Summer Changes Make A Splash In The IP Community 28/07/2016 by Catherine Saez and Alexandra Nightingale for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Over the summer months, people in the intellectual property world continue to circulate. UNITAID has changed heads, and other well-known figures in Geneva set off to new horizons. And no rest it seems for law offices, which maintained their usual level of moves between firms. Here is the latest on People in the IP community.
MSF Hearing On Opposition To Pfizer Pneumonia Patent In India 28/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) filed a patent opposition in March in India to prevent Pfizer from patenting a pneumonia drug and will defend its position in a hearing tomorrow at the Indian Patent Office.
US Senate Judiciary Chairman Questions High Cost Of Medicare Drug Coverage 27/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments United States Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, has demanded answers from the government Medicare programme regarding the rapid rise in costs of coverage of Americans’ prescription drugs. The demand follows a press report showing an extremely high climb in costs for the so-called “catastrophic coverage” program.
Details Of September UN High-Level Meeting On Antimicrobial Resistance 27/07/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Details of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) are coming clear after the preparation of a text laying out the specifics.
Many Hepatitis C Patients Do Not Have Access To Medicines In India, Group Says 27/07/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Despite being the global leader of generic drug manufacturing, access to hepatitis C treatment in India remains out of reach for a large portion of the population, a civil society group has said in a new paper. The authors call for India to work on a national programme of prevention and treatment of hepatitis, and warn against voluntary licences developed by multinational pharmaceutical companies.
WTO DG Sees Positive Changes, More Engagement; Would Consider A Second Term 27/07/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevêdo today said he would consider a second mandate at the head of the organisation. He also described a positive momentum in the organisation in the first semester of 2016, after two successful ministerial conferences, with members coming up with new ideas. About Brexit, potential scenarios are being explored but it seems a lot of renegotiations might be on the United Kingdom’s plate.
South African Government Staves Off Critics With IP Consultative Framework 27/07/2016 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) appears to be meeting its detractors halfway with a new intellectual property consultative framework it says will help pave the way for consultative engagement with IP stakeholders both inside and outside of government.
Infojustice: NGO And Academics Letter To US Secretary Of State On Access To Medicines 26/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments From Infojustice.org: Letter from 56 Non-profit Organizations and Academic Experts to Secretary Kerry Regarding State Department Pressure Against Access to Medicines Efforts
US High Court Restores Treble Damages For Patent Infringement 26/07/2016 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Pulse Electronics was guilty of patent infringement. That had been decided long ago. The only remaining issue was how much Pulse must pay for its wrongdoing. The company could be liable for treble damages, provided its infringement was willful. Fortunately for Pulse, willful infringement was almost impossible to prove, thanks to a standard established by the Federal Circuit. Unfortunately for Pulse, its lawsuit reached the US Supreme Court. And in its recent ruling on the case, the high court threw out the Federal Circuit’s standard, making it far easier to prove willful infringement. The decision is likely to have an important impact on patent litigation, the courts, and companies doing business in the US.
Officials Discuss Meeting Global Fund Target Of US$13B 26/07/2016 by Munyaradzi Makoni for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment DURBAN, South Africa – As the fund to help the world’s most suffering prepares for a conference hosted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the government of Canada in September to raise US$13 billion for its 2017-2019 period, the prospect of failing to meet the target is unsettling for the civil society and the health community.