UNDP Initiative Seeks Impact-Driven Entrepreneurs From 10 Developing Countries 25/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched a joint initiative with Impact Hub, an international community of social entrepreneurs. The initiative is a platform named “#Accelerate2030,” aiming at supporting and promoting the most promising impact-driven ventures focusing on the UN Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs).
Report: Lifesaving New AIDS Drugs Remain Costly; Older Versions Get Cheaper 22/07/2016 by Munyaradzi Makoni for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments DURBAN, South Africa – The international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has found that prices of older HIV drugs continue to decline, but newer drugs largely remain expensive.
Commitment On Investment In Access To Essential Medicines Signed At UNCTAD14 22/07/2016 by Fredrick Nzwili for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment NAIROBI, Kenya (IP-Watch) – A commitment signed this week to facilitate investment in Africa’s pharmaceutical industry is expected to boost the sector’s production and make available essential medicines for millions of needy people.
UNCTAD14: Global Non-Tariff Measures Database Launched; Calls For Strengthened UNCTAD Heard 20/07/2016 by Fredrick Nzwili for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NAIROBI, Kenya (IP-Watch) — A global database on non-tariff measures (NTMs) has been launched here at the 14th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 14). Also this week the World Investment Forum kicked off, the first such event since agreement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
UNCTAD Conference Opens With High-Level Calls For Action On Trade And Development 18/07/2016 by Fredrick Nzwili for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments NAIROBI, Kenya (IP-Watch) – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 14th Session opened here yesterday, with leaders calling for deeper and broader cooperation between trade and development.
Focus On Medicines Patents & Prices Alone May Do More Harm Than Good 12/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Populism is in vogue these days and critics of pharmaceutical patents are trying to ride the wave, claiming that undermining patents will dramatically decrease prices but not reduce innovation. Both sides of that claim are flawed, writes Steven Tepp.
New Book: Ways To Address CBD, Nagoya Protocol Hurdles For Public Research 04/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new book provides ways for public research to avoid legal battles over genetic resources in the fields of agriculture, biomedicine, environmental management and microbiology by making best use of an international protocol on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing.
Access To Medicines Resolution Adopted By UN Human Rights Council 01/07/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments A resolution on access to medicines proposed by a number of developing countries was adopted today by the United Nations Human Rights Council, as well as a resolution on enhancing capacity-building in public health. This marks yet another United Nations fora in which developing countries seek to raise the issue of access to medicines, particularly with regard to high prices.
Embassy In London Under Siege, IP A ‘Neo-Liberal Pillar’, Ecuador Minister Says 29/06/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A top Ecuadoran official said today at the United Nations in Geneva that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s health is deteriorating after four years confined in the Ecuadoran embassy in London, while the United Kingdom and Sweden are ignoring the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention which called for Assange’s release. The Ecuadoran Minister of Foreign Affairs also said Ecuador will carry on issuing compulsory licences for medicines as it sees fit, underlining the increasing role of intellectual property and the greater privatisation of knowledge.
UK “Brexit” Leaves IP Community With Many Questions 24/06/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch and William New 7 Comments Britons’ 23 June decision to pull out of the European Union has caused shock waves in the UK and Europe, and the vote is still being digested. Early reactions from members of the intellectual property community show that the impact of Brexit on IP policies and issues in Britain and Europe is far from clear.