Are European Think Tanks Corporate Lobbyists By Another Name? 31/01/2011 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Think tanks can be a godsend for reporters with a looming deadline. Almost invariably, they are staffed with articulate policy specialists, adept at summarising complex issues in a few quotable sentences. Frequently, too, the think tanks have neutral-sounding names, so a reader or viewer of news reports can easily believe that they are independent of vested interests. Closer inspection reveals that many of these “independent” bodies are in fact heavily reliant on corporate donations. This is especially the case for a number of think tanks working on intellectual property.
Last Online Voices Before Change Bursts From Digital Darkness In Egypt? 28/01/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment For anyone in Egypt in recent months or years, it was impossible to ignore the extraordinary destitution of masses of people living in dusty, stark cement structures everywhere on the edges of Cairo or the choked roads clogged with a far-too-rapidly swollen population. Reports from the ground via digital technologies chronicled events that hit this week, but it might be the digital silence today that seals the change.
Innovation, Generic Drugs, Patents In Congress Follow Obama’s State of the Union Speech 28/01/2011 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments American lawmakers aren’t wasting any time getting down to business after President Obama stressed the importance of spurring innovation during his annual State of the Union address this week and cited the need for the United States to regain its competitive edge, particularly when up against countries such as China and India. A slew of related bills are emerging in Congress.
WHO Gears Up For Reform Driven By Financial Shortfall 25/01/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The Executive Board session of the World Health Organization ended early on Monday after a week of discussions that settled some issues but left some others for the next governing meeting of the organisation in May, with much to do until then. The WHO is facing a significant gap in its budget and a programme of reforms is brewing.
ACTA Inconsistent With European Law, Legal Experts Say 23/01/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments The recently completed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is not fully consistent with European Union law and goes beyond international law in some of its aspects, concluded a group of intellectual property law experts from universities in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and Spain.
WHO R&D Financing Committee Approved With Controversial Industry Expert 22/01/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments World Health Organization members yesterday struck a compromise allowing a Swiss industry representative to sit on a committee selecting proposals for research and developing financing for neglected diseases, disregarding the fact that he is author of one of the proposals. Special safeguards were added to prevent undue influence, but questions remain for some about a conflict of interest.
WHO Members Show Dismay At Delay On Counterfeit Medicines Group 19/01/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments World Health Organization members today raised strong concerns that a working group they mandated last May to address problems with WHO policy on counterfeit and substandard medicines has yet to be formed – with four months remaining before it must report back to members. One delegation called for a halt to WHO activities on anti-counterfeiting until the outcome of the working group is accepted by member states.
New Rules Eyed For Election Of WHO Director General 18/01/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments With the World Health Organization director general’s term of office ending next year, WHO members today set up a drafting group to try to reconcile divergent views on the process leading to the election. Some countries are in favour of a principle of geographical rotation – citing over 60 years of no representation from their regions, while some other countries claimed rotation could override more important selection criteria such as expertise and experience, and could endanger the organisation’s future.
WHO Future In Question; Debate Over Industry Representation 17/01/2011 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A seemingly overworked and impoverished World Health Organization opened its Executive Board session today with calls for reform amid deep concerns about its financial future. Meanwhile, dissension arose over an industry representative named by the WHO secretariat to a new research and development funding working group, sparking the WHO director general to cast doubt on the role of industry in such groups.
Europe’s Outlook For 2011: EU Patent, Digital Content, Innovation And Free Trade 13/01/2011 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Digital Agenda’s hoped-for role as a key growth driver for Europe’s flagging economy has pushed intellectual property issues into a high-priority spot on the EU’s policy agenda for 2011. In an effort to boost job creation and innovation, the European Commission is looking to improve online content licensing, access and protection. And despite continuing opposition from several countries, the long-awaited European patent is finally moving forward. Debate is also heating up on new ways to encourage biomedical innovation, and on a proposed EU-India free trade pact.