At WIPO, Nations See Different Needs From Patent System 27/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An important international platform that has seen stark differences in the past, the World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) began a weeklong meeting today on improving the patent system with parties promoting their own interests and asking straightforward questions of others.
WHO Sets Path For Model R&D Projects For Developing Countries 25/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Members of the World Health Organization Executive Board this week moved forward on the long path to new ways to spur research and development for diseases that mainly afflict poor populations. A process has been set for considering – and potentially choosing among – eight projects before the annual World Health Assembly in May.
WHO Chief: No Government Should Be Intimidated For Doing “Right Thing” In Public Health 24/01/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Discussions on access to essential medicines yesterday at the World Health Organization were in some ways overshadowed by the recent leak of a global pharmaceutical campaign aimed at derailing efforts by the South African government to revise its intellectual property policy. WHO Director General Margaret Chan strongly supported South Africa, as did several developing countries, while developed countries remained silent on the subject.
Global Health 2035 Report: Flawed Projections 23/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Daniele Dionisio writes: Hopes that a comprehensive global health goal could be reached by 2035 are hardly credible with the load of unresolved issues still on the table. This article turns the spotlight on much-debated relevant questions that were left out or under-scrutinised in a recently published Lancet report.
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.
Vaccines In Middle-Income Countries, Non-Communicable Diseases Discussed At WHO 21/01/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Availability and accessibility of vaccines in middle-income countries was raised today at the World Health Organization as member states are ploughing through a heavy agenda. Noncommunicable diseases were also discussed and delegates sitting on the Executive Board agreed on a formal meeting before the next World Health Assembly to complete terms of reference for a global coordination mechanism to prevent and control the growing epidemic.
New QUNO Reports Encourage Plant Variety Protection Alternatives 17/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Quaker UN Office in Geneva has announced two new publications on intellectual property, agriculture, food and biological diversity.
Successful WHO Drug Prequalification Programme Deemed At Risk 16/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A 12-year-old World Health Organization programme for prequalifying medical products has helped international organisations and others to safely purchase billions of US dollars’ worth of quality medicines per year, but now is at risk due to funding shortages, a new study released today found.
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.