New Health Collaboration Touts Ethics, Aims To Put Patients First 22/01/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Several health care organisations this week signed a “consensus framework” for ethical collaboration between patients’ organisations, healthcare professionals, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Concerns Erupt Over Leaked Pharma Lobbying Plan Against IP Policy In South Africa 22/01/2014 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The South African minister leading the charge in drafting a revised intellectual property policy for the country has expressed his dismay at reports of a pharmaceutical company campaign aimed at derailing the process of implementing the new IP policy.
WHO Board To Discuss Relationship With Industry, Organisations 18/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Health Organization has been soul-searching for several years since running into deep debt and seeing private organisations gather influence in global public health policy. Next week, the WHO Board will consider a proposal on how to allow the intergovernmental body work with such organisations and industry without giving up its own independence and oversight role.
India: The Full Spectrum On FDI In Brownfield Companies 17/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment DG Shah writes: Acquisition of brownfield, or existing, pharmaceutical companies may be seen in different perspectives as greenfield, or new, projects are permitted 100% equity via the automatic route. India has sought FDI mainly to bridge the shortfall in investment or to facilitate the flow of know-how and technology. We must first assess the need of the pharma sector and then evaluate whether mere change of ownership would meet its needs.
Year Ahead: In US, 2014 Promises Bad News For Patent Trolls And Trademark Owners 15/01/2014 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment 2013 was an awkward year in the United States for so-called “patent trolls.” These companies, whose primary business is monetising their patents through licensing and litigation, faced growing criticism from academics, business executives, and US government officials. 2014 could prove even worse for trolls: America’s Congress, courts and executive branch are now considering various measures that would make patent trolling more difficult. And those are just some of the major changes that are likely to roil the US IP system this year.
Top IP-Watch Stories Of 2013: India, Marrakesh Treaty, Seed/Gene Patents, WIPO Election 09/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Looking back on 2013, the list of the most-viewed stories on the Intellectual Property Watch website shows that reporting on activities in India, especially related to patents and public health, continued to draw the most attention. Other top stories were the Marrakesh Treaty on copyright exceptions for blind readers, legal cases involving patents on seeds and on plant and human genes, the election for World Intellectual Property Organization director general, free-trade agreements (including the Wikileaks leak of the IP chapter of the Trans-Atlantic Partnership agreement), Russian copyrights, and 3D printing.
New SIPO Commissioner Meets With Top WIPO Official From China 09/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) has a new commissioner, Shen Changyu. And the World Intellectual Property Organization wasted no time in meeting with him. China was approved last month to receive a new WIPO office.
Global Pharma, Biopharma Patent Laws In Spotlight At CPhI’s Pharma IPR Conference in India 08/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment An upcoming conference in Mumbai, India will look at patent laws related to the pharmaceutical and biopharma industries regionally and internationally. CPhI’s 3rd Annual Pharma IPR 2014, taking place from 26-28 February, is a targeted conference focusing on patent related matters for pharma and biopharma industry across the globe. It is intended to provide an ideal learning and networking platform where techno-legal experts from patent law firms across the globe share an update on patent regimes, changes in patent laws, and enforceability of patent laws in different regions with the pharma and biopharma companies. The conference agenda will cover most debated subjects like: inter-partes review; one year after the implementation of the America Invents Act; reverse payments settlements cases; current implementation of the Unitary Patent System in the EU; and formulating strategies to introduce generic products in international markets. The programme will cover patent laws of over 13 regions including the US, EU, Japan, Mexico, Canada, India, South East Asia, and Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries. Click here to view the region-wise agenda. Free download for IP-Watch Readers! Click here to view presentations from 2013!
Global Congress On IP And Public Interest Adopts Principles For Negotiations 06/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A recent conference on intellectual property and the public interest concluded with the adoption of public interest principles to guide international trade negotiations and international organisations.
Broadcasting Treaty Moving At WIPO; Library Copyright Exceptions Slower 22/12/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments After a week of work on the three current subjects of the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee, member states mostly made progress on a potential treaty to protect broadcasting organisations, while exceptions and limitations to copyright for libraries, archives, education and research remain in the stage of determining broad concepts.