WHO To Form Expert Panel On Challenges Of Human Gene Editing 17/12/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization has announced it will be establishing a global multidisciplinary panel of experts “to examine the scientific, ethical, social and legal challenges associated with human gene editing.”
WIPO Members Agree On Revision Of Draft Treaty On Protection of TK, Folklore 17/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment After weeklong negotiations on potential treaty language defining traditional knowledge and folklore, how they would be protected, and under which conditions, World Intellectual Property Organization member states agreed on draft articles, qualified as a work in progress by the committee chair.
“Biopiracy” On The High Seas? Countries Launch Negotiation Towards A New International Legally Binding Instrument On Marine Genetic Resources In Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction 14/12/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Wend Wendland writes: Countries have begun to negotiate a new international legally binding instrument on marine genetic resources in the high seas. The negotiation is an opportunity for countries to re-think existing frameworks which regulate access to and benefit-sharing in genetic resources. Countries have divergent views on if and how IP issues should be addressed in the new instrument. Developing countries have an interest in the establishment of mechanisms for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from research into marine genetic resources and for the transfer of marine technologies. IP issues are relevant in both cases.
EU Committees Amend SPC Manufacturing Waiver, Push Access To Generics, Biosimilars 14/12/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Parliamentary Committees on Health and Trade have each voted in recent weeks to adopt amendments to the proposed Special Protection Certificate (SPC) manufacturing waiver, an intellectual property exception for the EU generic and biosimilar industry. The amendments include provisions that push the waiver toward increasing EU generic and biosimilar industry competitiveness in EU markets, and improving access for EU patients to affordable medicines. The waiver and amendments still have several hurdles to go, including a vote by the Legal Affairs Committee planned for January.
Four Million EU Voters Sign Call Against Upload Filters, Protection Of ‘Snippets’ 13/12/2018 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Ahead of the 5th trilogue meeting on the future copyright regulation between the rapporteurs of the European Parliament, member states and the European Commission on 13 December in Strasbourg, France, copyright activists collected over 4 million signatories to a petition to amend the draft legislation. Meanwhile, a court decision in Germany today puts use of its auxiliary copyright law for press publishers in question.
WIPO: Facilitators Suggest First Revision Of Draft Articles On Protection Of TK, Folklore 13/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week’s first revisions of draft articles of potential treaties protecting traditional knowledge, and folklore were released midweek at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Changes included new elements on a tiered approach in the protection of traditional knowledge, whether it is restricted, narrowly diffused, or widely diffused.
Indigenous IP And Climate Change Subject Of New Book 12/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As this week opened with a meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee working on the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, a new book was released that looks into indigenous rights and indigenous intellectual property, in the context of the Paris Agreement. The book also looks into Tesla’s open innovation strategy.
Stan Lee: Writer, Creator, And Marketer Of Intellectual Property 11/12/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Dave Davis writes: As the many and well-deserved accolades for Stan Lee pour in on the occasion of his death after a career in content creation —mostly in writing— that spanned six decades, I thought now might be a suitable moment to add an additional perspective. I’m focusing on his success as someone who brought his creative expression to market, to the enjoyment of what eventually became an audience of millions. Stan Lee was many things, and among them, he was an outstandingly successful entrepreneur of intellectual property.
Indigenous Knowledge Misappropriation: The Case Of The Zia Sun Symbol Explained At WIPO 11/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In 1925, New Mexico, which gained statehood in the United States in 1912, adopted a design for its flag featuring a sun symbol belonging to the Zia peoples. According to the tribe, the symbol was secret and stolen from the Zia, who lost both ownership and control over it, and were left to contemplate the sun symbol being widely used and sometimes desecrated.
Experts Call For Global Accountability Mechanism For Access To Essential Medicines 10/12/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 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.