Students, Activists, Swarm To Demand UCLA Drop Indian High Court Patent Claim 06/09/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Thousands of students have urged a major research university in the United States to drop a patent claim in India related to an important cancer medicine, with the aim of making affordable versions available.
New Confidential Text Shows Draft Deal On UN Tuberculosis Declaration 05/09/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A newly agreed draft text of the United Nations political declaration on tuberculosis was released to governments today, affirming the use of flexibilities in international trade rules on intellectual property, but excluding actionable language on those rules.
New Health Ministry Of Chile Reaffirms Path To Compulsory Licence For Hepatitis C Drugs 04/09/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Last week, Chilean Health Minister Emilio Santelices, appointed by President Piñera – who took office this year – rejected an attempt from company Gilead and a Big Pharma-related association of international drug makers in Chile to put down the resolution 399/2018 declaring public health justifications for the issuing of compulsory licences for sofosbuvir to treat a hepatitis C epidemic in Chile, that was issued by the previous government of Michele Bachelet, writes Luis Villarroel.
WIPO Publishes Report On Its Workforce 04/09/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization has released statistics on its workforce showing that 118 countries are represented in WIPO staff, some 50 percent of which benefit from permanent contracts, while the organisation has become a strong magnet for job applicants, over 12,000 in 2017.
WIPO Traditional Knowledge, Folklore Committee Closes In Consensus; Experts To Help 03/09/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization committee charged to find effective ways to protect traditional knowledge and folklore closed a weeklong meeting in consensus on several items, among which are two revised texts to be discussed further at the next session.
African Health Ministers Approve Roadmap For Medicines Access, Framework To End Cholera 03/09/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Health ministers from the World Health Organization Africa region last week endorsed a roadmap for access for the years 2019-2023 concerning areas such as fair pricing, intellectual property management, and supply chain management. The previous day, they pledged to implement key strategies to end cholera outbreaks in the African region by 2030.
UN Tuberculosis Negotiations: What Is At Stake? 30/08/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments With negotiations over the final language of a United Nations high level declaration on ending tuberculosis still ongoing, the stakes are high as different TB stakeholders await the outcome. The language in question could either raise or reduce barriers to affordable access to life-saving TB drugs, according to civil society groups.
New Paper Looks At Differential Protection For Traditional Knowledge, Folklore 30/08/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions (folklore) has been escaping consensus at the World Intellectual Property Organization for many years. One of the reasons for this lack of agreement is the particular nature of traditional knowledge and folklore. Some years ago, a new concept, calling for a different protection according to the degree of diffusion of this knowledge, gained support. A new paper looks into the benefits of this approach and its implementation in local contexts.
New Document On Traditional Knowledge, Folklore At WIPO; Chair Calls For New Conceptual Approach 30/08/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The protection of traditional knowledge and folklore against misappropriation is a topic that has been occupying World Intellectual Property Organization delegates for close to two decades. This week a new draft document, presenting a proposed revision of a set of draft articles of potential treaties, was released by a drafting team. As some countries are keen on preserving their original language and ideas, the committee chair called for delegates to move on with their work, and lift themselves above how the patent and copyright system works.
Indonesia, Cuba Do Not Appeal WTO Plain-Packaging Ruling 27/08/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The governments of Cuba and Indonesia today chose not to appeal a June ruling at the World Trade Organization that upheld Australia’s law requiring tobacco products sold in the country to be packaged without logos or other trademarked designs. That leaves Honduras and the Dominican Republic alone in their appeals of the decision.