EU Governments Reach Negotiating Stance On Copyright Reform 25/05/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment European Union member states today reportedly agreed on their negotiating position on the proposed copyright directive, and early reactions are unenthusiastic.
Swiss Group Suggests Switzerland Use Compulsory Licences To Curb Cancer Drug Prices 24/05/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment During a side event held alongside this week’s World Health Assembly, public health advocates proposed that Switzerland use compulsory licensing as a way to decrease what they said are exorbitant drug prices.
50 Years Of Global Health Progress – Interview With IFPMA Head Thomas Cueni 23/05/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General in his inaugural speech at the World Health Assembly this week, explained that partnerships are a key strategy for the WHO to ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages. He added that the WHO is engaging with the private sector as a crucial partner in achieving health for all. Thomas Cueni, IFPMA’s Director General, in an interview with Health Policy Watch on the occasion of the IFPMA’s 50-year anniversary, explains how the research-based biopharmaceutical industry together with IFPMA have contributed to the huge strides in health progress over 50 years. He explains the major leaps forward, setbacks and mistakes, as well as how industry is part of the solution, as “do-ers” and partners in global health progress. Cueni also talks about pricing and cost of R&D.
O Paradoxo Das Patentes No Brasil E Suas Implicações Para O Acesso A Medicamentos 22/05/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments O sistema de patentes foi supostamente projetado para permitir a recuperação do investimento em pesquisa e desenvolvimento (P&D) de um novo produto, através da venda sob exclusividade por um período de tempo. Vários estudos relacionaram preços altos de medicamentos à situação de monopólio estabelecida pelo sistema de patentes e outros direitos de monopólio (como a exclusividade de dados). É bastante estabelecido que a existência de uma patente pode levar a preços altos devido à condição de mercado em que um produtor pode operar com exclusividade. Vários estudos relacionaram preços elevados de medicamentos à situação de monopólio estabelecida pelo sistema de patentes e outros direitos de monopólio (como a exclusividade de dados). Na ausência de concorrência, um produtor pode cobrar praticamente qualquer preço pelo seu produto. A concorrência, portanto, pode promover uma redução significativa de preços e aumentar o acesso.
US Patent System Remains 1st In The World, Despite Errors In Chamber Rankings 21/05/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Over the past few months, US officials ranging from PTO Director Andrei Iancu to a number of Congressional members, most recently Rep. Kelly (Illinois-2), have cited to the Chamber of Commerce’s ranking of intellectual property systems, which has dropped the US patent system from 1st in the world to 12th. They cite the rankings as evidence that the US patent system is in urgent need of review. Unfortunately, the rankings are based on misinterpretations and falsehoods. These are worth noting ahead of a House Judiciary hearing Tuesday with Iancu testifying.
Five Years After The Indian Supreme Court’s Novartis Verdict 20/05/2018 by Patralekha Chatterjee for Intellectual Property Watch 13 Comments On 1 April 2013, in a packed room inside India’s Supreme Court, a magnificent building in Indo-British architectural style, two judges delivered a verdict that impacted the national and global conversation about patents and patients. India’s apex court delivered a 112-page landmark judgement which dismissed Swiss pharma giant Novartis AG’s appeal for a patent for its life-saving cancer drug marketed under brand name Glivec in most parts of the world. The Novartis case triggered a hugely polarising discourse around the world about a key feature of India’s patent regime.
Patent Backlogs Fuel Efforts To Extend Pharma Patent Terms In Thailand And Brazil, AIDS Activists Say 18/05/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 17 Comments For a variety of reasons, Thailand and Brazil have huge backlogs of pharmaceutical patent applications. The delay in patent examinations is creating pressure on the countries to extend patent protection terms to the detriment of access to affordable medicines, AIDS organisations say.
The Patent Paradox In Brazil And Its Implications For Access To Medicines 18/05/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Brazil is frequently pointed to as one of the countries in which fewer pharmaceutical patents are granted. The fact that there is a low number of patents granted could lead to the conclusion that medicines can be bought under competition and that the prices would be low. However, many medicines in Brazil are bought exclusively from one producer and usually at high prices. The situation of few granted patents, but many purchases under exclusivity due to absence of competition (which can lead to higher prices), is what we are calling the ‘patent paradox in Brazil’. In the absence of granted patents, what are the factors that lead to the situation of no competition and high prices in Brazil? This is the question that we, at the accessibsa: Innovation & Access to Medicines in India, Brazil & South Africa, aim to answer with a study currently being conducted at the Department of Medicines Policy and Pharmaceutical Services (NAF) of the Sergio Arouca National School of Public Health – ENSP/Fiocruz.
WIPO Discusses New Field Projects On Women, Tourism, And The Software Sector 17/05/2018 by Damilola Adepeju for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The ongoing 21st session of the World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and IP this week considered a diverse set of three new project proposals. Canada, Mexico and the United States together, as well as Kenya, and Peru, proposed creative projects regarding the use of intellectual property for development related to women, tourism and […]
TRIPS Flexibilities In High Demand 16/05/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Using flexibilities in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has long been an issue of the developing world. But policymakers gathered at a meeting on access to health in Brussels today said there was an urgent need for European Union countries, too, to make more use of flexibilities.