Brazilian Supreme Court Refuses To Judge Its Biggest Case On IP And Access To Medicines, And Benefits Big Pharma With Undue Monopolies 13/09/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments Marcela Fogaça Vieira and Pedro Villardi write: The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) has mysteriously cancelled the judgment of the most important case regarding intellectual property and health ever to be decided by the court. On 28 June, the date of the judgment was set for 6 September. The cancellation occurred on the eve of the judgment, something very rare in the practice of the Court. The lack of decision on the case only benefits the transnational companies awarded with hundreds of undue monopolies. Just a few days before, the President of the STF – Judge Carmem Lucia – had a meeting with Interfarma, the association of multinational pharmaceutical companies in Brazil.
Civil Society Pushes EPO To Invalidate Hepatitis C Patent 12/09/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The European Patent Office is expected to hold oral proceedings later this week on a challenge filed against a Gilead patent on hepatitis C treatment. Invalidation of the patent would open the way to competition and lower prices, according to civil society groups which initiated the challenge. But according to an EPO source, the company is seeking at most an amendment to the patent.
Shhh … UN Declaration On Tuberculosis Draft Text Out For Approval 11/09/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Negotiators’ agreed draft text for a United Nations political declaration on ending tuberculosis worldwide has been posted for all member states to see, and negotiators hope, not comment on. Under a UN procedure, the text has been placed “under silence” until 10:00am New York time on 14 September. If no one breaks the silence, the text is considered agreed and will advance to the High-Level Meeting on tuberculosis on 26 September as part of the annual UN General Assembly.
Should The WIPO Director General Fly First Class? 11/09/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment There are often big issues at stake at the global center for international intellectual property policy in Geneva, but sometimes, the nearly 200 governments that direct the UN World Intellectual Property Organization have to ask themselves questions like, should the director general of WIPO get to fly around the world first-class? Turns out, the answers can vary, but for now, he can carry on.
Welcoming People In Fresh Roles In The IP Community 11/09/2018 by Adithi Koushik for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Looking at movements in the global IP community over the summer and heading into fall, many old faces among the government delegations in Geneva left for new posts, while a new set of faces is taking up residence. Meanwhile, people are on the move at international organisations and NGOs, and law firms continued to see high turnover.
Extended Monopolies On Biologic Drugs – A Warning To Developing Countries 10/09/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Historically, the US has been the primary demandeur of maximalist IP norms in FTAs. Pharmaceutical IP is market-driven, and this is no different for biologic drugs, which dominate the list of bestselling drugs worldwide, making them important economic commodities. Developing country governments must take note of the US pushing for biologics exclusivity through NAFTA as this signifies an effort to change norms worldwide.
WIPO Looks To Diversify Its Revenue Sources From High Dependence On PCT 10/09/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee (PBC), a key member-state body at the UN agency, today opened a week of work on a range of issues. Opening the meeting, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry highlighted the positive financial status of the organisation but cautioned that external factors could make it risky to continue its heavy dependence on the popular Patent Cooperation Treaty.
WIPO Program And Budget Committee Meeting Topics: New Projects, Reform, Rise In Expenses 07/09/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee, one of the main governing bodies of the organisation, will meet next week to finalize a range of issues on the functioning and work of the UN agency for the year. If WIPO has an insolently good financial status for a United Nations organisation, auditors still made a number of recommendations including on the trademark system managed by WIPO, the rental of space to third parties, the recording of works of art in the building, and late travel authorisations.
Not Just A Matter Of Matter: ‘The Way Forward’ For The UNCBD, NP And Half-Earth 07/09/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Prof. Joseph Henry Vogel writes: Is information something or is it about something? That is essentially the question before the Fourteenth Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1993 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which meets from 19-27 November 2018. And it is a “$64 billion question”. The answer could determine the modality for “access to genetic resources” and “the fair and equitable sharing of benefits” (ABS), which is the third objective of the CBD. If the information conveyed in life is something, then the obligation of benefits could be orders of magnitude greater than if that same information is only about something. Re-phrasing the question: Are Users of genetic resources accessing information? Or are they accessing matter, the properties about which are diffused over organisms and jurisdictions? Information-as-the-answer leads to an economic rationale for tens of billions of dollars in payments per year. Properties-as-the-answer justifies the “peanuts” currently being paid.
Study: Generic Drug Industry Embraces Faster, Cheaper Pathway For Challenging Patents 06/09/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new study by researchers at the Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) at Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital reveals that generic drug companies have been successful about 50% of the time when challenging patents covering FDA-approved pharmaceutical products via a new, administrative review procedure of patent validity created by Congress called “inter partes review.”