Roche Seeks Deals On Bird Flu Drug As Compulsory Licenses Loom 20/10/2005 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Roche, the Swiss-based company with rights to a medicine believed to be the most effective in the event of an avian influenza pandemic, has expressed openness to discussing arrangements with companies or governments to produce more of its flu treatment known as Tamiflu. But sceptics argue that the offer, made on 18 October, is too […]
IP Critical As Rocky US-Andean Trade Talks Resume 17/10/2005 by Martin Vaughan for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Martin Vaughan for Intellectual Property Watch Washington, DC—With negotiators set to resume work this week, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador are resisting demands by the United States for patent protections that go beyond those enshrined in international trade law in talks toward a U.S.-Andean free trade agreement continuing this fall. At the international level, trade-related […]
U.S. Patent Reform Effort Narrowed in Congress; Could Resurface In Supreme Court 29/09/2005 by Sarah Stirland for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Sarah Lai Stirland for Intellectual Property Watch A wall of opposition from the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and independent inventor communities this year gutted some of the most controversial provisions from an ambitious patent reform bill introduced in July in the U.S. House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress. But one of the […]
Failure Of Patent Harmonisation Not Critical For WIPO, Official Says 07/09/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Failure to get agreement on a proposal to harmonise national patent laws by World Intellectual Property Organisation members will not impact the functioning and credibility of the organisation, a top WIPO official said today. Failure to agree “is not necessarily the end of the world for WIPO,” Francis Gurry, WIPO deputy director general, said in […]
WIPO Faces Persistent Complaints, Allegations Of Mismanagement 07/06/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organisation is said to be different from many United Nations bodies in that it has long been seen as more of a technical body than the domain of career diplomats who are expert at political wrangling. But in recent months, the organisation has been called upon to address a series of […]
Agreement Out Of Reach In WIPO Patent Harmonisation Talks 03/06/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Governments’ failure to reach agreement on a way forward on patent harmonisation talks at the World Intellectual Property Organisation today has cast a pall on the future of the issue within the UN body, sources said. The meeting of the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) at Geneva-based WIPO was scheduled for 1-2 […]
Stakes Are High For WIPO Patent Harmonisation Meeting 31/05/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The stakes are high for many participants in a 1-2 June negotiation at the World Intellectual Property Organisation, as the future of efforts to harmonise international patent laws is on the table. Developing country governments and non-governmental organizations raised concerns in the lead-up to this week’s Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) meeting […]
Medical R&D Treaty Debated At World Health Assembly 30/05/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Experts attending the U.N. World Health Assembly this month debated a proposal to create an international treaty on medical research and development aimed at making medical treatment affordable globally while ensuring continuing innovation in the area. The proposed treaty was created in consultation with a variety of non-governmental and government experts, and in February, 162 […]
Experts Discuss Essential Drugs Patent Pool Proposal 19/05/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Consumer representatives, United Nations diplomats, drug industry representatives and others this week discussed a proposal to form a patent pool for essential medicines. The proposal was put forward by Consumers International and the Consumer Project on Technology (CP Tech) at the annual U.N. World Health Assembly, and on Tuesday filled a room with people holding […]
Pressure Rises On Drug Patents In Brazil 15/05/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Brazil, a developing country leader on international intellectual property issues, has come under pressure at home and abroad over whether to lift domestic patents on foreign pharmaceuticals for AIDS to allow cheaper generic versions to be produced. This week, nearly 200 non-governmental organisations from around the world signed onto a letter urging the Brazilian government […]