Chan Urges Innovation, Defends WHO Flu Response As New Group Approved 18/05/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan opened the annual World Health Assembly today with a welcome of the transparency in the “most closely watched pandemic in history,” and how the drive to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals would unleash a “host of innovations for improving health, especially among the poorest,” adding a call for vaccines as one of the “best life-saving buys on offer.”
WHO Members To Act On Research Financing, Pandemic Preparedness 14/05/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment How to proceed with the results of an initiative aimed at finding real alternatives for innovative health research financing is on the agenda at next week’s World Health Assembly (WHA). The assembly also is expected to approve the continuation of a working group on pandemic influenza preparedness.
Brazilian Generic Drug Registration Sets Standard For ‘Pipeline’ Patents 13/05/2010 by Claudia Jurberg for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments The first Brazilian generic drug against erectile dysfunction recently received registration at the National Surveillance Agency – a unit of the Health Ministry. The Viagra generic’s registration was only possible because of a decision of the Superior Court that will terminate the drug patent next month, said Odnir Finotti, president of the Pro-Generics Association.
Counterfeit Medicines In WTO Dispute Process, Heating Up At WHO 12/05/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The international policy debate over counterfeit medicines and legitimate generics escalated today. Brazil and India took the first step in the World Trade Organization dispute settlement process for treatment of generics medicines falsely labelled counterfeit in Europe, and non-governmental organisations from both sides of the issue issued new releases stating their positions on the issues at the neighbouring World Health Organization.
Biotechnology Consultant To Lead WIPO Global Challenges Division 12/05/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A leader for the World Intellectual Property Organization Global Challenges Division – tasked with connecting intellectual property to critical issues such as public health, food security, and climate change – has been named more than a year and a half after the division’s creation.
New WHO Documents Show Results On IP, Innovation, Technology Transfer 11/05/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Three new documents from the World Health Organization programme on intellectual property and innovation obtained by Intellectual Property Watch provide new evidence on how technology transfer is working, analyse research prioritisation at the WHO, and indicate progress on a monitoring and evaluation strategy for the programme’s continued implementation, according to a preliminary reading.
US, WIPO Officials Assess Patent Reform, PCT, Copyright Priorities 10/05/2010 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NEW YORK – Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the United States are “hotlining” colleagues to ascertain if there is any objection to moving patent reform quickly through the US Senate, a representative of a major stakeholder in the debate said here Friday. Meanwhile, the US Copyright Office is working to get its priorities through a restructured Congress, and a World Intellectual Property Organization official warned of a possible divide in WIPO’s norm-setting activities.
WIPO Traditional Knowledge Committee Agrees To Intensify Text-Based Negotiations 08/05/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources drew to a close today with an unusual ending: applause, and an agreement.
WIPO Traditional Knowledge Committee Moving Toward Legal Agreement 07/05/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A World Intellectual Property Organization committee tasked with finding an international instrument to prevent the misappropriation of traditional knowledge, folklore, and genetic resources has begun in earnest text-based discussions and is now working to find an agreement on extra meetings intended to speed the process towards creating an international legal instrument.
Biotech Convention Pays Homage To IP, Pledges To Increase Access To Medicine 04/05/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual property rights and access to medicines were on the agenda at the first day of a biotechnology industry group’s annual convention yesterday. The group held a panel on IP rights and also released a policy statement on access to medicine in developing countries. The director of the US Patent and Trademark Office commented positively on the initiative.