UN Expert Says Secret Trade Negotiations A Threat To Human Rights 23/04/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments The United Nations independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order raised concerns over the lack of awareness about the negative effects that free trade and investment agreements have on human rights, especially in developing countries. The Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Alfred de […]
WIPO CDIP: New Proposals Rekindle Conversation On IP And Development 23/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Among the outstanding issues at the World Intellectual Property Organization is how WIPO committees report to the General Assembly on their implementation of the organisation’s Development Agenda Recommendations. At this week’s meeting on the issue, a new proposal submitted by Mexico attempts to breach differences.
Open, Online Database Of Clinical Trials Planned 22/04/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A newly announced project will create an open, online database of information about the clinical research trials worldwide. The initiative, called Open Trials, will be directed by Ben Goldacre, an internationally known author (“Bad Science”) and advocated for clinical transparency. As announced by Open Knowledge yesterday, Open Trials “will aggregate information from a wide variety […]
UK Industry Group Details Goals For Global Patent Harmonisation 22/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In recent months, intellectual property rights holder groups and northern governments have been stepping up their focus on harmonising international patent law to ease procedures and lower costs. Today, an industry group in the United Kingdom articulated some of those aims.
A Look At The Huge Upswing In China Patent Filings 22/04/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments By Michael Sneddon While China’s reputation for producing imitations of everything from cars to computers continues to linger, it doesn’t appear to be a deterrent for foreign corporations as they increasingly seek protection for their innovations. In fact, according to the 2014 edition of the World Intellectual Property Indicators, for the third year, China’s State […]
Update On Yale/IP-Watch Effort To Open TPP Texts 21/04/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual Property Watch has been working for several years to obtain more details about the intellectual property aspects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and a subsequent lawsuit to enforce that request, which is being led by a team at the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School (MFIA). Today MFIA, a program of Yale’s Information Society Project and Abrams Institute, released an update on the case.
WHO Reviews Its Essential Medicines List; Some New Candidates Under Patent 21/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization is reviewing its list of essential medicines this week. Over 70 candidate medicines are expected to be assessed by an Expert Committee. Some of those medicines are under patent and highly priced, which poses an accessibility challenge.
WHO Opens Its Database Of Medicines Side Effects To The Public 20/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization has announced that its Global Medicines Safety Database is now open to the general public. The database named VigiAccess can now be accessed on any computer or smartphone in the world.
Wave Of Protests Against TTIP, CETA, TISA 19/04/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A wave of protest marches and information events against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA), and the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) yesterday swept across Europe, the US, Canada and number of other countries. On the eve of the 9th TTIP negotiation round set for New York (20-24 April), thousands took to the streets in the European capitals of London, Brussels and Helsinki.
WIPO Development Committee To Hear Report On Implementation, Discuss Patent Flexibilities 17/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Member governments will discuss the development dimension of the World Intellectual Property Organization next week, looking in particular at how the United Nations organisation is implementing the recommendations of its Development Agenda in its activities.