Experts Call For Global Accountability Mechanism For Access To Essential Medicines 10/12/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Global health experts, including senior officials at the World Health Organization, are calling for a global accountability mechanism for access to essential medicines, noting that a the lack of data on medicines affordability and national pharmaceutical expenditures has hindered this process, according a recent article published in UK medical journal The Lancet.
Towards WIPO Regional Seminars On Copyright Exceptions: Looking Out For Users 06/12/2018 by Beatrice Marone for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Twelve years after the first proposal on the topic, it’s time to speed up the discussion about the global copyright limitations and exceptions regime, advocates and officials said alongside negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization last week. And a key focus will be on regional meetings being planned by WIPO on the issue.
Transparency Of Patent Status Key For Health Actors: Databases Presented At WIPO 05/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Information on the status of patents can be key for medicines procurement agencies seeking to know if they can source cheaper generic products. Several databases providing free information on patent status were presented yesterday at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The World Health Organization, also invited, hailed the efforts, but warned against listing follow-on patents, which could confuse procurement professionals. And a prominent molecular biologist, chief executive of a patents-and-scholarly database, called for breaking silos to advance innovation.
WHO Director Tedros Gives Thoughts On Access To Medicines, Gene Editing, Ebola 03/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Dr Tedros) met with United Nations journalists today, in what he said would become a regular end-of-the-year meeting with the press. He gave an update on the ongoing Ebola outbreak and his views on the recent human gene editing by a Chinese researcher, and on the use of gene drive organisms to fight malaria. He also provided his views on access to affordable and safe medicines.
China Pulling The Cart To Propel Global IP Filings To New Heights, Trademarks Skyrocketing – WIPO 03/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Global intellectual property filing numbers kept rising unabated in 2017, as China continued to pull the numbers upwards. The World Intellectual Property Indicators 2018, published today, also showed what the head of the World Intellectual Property Organization qualified as extraordinary growth in trademark applications. And he remarked on the increasing importance of intellectual property in the contemporary economy.
Conferences On Medicines Patent Information, Patent Office Cooperation, At WIPO This Week 03/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee meeting this week will convene two half-day conferences, one on cooperation between patent offices, and the other on publicly accessible databases on patent information on medicines and vaccines. Other topics for discussion will be patents and health, confidentiality of communications between patent applicants and their advisors, quality of patents, and the research exception.
UN Committee Adopts ‘Landmark’ Declaration Reinforcing Peasants’ Rights To Seeds 23/11/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The social, humanitarian and cultural committee of the United Nations meeting this month adopted a UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas. The declaration includes the right to save, exchange, and sell farm-saved seeds, a contentious issue for which small farmers have been campaigning for years.
African Civil Society Outcry Over ARIPO’s Closed Decision-Making On Health And IP 22/11/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment As the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Administrative Council meets this week, more than 60 civil society groups are calling for greater inclusion and more transparency on access to medicines and diagnostics. Signatories are asking for a review of the Harare Protocol on patents and industrial designs, and raised concern about over-reliance on advice of the United Nations intellectual property agency for decisions affecting broader public health in the region.
WIPO Members Look At Protection Of Country Names, GIs, Icons 12/11/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A number of countries are voicing concerns about their country name being used by trademark applicants with no relation to the country, riding on the country’s reputation or geographical relevance. They are also worried about their country name being used as an internet top-level domain name. Those are among the issues being discussed this week at the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on trademarks, along with questions on the protection of geographical indications, and of icons and typeface on the internet.
WTO TRIPS Council Debates Competition Law, Plain Packaging’s Spread To Other Products 12/11/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Trade Organization intellectual property committee met last week with lively discussions on the benefit of IP rights protection for new businesses, and on the role of competition law to prevent abuses of those rights and in particular ensure greater access to medicines. Also, considering the recent WTO Dispute Settlement Body ruling on the tobacco plain packaging, some countries warned against this decision becoming a precedent and spreading to other goods, and undermining trademark protection.
