WIPO Delegates Told Patent Information Essential, Given Revealing Data On Medicines Access and Trade 14/12/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee delegates heard a number of presentations this week on the relationship between patents and health, and access to medicines. The importance of patent information and accurate, up-to-date databases was underlined, particularly for procurement. The weight of intellectual property rights on the issue of access to medicines and prices and generic market entry was pointed out, but so were other factors, such as the small percentage of new drugs with added benefit, tariffs, and trade delays.
G-Finder Report: Global Funding For R&D In Neglected Diseases Increasing, Overreliance On US Funding Dangerous 13/12/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A report released today on global funding of research and development for neglected diseases found that global funding has increased but warns that overreliance on funding from the United States, which the report says is “unparalleled,” and leads to a heavy concentration of global funding on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. This overreliance could also lead to change in total global funding, the report found.
European Parliament Wants To Write The Rules For Digital Trade 12/12/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Parliament today adopted a report that lays out a European digital trade strategy. Adopted by a margin of 510 to 95 in Strasbourg, the report obliges the Commission to make digital trade an essential part in the European trade policy.
Patents And Health Under Discussion At WIPO This Week: What Role For The UN IP Agency? 12/12/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Patents are often involved in public health policy discussions, and are considered by some as playing a major role in the escalating prices of new medicines, creating access issues. The World Intellectual Property Organization committee on patent law this week is discussing the issue and is holding information sessions by the Medicines Patent Pool, World Health Organization, and the World Trade Organization.
WTO Ministerial: Challenging Start Despite Latin American Declaration For Multilateral Trade System 11/12/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment According to delegates speaking at the first plenary of the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization in Buenos Aires today, member states face the risk of leaving with no joint agreement at all. For the much-debated e-commerce file for example there are eight different and irreconcilable proposals, the South African Ambassador Xavier Charm, chairman of the General Council, reported during the Welcome Session Sunday evening.
Analysis: As Biosimilar Of Key Cancer Drug Spreads, Where Is The Price Reduction? 11/12/2017 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The first biosimilar of the blockbuster breast cancer drug trastuzumab is being prepared for launch in United States, following a decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve it earlier this month. The product, Ogivri, has been created by a joint venture between US Mylan and Indian company Biocon.
WIPO Committee On Development and IP Agrees On Future Work, Keeps Several Issues Open 11/12/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property in its latest meeting agreed on a list of items to be discussed at its next session. No consensus was found on a potential biennial conference on IP and development, but discussions are set to continue. The committee also agreed to a suggestion to invite the team conducting an independent review on the implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations to further explain some of their own recommendations.
Special Feature: 5G And Standard Essential Patents In The US 08/12/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NEW YORK — A panel at the recent IP Dealmakers Forum including a US Federal Trade Commission official, a former US judge on a key patent case, and a telecommunications industry licensing expert walked through issues and prospects for the coming of the 5G next generation wireless technology. Views differed on points but panellists agreed that changes are needed to the system for standard-essential patents, including a bigger role for standard-setting organisations. Below is an in-depth account of the discussion. The discussion also included the latest state-of-play at the FTC, which currently has its lowest number of commissioners ever.
Copyright Skirmishes From The European Snippet War 08/12/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new European Union ancillary copyright provision for news publishers will help them against news aggregators and platform providers, promised proponents and two panellists favouring the addition of the EU Copyright Reform at a workshop of the Justice Committee (JURI) of the European Parliament in Brussels today (7 December). But it’s a promise that cannot be kept according to a study commissioned by the Parliament and also presented during a feisty discussion at the workshop.
Global Patents Soar Again As China Tops Patent, Trademark, Design Filings 06/12/2017 by Peter Kenny for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Innovators around the world filed 3.1 million patent applications in 2016, up 8.3 percent in a seventh straight yearly increase, WIPO’s annual World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) report shows. The report, WIPO’s annual report, released at the United Nations in Geneva today, showed China topping patent, trademark and design filings in 2016.