Rise In Non-Communicable Diseases In Africa Needs To Be Addressed, Speakers Say 19/05/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The International Organisation of la Francophonie in collaboration with French pharmaceutical umbrella organisation “les Entreprises du médicaments,” organised a roundtable on non-communicable diseases on the eve of the annual World Health Assembly. Several health ministers as well as various stakeholders were invited to discuss “the fight against non-communicable diseases: a shared responsibility” on 18 May.
New Initiative To Address Lack Of Paediatric-Specific HIV Treatments 19/05/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As the World Health Assembly, a new partnership has been launched by three major public health actors in the field of HIV treatment. The initiative is meant to find improved treatments for children suffering from HIV/AIDs. Although all actors agree that significant progress has been made on adult treatments, children-specific medicines are still lacking.
WHO Report Compares Prices, IP Status Of HIV Treatment In Middle-Income Countries 16/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new report from the World Health Organization concludes that prices of HIV treatments vary greatly between middle-income countries (MICs), often depending on patent landscape, licensing agreements, whether drugs were sourced from originator companies, and regulatory approval. For third-line treatments, the price of drugs remains a challenge for all, with newer products more likely to be patented in key countries of production.
UN Expert Calls For Using Public Food Purchasing To Boost Right To Food 16/05/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment “Governments have few sources of leverage over increasingly globalised food systems – but public procurement is one of them,” the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to adequate food states in a new report. The right to food should be included in public food purchasing according to five principles in order to make food systems fairer and more sustainable, he said.
EPO Internal Strife Spills Over Into European Parliament, Human Rights Court 15/05/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments Relations between European Patent Office (EPO) staff and senior officials, already tense due to work issues with President Benoît Battistelli, have been further undermined by the continuing presence of Vice-President Željko Topić, according to a source close to the situation. Claims about Topić’s suitability for office by one of his former employees at the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) have now reached the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), while a petition by the Association for the Advancement of the Rule of Law (Juris Protecta) in Croatia has been filed in the European Parliament.
New EU Human Rights Guidelines On Freedom Of Expression, Offline And Online 13/05/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Council of the European Union reaffirmed the crucial role of freedom of expression in democratic society in the online and offline world by adopting a new set of EU human rights guidelines. This includes explicit limitations on restrictions of copyright and internet operators.
IP-Watch Subscribers – Updated List Of IP Delegates In Geneva 13/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch and Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Geneva IP delegates list is updated! As a special feature for our subscribers, Intellectual Property Watch has assembled a new list of many of the leading government delegates working on intellectual property issues in Geneva.
Special Report – Students To Universities: “We Have A Drug Problem” 13/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments BASEL — Students from around the world are gathering momentum to challenge their universities’ licensing policies and research and development systems. That was one of the messages emerging from the annual meeting of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) Europe.
Book Analyses Moral Dimensions Of Intellectual Property Rights 12/05/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A recent book, “The Moral Dimensions of Intellectual Property Rights,” by Seven Ang of the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, explores the philosophical implications of moral terms included in IP rights statutes.
Re:publica 14: “Take Back The Net From Criminal Services” – And Develop A Business 10/05/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The fight for copyright reform has become a secondary issue, it seems, amidst calls to take back the internet from “evil” intelligence services at the 14th edition of re:publica, the mega-conference on all things digital that took place in Berlin last week.