Conference Looks At Public Interest In South Africa’s Draft Copyright Bill 13/08/2015 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – A conference here this week elicited a robust debate amongst intellectual property stakeholders in South Africa about the objectives of the far-reaching draft Copyright Amendment Bill.
IP-Watch Seeks Part-Time Fundraising/Outreach Expert 31/07/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual Property Watch is seeking a dynamic person to help expand our fundraising and outreach activities. [Position closed]
WHO Heralds Breakthrough On Ebola Vaccine: “Turning Point In History Of Health R&D” 31/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Organization announced today that a vaccine preventing Ebola has proved efficacious in Ebola-stricken Guinea, hailing it as a “turning point in the history of health R&D.”
Medicines Patent Pool At 5 Years: Promises Kept, Changes Ahead – An Interview With Greg Perry 30/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Medicines Patent Pool in Geneva is celebrating five years of existence this month. MPP Executive Director Greg Perry sat down with Intellectual Property Watch Catherine Saez to describe progress made since its inception, the success of its licensing agreement model, and plans for the future, including a possible extension to other diseases such as tuberculosis and hepatitis C.
WIPO Patent Committee Searching For Common Ground For Future Discussions 29/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment After a slow start this week due to late approval of the agenda, the World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee is now sailing through the proposed schedule. However, previous positions remain unchanged and the core issue of the session is to find common ground on the future work of the committee.
Panel: Biotech Industry Executives Shine Light On Their IP Management Strategies 29/07/2015 by Rishi Dhir for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment “IP is a very crucial part of our business and I can’t imagine being in biotech without a very strong emphasis on intellectual property,” a biotech industry executive said during a panel organised at the World Intellectual Property Organization yesterday.
South Africa Draft Copyright Amendment Bill Published For Public Comment 28/07/2015 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The publication for public comment of the much-anticipated South African draft Copyright Amendment Bill has cautiously been welcomed by some stakeholders, who believe that parts of the draft are unworkable.
Ukraine Open Access Initiative Roils Local Authors Seeking Copyright Protection 28/07/2015 by Eugene Gerden for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment It may be an open access initiative, but Ukrainian writers and authors are on the verge of massive protests, due to a recent initiative of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) to conduct digitalisation and online publishing of all of the books and documents stored in the national archives and libraries.
Decision Time On Biologics Exclusivity: Eight Years Is No Compromise 27/07/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 14 Comments Burcu Kilic and Courtney Pine write: As the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations approach their endgame, biologics exclusivity is still considered “one of the most difficult outstanding issues in the negotiation.”[2] Pharmaceutical companies seek longer data and marketing exclusivities to further delay market entry of cost-saving biosimilar drugs. Data exclusivity prevents follow-on pharmaceutical developers from relying on originators’ test data submitted for marketing approval while seeking such approval for its own product. The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) requires some protection against unfair competition for this sort of data, but it does not require countries to adopt rules conveying exclusive rights over it in the same way as it does regarding patents.[3] Currently, the US provides 12 years of exclusivity for new biological products under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA).[4] The provision providing 12 years exclusivity was buried inside the 20,000-page healthcare law, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A robust debate over what would be an appropriate exclusivity period, if any, was overshadowed by other controversial aspects of the bill commonly referred to as Obamacare.
Intellectual Property Law Under The Prism Of The Right To Culture 24/07/2015 by Jos̩phine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment STRASBOURG, FRANCE РAlthough the right to science and culture has been enshrined in several international treaties, their exact implications in the intellectual property field have remained vague.