Cautious Start For WHO IP Working Group As Members Feel Their Way 05/12/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen After a slow start in a weeklong meeting on intellectual property and public health, World Health Organization (WHO) member states appear to have begun discussing the possible substance of a plan to ensure that medical treatments are developed for diseases mainly affecting poor countries. A number of developing countries called […]
Proposal Could Create New Biotech Benefits In WHO Public Medicine System 27/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The biotechnology industry has proposed to change the international generic naming of medicine ingredients, which at the moment are public property, into unique names for each medicine, making it harder to substitute them with cheaper versions, and linking them to trademarks, sources say. A powerful industry coalition submitted a joint […]
Consultation On WHO IP Group Shows Polarised Debate; Challenge For Group 16/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Submissions to the World Health Organization (WHO) online public consultation on the intergovernmental working group on public health, innovation and intellectual property show that the debate is quite polarised, and that the group is therefore in for a challenge. Among the nearly 30 submissions posted to the WHO website within […]
Views Mixed On WTO Doha Declaration On Public Health After Five Years 16/11/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New A panel of key Geneva actors on policy related to intellectual property rights and public health on 14 November gave a range of views on the World Trade Organization Doha Declaration five years after its agreement. Several non-governmental groups and a developing country official saw some benefits but raised concerns about future […]
Sources: Internal Memo Suggests Shift In WHO Handling Of US Criticism 10/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen A World Health Organization (WHO) director has taken the unusual step of writing a memorandum directly to the head of the WHO, seeking clarity on the organisation’s handling of a United States complaint involving WHO staff, according to anonymous sources. The memo was prompted by concern that the organisation is […]
Hamadoun Touré Of Mali Elected ITU Secretary-General 10/11/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New Development and Internet governance issues may have gotten a boost at the United Nations International Telecommunication Union today as members elected Hamadoun Touré of Mali to be the next Secretary-General. Touré has been director of the ITU Telecommunications Development Bureau since 1999. In a third round of voting on 10 November, Touré […]
European Commission Debates Neglected Disease Effort – Outside The IP System 09/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen BRUSSELS – When the European Commission’s plan to include neglected diseases in its next research programme was debated at a conference here, intellectual property rights played a rather small role. This is a good sign, the Commission said, but some participants disagreed. The 8-9 November international conference on neglected infectious […]
Margaret Chan Of Hong Kong Chosen As Next WHO Director General 08/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Margaret Chan of Hong Kong (China) has been elected the next director general of the World Health Organization by a large majority of member governments, according to sources. “It is not a surprise that Chan was chosen but with such a big margin – that is a surprise,” a source […]
WHO Short-lists Five Candidates For Director General Post 06/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a short list of five candidates for the post of director general, sources said. The list includes: China, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico and Spain. A number of sources have indicated to Intellectual Property Watch that the candidates who are most likely to replace Lee […]
“Dynamic Coalitions,” The New Sword In Internet Governance Debates 05/11/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New ATHENS – The World Summit on the Information Society told the world to build “dynamic” coalitions to address problems related to the Internet, and this week, the world responded. At the four-day Internet Governance Forum here ending 2 November, seemingly more than a dozen coalitions emerged on every topic of concern related […]