New IP-Sharing Framework To Accelerate R&D 12/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Pharmaceutical R&D constantly leads to the generation of new intellectual property (IP), from clinical trial data to libraries of promising compounds. Not all IP assets generated by a company are used in their future R&D. When this happens, companies can choose instead to share them with other third-party researchers, under licensing agreements. The Access to Medicine Foundation has worked with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) to develop a framework for identifying which IP assets are most difficult for companies to share, yet most likely to speed up R&D of the medicines and vaccines needed by people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), write Clarke B. Cole and Katie Graef.
EPO Reports Record Volume Of Patents, Seeks To Assure Quality 07/03/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The European Patent Office today issued statistics which it claimed show the continued ascendance of Europe as a premier destination for patenting, not only from European countries. The statistics focus strongly on the increased volume of patents filed and granted, which it argued is a result of the office’s focus on “efficiency and quality” and a boost to innovation.
Early Certainty Initiative Of The European Patent Office – Flexibility For Biotech Needed 06/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments In 2016, the European Patent Office (EPO) introduced a streamlined opposition procedure that should simplify opposition proceedings and deliver decisions faster, while giving parties more time to react to summons and prepare for oral proceedings. This new initiative, called early certainty, aimed to cut down the overall duration of granting new patents and to tackle the backlog in patent granting within the EPO, writes Michael Kahnert.
USPTO To Reveal New Design For Patents This Week 06/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will make public the new design for patents this week at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. The new design will first be used on patent number 10 million, expected to issue this year. There have fewer than 12 basic design changes to the US patent since President George Washington granted the first patent in 1790, and only two in the last 100 years, USPTO said.
A Look At The Role Of Governments, Universities, Science In Health Innovation & Access 05/03/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual property rights, particularly patents, are considered by some as being a barrier in access to medicines despite being a stimulus for innovation. At a recent symposium co-organised by the World Health Organization, World Trade Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization, speakers also talked about the role of science, governments, and universities in health innovation and access, and how to address challenges such as secondary patents.
Protecting And Promoting Copyright Balance In NAFTA 04/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The ongoing NAFTA renegotiation presents a prime opportunity to move the ball on protecting and promoting general public interest copyright exceptions. All three countries have such exceptions to varying degree. And all three are under threat from an agenda to cabin their use through international law. NAFTA negotiators can and should include the best models from prior international agreements that protect and promote the ability of countries to have general exceptions, writes Professor Sean Flynn.
Medicines Vastly Overpriced, Generics Too: Discussion At WTO-WIPO-WHO Symposium 02/03/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The price of hepatitis C medicine marked a turning point in the discussion on access to medicines, with developed countries suddenly confronted to prices they could not afford. This week, a symposium jointly organised by the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the World Intellectual Property Organization explored the question of the pricing of medicines. A number of suggestions were made to alleviate the issue, such as ensuring wide use of generic medicines, encouraging competition, and alerting countries about the cost of medicine production so they negotiate better with pharmaceutical companies.
Study: TRIPS Flexibilities Widely Used By Countries, Contrary To Reports 02/03/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Despite the widespread view that the flexibilities included in international trade rules are not often used, a new study found that countries make extensive use of those flexibilities.
WTO TRIPS Council Looks At IP And The Public Interest, Importance Of Research Exemption 28/02/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A relatively new topic of discussion at the World Trade Organization committee on intellectual property is the relationship between intellectual property and the public interest. This week, WTO delegates discussed the application and benefits of a regulatory exception to IP rights allowing earlier entry of generics to the market, known as the Bolar exception. The committee also heard about a request from least-developed countries (LDCs) to improve technology transfer measures that developed countries have the obligation to provide under WTO rules.
Academies’ Group Urges EU Harmonisation Of Rules On Inventorship, Patenting 28/02/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A high-level group of academic experts in intellectual property rights and innovation in the European Union has released a statement highlighting the rise in inventions due to international research and development and says EU regulations on inventorship, assignment and patent filing should be assessed for harmonisation and reducing complexity.