MSF Warns Of Threats To Public Health In Asian Trade Agreement IP Proposals 09/05/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The 18th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement negotiations is taking place this week in Manila, Philippines. Health activists warn that Japan and South Korea are pushing for measures that go beyond international trade rules on intellectual property, including extending patent terms and data exclusivity in countries such as India, a primary source of cheaper generic medicines.
Germany Brings Health Issues To G20; First Health Ministers Meeting In May 13/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Global health matters are entering into the Group of Twenty (G20) agenda under the German presidency of the group, which started in December 2016. The first-ever G20 Health Ministers’ meeting is scheduled to take place in May, before the regular G20 meeting in July. This week, a professor from the Graduate Institute of Geneva explained how health has become part of the G20 agenda.
G20 IT Ministers Want Access For All, Commit To Conflicting Objectives 07/04/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Group of 20 (G20) ministers responsible for the digital economy today called for further efforts to advance access to the internet for everyone and close the digital gaps that still exist. Gathered in Dusseldorf, Germany, for the two-day IT related preparatory conference for the G20 Summit in Hamburg in July, the ministers signed a declaration on “Shaping the Digitalisation for an Interconnected World.” It was the first time that ministers for digital economy met in the G20 format.
NGOs Detail Changes For Public Health In RCEP Asian Trade Pact 31/03/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Concerns continue to grow among civil society about provisions in a major trade agreement in the Asian region. Of specific worry is the intellectual property chapter containing in particular a data exclusivity clause, and the linkage between the investment chapter and the IP chapter.
What To Watch Out For In The EU-Mercosur FTA Negotiations: Consequences For Access To Medicines 22/03/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments As negotiations take place this week, an evaluation of the impact of one of the TRIPS-plus measures of the Mercosur/EU FTA on the prices of medicines in Brazil has been released. Based on the draft of the agreement, by their calculations, an additional USD 444 million would be necessary to be spent by the public health system for the purchase of six medicines alone, write Marcela Fogaça Vieira and Gabriela Costa Chaves.
South Centre Paper Sees IP In Free Trade Agreements Interfering With UN SDGs 27/02/2017 by Kim Treanor for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new paper from the intergovernmental South Centre argues that intellectual property provisions in recent free trade agreements would impair countries trying to fulfil the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Image Credits: South Centre
IP Scholars Warn About Stringent Copyright Rules In Asian RCEP Agreement 27/02/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment As negotiations take place this week in Japan for a free trade agreement covering the Asia-Pacific region, a group of intellectual property scholars is calling for the public interest to be clearly considered in the copyright rules of the future agreement.
European Parliament Passes CETA After Debate Over Whether It’s A Good Or Bad Deal 15/02/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments After a somewhat tumultous debate, the European Parliament today in Strasbourg voted in favor of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada. With 408 members of Parliament voting in favour and 254 against (33 abstentions) the 1598-page thick deal can become provisionally effective as early as April. The national parliaments still have to ratify it over the coming months, and possibly years.
The New Caribbean Patent Convention And Caricom Stasis 06/02/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Abiola Inniss writes: The creation of the Caribbean Patent Convention under the auspices of Caricom is a long awaited and most welcome development towards the harmonization of intellectual property laws in the region. Even more importantly, it is an indication that Caricom leadership has at long last, after a lengthy period of stagnation and indeterminacy, finally decided to engage the process of thought and action necessary for the promulgation of a legal and regulatory framework for Caribbean intellectual property. The convention is expected to be enacted later in 2017.
Year Ahead: A Rather Speculative Year In Global Trade 01/02/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An interesting year lies ahead for trade policymakers. With US President Donald Trump sticking to his “America First” announcement pulling back from the Trans-Pacific Partnership right away, a new trade (world) order might be in the making. In every crisis, there is opportunity, Argentinian Trade Minister Susana Malcora said in Davos during the January World Economic Forum (WEF) where the business elite otherwise traded concerns at the beginning of an unpredictable year 2017.