Don’t Keep The Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks Secret 14/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment [From the New York Times Opinion pages, by Margot Kaminski:] COLUMBUS, Ohio — WHEN WikiLeaks recently released a chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, critics and proponents of the deal resumed wrestling over its complicated contents. But a cover page of the leaked document points to a different problem: It announces that the draft text is classified by the United States government. Even if current negotiations over the trade agreement end with no deal, the draft chapter will still remain classified for four years as national security information. The initial version of an agreement projected by the government to affect millions of Americans will remain a secret until long after meaningful public debate is possible. [Note: article mentions a US FOIA case by IP-Watch]
Clinical Trial Transparency, Medicines Access On Agendas Today 14/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Organization today issued a call for disclosure of results from clinical trials for medical products, no matter what the results of the trials were. And a variety of events and publications are addressing medicines access today.
A Global Digital Magna Carta? Maybe, But First Identify Needs, Panel Says 13/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NEW YORK – A recent panel of internet governance experts was divided on whether a primary global set of principles protecting the balance of power on the internet is needed.
Yale Conference Looks At Innovation “Beyond IP” 12/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment NEW HAVEN – Intellectual property is not the only driver of human innovation. A two-day conference held here recently brought together a range of leading academics and others to share ideas on innovation occurring outside of, or in spite of, intellectual property rights.
Whistleblowers: Little UN Protection For Exposing Wrongdoing 10/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments From AP: High-profile whistleblowers have joined forces for the first time in demanding that the United Nations change a global system they say deters its thousands of staffers from exposing crime, corruption and other wrongdoing. In a letter sent to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday, nine current and former U.N. workers say current policies offer “little to no measure of real or meaningful protection” from retaliation that can include firing, harassment and intimidation.
WIPO Seminar On TK, Genetic Resources: Variations In Public Domain, Disclosure 09/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The concept of public domain was born out of the intellectual property system, according to some. However, what constitutes the public domain depends on national interpretations. A recent seminar organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization was an occasion for speakers from diverse horizons to present their experience in the context of traditional knowledge and genetic resources. The relevance of a disclosure requirement in patent application to prevent wrongful patents was also discussed. [Note: Article 2 of 2]
The Shaky Rationale For TPP’s Copyright Term 06/04/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is supposed to be a free trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations. But the TPP also includes some contentious intellectual property provisions, including a requirement that all member states have a minimum copyright term of life plus 70 years – thus forcing six nations to increase their copyright terms by 20 years. This copyright term extension is strongly criticised by some experts, who claim it is antithetical to the goals of copyright law. Moreover, this copyright term extension runs counter to the stance of the US Copyright Office, which has been trying to weaken the current US copyright term of life-plus-70. [Note: Part 2 of 2 articles]
Interrelations Between Plant Treaty, UPOV, WIPO, Farmers’ Rights – Do They Equate? 02/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments Farmers’ rights are enshrined in the international plant treaty. However, their implementation is an ongoing issue, which the plant treaty is seeking to address by looking at the interrelation that might exist with other international instruments. Separately, civil society is asserting that the World Intellectual Property Organization favours the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in its technical assistance. But the WIPO Director General countered that this is decidedly not the case.
WHO Issues Guideline For Manufacturers Of Generic Hepatitis C Medicine 02/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The World Health Organization has issued a guidance document on the design of bioequivalence studies for a leading hepatitis C medicine. Generic drug companies seeking prequalification by the WHO need to demonstrate that their generic version is equivalent to the originator drug.
Thailand Toughens Copyright Law To Deal With Internet Providers, Unlawful Movie Recording In Theaters 01/04/2015 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments BANGKOK – Thailand has toughened its copyright law to include, for the first time, responsibility of intermediaries, or internet service providers, for infringement of copyright work on the internet, and separately, to penalise people who record movies being shown in theatres without authorisation with a maximum imprisonment of four years.