African Regional Plant Variety Protection Draft Legislation Raises Protest 05/04/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A draft protocol for the protection of new varieties of plants proposed by an inter-governmental African regional economic community is provoking the ire of civil society concerned about the potential impact of the protocol on small farmers, and the lack of consultation of farmers.
The Judgment In Novartis v. India: What The Supreme Court Of India Said 04/04/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 9 Comments Following the Indian Supreme Court decision in Novartis AG v. Union of India, Prof. Frederick Abbott says, “the judgment is well-crafted, with close attention to the facts presented, and appears to take a balanced view of the matters brought before the Court.”
Australian Pharmaceutical Patents Review Draft Report Critical Of Patent Extensions, R&D Funding 03/04/2013 by Kelly Burke for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Australian Pharmaceutical Patents Review yesterday issued its draft report, recommending that the Australian government reduce pharmaceutical patent extension terms and use estimated savings to subsidise research and development.
Novartis Loses Patent Bid: Lessons From India’s 3(d) Experience 01/04/2013 by Patralekha Chatterjee for Intellectual Property Watch 15 Comments New Delhi – On 1 April, in a packed room in India’s Supreme Court, two judges – Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Desai – delivered a verdict that has the potential to dramatically change the national and global conversation about patents and patients.
India Dismisses Antitrust Complaint Against Gilead Sciences 01/04/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Indian fair trade regulator has dismissed a complaint against biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences that alleged the company engaged in anti-competitive activities in the licensing of its anti-HIV drugs, according to the SpicyIP blog.
GI Experts Speak Of Value But Concede International Accord Hard To Reach 01/04/2013 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Bangkok, Thailand – Experts on geographical indications ended two days of discussions here by acknowledging greatly the benefit of GIs to national economies and cultural heritages, but conceded that it has been tough to reach a multilateral agreement on the protection of this type of intellectual property. [Updated]
Biovision: Personalised Medicine, Climate Change, Sustainability Need Innovation 27/03/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Lyon, France – Biovision, a biennial international event on life sciences, brought together some 3,000 participants this week to discuss and compare experiences in different fields, including personalised medicine, how best to use natural resources and the impact of climate change on food security. Open innovation was presented as a way forward, and the role of companies in mitigation was deemed important but with ethics.
Rules Changing For Life Sciences Tech Transfer, IP, Speakers Say 26/03/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Lyon, France – Participants at a the Biovision international life sciences forum aimed at encouraging collaboration and integrating innovation shared experiences and discussed a number of topics including intellectual property strategy, technology transfer and the way forward for sustainable innovation.
United States Chided As TRIPS Scofflaw At WTO 26/03/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A clause unfairly protecting a rum company’s US market by denying trademark rights quietly stuck into a US Congress appropriations bill in the deep of night in the late 1990s continues to haunt the halls of the World Trade Organization – but that does not seem to trouble US trade authorities. And this is not the only intellectual property-related case being met with US indifference, an irony for possibly the biggest proponent of IP rights in the world.
UPOV 1991 Will Adversely Impact Farmers In Tanzania, Civil Society And Farmers Say 25/03/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Tanzania is on the road to becoming a member of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), but Tanzanian civil society and farmers’ organisations have warned about possible detrimental effects on small-holder farmers and have asked government to halt the ratification process until all stakeholders have been consulted.