Global AIDS Conference Sees Pledge Of Access, Call For Funding; IP Rights Discussed 28/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The global AIDS community meeting in Vienna last week ended with renewed determination to fight the epidemic but underlined an urgent need for increased funding to sustain scientific advances and universal access. Some warned against an intellectual property rights enforcement push threatening global access in particular through bilateral and regional trade agreements.
International Experts See Backswing In Pendulum Of Biological Patenting 21/07/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments MUNICH – Some experts in Europe are coming to agreement that a tipping point might have been reached with regard to biological patents. At a conference organised this week by the “no patents on seeds” initiative on the eve of a public hearing of the European Patent Office on cases involving the patenting of broccoli and tomatoes, non-governmental representatives and farmers associations from Europe and elsewhere said there were detectable changes in American jurisprudence and European governments seem to be rethinking the biopatent issue.
Agencies Talk Cooperation On Medicines Access; Stakeholders Cautious 19/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Key international agencies for health, trade and intellectual property on Friday jointly organised a symposium on access to medicines in an effort to gather information and expertise as a basis of a collaborative response to the challenges of public health.
OECD Sees New Angle On Innovation For Growth, Social Challenges 16/07/2010 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Innovation is a key factor in economic growth but is not only about research as it is a system with many different interacting parts including R&D as one of those elements, a senior developed nations group representative said this week. Governments need to promote policies that integrate the cross-cutting nature of innovation and favour evidence based decision making, he said.
ACTA Risks Long-Term Damage To Democratic Public Policymaking, NGOs Say 30/06/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch and Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An agreement on international intellectual property rights enforcement now under negotiation in Lucerne, Switzerland runs the risk of ushering in a new and undemocratic precedent for international policymaking that could have long-term damaging effects on critical public policy issues, non-negotiating government representatives and civil society advocates said this week.
Questions Arise On Value Of GIs For Poor Countries; Register Stuck At WTO 14/06/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments While World Trade Organization members met with their usual stasis last week on a mandated register for geographical indications, industry proponents of GIs continued lobbying to raise the awareness of delegates of countries not historically concerned with this form of intellectual property protection.
Health Waiver, IP Enforcement Discussed At Lively WTO TRIPS Council Meeting 10/06/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments After two days of lively discussion, members of a World Trade Organization committee this week agreed to devote a day in October to an in-depth discussion on a waiver to WTO intellectual property rules aimed at boosting access to medicines for poor countries. In addition, some member countries presented concerns about the possible effect of a global enforcement push by developed countries and the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) under negotiation outside WTO, while ACTA proponent countries sought to allay fears.
New Rwanda IP Policy Taps Information For Development 08/06/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment “Information is the lifeblood of development,” says the government of Rwanda in a recently-adopted intellectual property policy, part of the country’s comprehensive development strategy. The new policy attempts to integrate Rwanda into the international IP system while simultaneously safeguarding the freedom it needs to drive its own innovation system.
China, India To Raise Concerns At WTO About “TRIPS-Plus” Measures, ACTA 03/06/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments China and India, two increasingly potent players on the global economic stage, next week plan to voice concerns at the World Trade Organization about efforts by developed countries to push poorer trading partners beyond their WTO commitments on trade and intellectual property rights, so-called TRIPS-plus measures.
As WTO Reviews China, EU, US Criticise Its Policy On Innovation, IP Rights 03/06/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In the past two years, China has acted to improve the protection of intellectual property rights with a need for continuing effort, a World Trade Organization report has found, but the country came under criticism this week from key trading partners such as the United States and the European Union for not providing adequate enforcement and for self-serving innovation practices.