US Congress Committee Issues Report On “Highly Invasive” FDA Surveillance Of Employees 26/02/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today released a report detailing the US Food and Drug Administration’s “highly-invasive” surveillance programme that monitored employees who contacted Congress and the media, according to a press release from the committee leaders. Surveillance was unauthorised and whistleblowers were not given sufficient protection, the report found.
Year Ahead: Biotech, IP Promise to Create Controversy From Farms To Big Pharma In 2014 25/02/2014 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The intersection of biotechnology and intellectual property continues to be a hot topic across the globe. From the patenting of certain plant varieties to human genes, to biodiversity and food security, to genetic resources, countries from developing to developed are attempting to navigate often blurred lines in terms of what can and cannot be patented, what should – and shouldn’t – be patented, and protecting innovators from farmers to plant breeders to drug manufacturers.
Interview With Nazeem Mohamed, CEO Of Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries 20/02/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Nazeem Mohamed is chief executive officer of Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries (KPI), a Ugandan generic manufacturer. Local manufacture of medicines is described by many, including the World Health Organization, as one of the tools that will increase access to medicines. Mohamed is former vice-president of strategic product development at Novo Nordisk, based in Belgium. He also worked for several leading multinational companies such as Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline before his appointment as CEO of KPI. With Intellectual Property Watch, Mohamed discussed KPI, the challenges of local drug production, the burden of non-communicable diseases, the issue of substandard medicines, rules engineered in the West which can hinder affordability and access in a least-developed country, unfair competition, and unmet skills building needs.
Battles Over Patents: Is India Changing The Rules Of The Game? 18/02/2014 by Ranjitha Balasubramanyam for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Over the last couple of years, news of pharmaceutical patents and India’s attempts to protect and manage its market has caught the attention of intellectual property observers everywhere and the pharmaceutical industry in particular.
Paper Makes Recommendations For Exhaustion Of IP Rights 17/02/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A recent paper issued by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) compares existing exhaustion policies and makes recommendations for countries in the process of adopting their own regimes in this area. These have the potential to contribute to economic and social development, innovation and the protection of user rights globally, it said.
Biopharma Industries, Others Urge Caution In US Patent Reform 12/02/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A coalition of large and small companies and organisation – including the leading trade associations for the US pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries – has asked the US Congress to use caution in rewriting patent laws so as not to cause unintended harm to their ability to innovate.
WIPO Genetic Resources Text Compiles Differences, Heads To General Assembly 10/02/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Despite spending a week in mostly closed, informal discussions, the World Intellectual Property Organization committee working on the protection of genetic resources, got little closer to breaching the opposing viewpoints. Members managed to produce a draft text – with signs of steps toward a middle ground – that they say can serve as a basis for further discussion on the development of an international instrument preventing wrongful patents.
Small-Scale Farmers’ Innovation Overlooked In WIPO Negotiations, Panellists Say 07/02/2014 by Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A side event hosted by the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) this week called on negotiators at the World Intellectual Property Organization to include innovation by small-scale farmers and asked for complementarity of several international instruments dealing with this issue.
EPO Appeals Board Upholds Ruling Limiting Stem Cell Patentability 07/02/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A European Patent Office (EPO) Boards of Appeal this week handed down a verdict in the area of stem cell patenting that could provide further guidance on what is patentable under the European Patent Convention (EPC) when it comes to biotechnology.
New CBD Access And Benefit Sharing Clearing-House Website Presented At WIPO 07/02/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new website of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will allow tracking of the use of genetic resources in order to ensure access and benefit-sharing of those resources.