future of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on traditional knowledge and genetic resources are heating up as some developed countries seek to delay normative work for the next biennium and favour information sessions, and developing countries are eager to go back to discussion on actual treaty texts.
A New Model For IP: Interview With Ecuador IP Office Director Hernán Núñez Rocha 13/10/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Ecuador is preparing a new intellectual property policy that aims to better suit the country’s strategic development. On the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly, Hernán Núñez Rocha, head of the Ecuadorian IP office sat with Intellectual Property Watch to talk about the country’s work on the IP policy and its use of IP as a tool for local development. He also explained Ecuador’s position on the WIPO committee on traditional knowledge.
WTO TRIPS Council To Decide On LDC Pharma Extension, Non-Violation Complaints 13/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The intellectual property committee of the World Trade Organization is meeting this week with a full agenda. The highlight of the agenda is the extension of a waiver allowing least developed countries to choose not to enforce intellectual property rights on pharmaceutical products. Also high on the agenda is a decision on whether to extend a moratorium banning IP from complaints not linked to any breached WTO agreement, and the annual review of special compulsory licence for exporting pharmaceutical products.
G7 Health Ministers Propose Incentives For New Antibiotics, Commit Help On Ebola 12/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The health ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) most developed countries have issued a declaration on antimicrobial resistance and Ebola. The governments said they would explore innovative economic incentives to promote research and development of new antibiotics, such as a global antibiotic research fund and a market entry reward mechanism.
WTO Paper Could Spark New Ideas On TRIPS Special Compulsory Licence For Medicines Export 12/10/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments A carefully agreed 2003 waiver from international intellectual property trade rules to allow export of medicines made under compulsory licence to benefit needy countries has been quietly implemented by a large number of World Trade Organization members, according to a new analytical paper from the WTO. The analysis explores the limited use of the waiver to date and how the situation has changed since then, providing grist for a potential fresh look at the provision at this week’s annual WTO review of IP and public health.