Thailand: Latest Talks With Patent Owners of Cancer Drugs Show Positive Results 05/11/2007 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch BANGKOK – Thai government officials said the latest round of negotiations with patent owners of cancer treatment drugs showed positive results with drug companies agreeing to make their supplies more available to certain cancer patients. But they stopped short of saying that the government would now have no […]
WIPO Committees Casting About For Future Work 05/11/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The World Intellectual Property Organization enforcement committee last week heard from a series of intellectual property rights enforcers and others before attempting unsuccessfully to agree on the future work and moving to consultations till February. Meanwhile, separate consultations are continuing for a mandate for the WIPO copyright committee whose meeting has been […]
Thailand: 20 More Drugs In Pipeline For Possible Compulsory Licences 02/11/2007 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch BANGKOK – Thailand has in its pipeline about 20 more items of various patented drugs that could be candidates for compulsory licences, allowing the government to exercise its right over the patent owners to cut prices and make the medicines more available to the public, a senior Thai […]
WTO Biodiversity Amendment Backed; EU Seeks ‘New Thinking’ On GIs 26/10/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New A proposal to amend the World Trade Organization rules on intellectual property rights to require the disclosure of the origin of genetic resources in patent applications gained significant new support Wednesday when 50 least-developed countries signed on. The additional support for the proposed amendment came at the 23-24 October meeting of the […]
TRIPS Council Extends Health Amendment; Targets Poor Nations’ Needs 23/10/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The World Trade Organization committee on intellectual property rights on Tuesday gave a two-year extension for countries to ratify a public health agreement easing countries’ ability to import cheap medicines. It also addressed needs assessments for least-developed countries, which are to implement WTO rules on IP rights by 2013. The WTO Council […]
Officials Prepare For TRIPS Council As China Blocks US Dispute Panel 22/10/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The World Trade Organization committee on intellectual property rights issues this week is expected to discuss biodiversity and traditional knowledge, enforcement, geographical indications, and public health, according to participants. While no significant breakthroughs are predicted, the issues to be discussed are potentially highly charged. There will be at least two new documents […]
Developing Countries Get Perspective On IP And Enforcement 22/10/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New There is more to the story of enforcing intellectual property rights than one typically reads in the media, and developing country governments should defend themselves against unfair enforcement practices, officials and activists said recently. Speakers gave their views at a 9 October event of the intergovernmental South Centre entitled, Examining IP Enforcement […]
Kenya Works To Identify IP Rights In Its Medical Research 19/10/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch NAIROBI – One of Kenya’s most prestigious research institutions, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), has begun an extensive intellectual property audit to try and identify any discoveries that should be protected. The audit comes as the government is finishing work on a new framework on traditional knowledge and […]
NGOs Having Major Impact On WIPO Agenda, Panel Says 05/10/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Paul Garwood Non-governmental organisations have been able to influence the debate and priorities within the World Intellectual Property Organization and make IP issues more understood in the developing world, speakers at a seminar in Geneva said Monday. Wend Wendland, head of WIPO’s programme on traditional knowledge, which began in 1998, said civil society had […]
Le Plan d’action de l’OMPI pour le développement est sur les rails 04/10/2007 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Par William New Les membres de l’Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle ont officiellement adopté vendredi un nouveau Plan d’action pour le développement, jetant les bases d’une orientation plus marquée de l’organisation vers le développement. Les détails relatifs à la mise en œuvre du plan d’action seront définis ultérieurement. «Ce jour est à marquer d’une […]