Brazil Takes Next Step Toward WTO Cross-Retaliation Against US 19/02/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Brazilian President Lula has adopted a measure to enable the suspension of Brazil’s obligations to protect intellectual property rights from the United States, the next step after a World Trade Organization ruling of US non-compliance with WTO rules, according to an unofficial translation of the provisional Brazilian measure.
ACTA Negotiators: Maximal Protection Proposals Unlikely In Final Text 18/02/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The chapter on copyright protection in the digital environment under negotiation in the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is still in an embryonic state, said negotiators coming back from the recent ACTA negotiations in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Knowledge Access Blooms In The Desert: Egypt’s Fragile Stake In IP 11/02/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments CAIRO – The launch this week on the new campus of American University in Cairo of a new centre and a new book on access to knowledge in Egypt offered a view on the complexities of the issues and the challenges developing countries face to ensure global intellectual property rights are incorporated into their legal systems in the most locally productive ways possible.
WTO Members To Consider Review Of TRIPS Public Health Amendment 11/02/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A waiver to World Trade Organization rules intended to aid people in poor countries in gaining access to medicines has remained essentially unused in the over six-and-a-half years since it was put in place. On Friday, member states of the WTO will in an informal meeting discuss this situation and see what, if anything, needs be done.
Advisory Group: ‘Near Perfect Storm’ Coming On Gene Patents In The US 10/02/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A report by a United States health department advisory group issued last week presents recommendations aimed at preventing patents on genes and licensing practices in the US from negatively impacting patient access to genetic tests that would allow them to establish their genetic dispositions to declare potential illnesses.
Accès aux médicaments : création d’un groupe de travail chargé de contrôler les accords de libre échange conclus par l’Union européenne 02/02/2010 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment BRUXELLES – Les accords de commerce ne doivent pas contenir de clauses relatives aux droits de propriété intellectuelle susceptibles de remettre en cause l’accès des pays pauvres aux médicaments à des prix abordables, a déclaré un député chevronné du Parlement européen.
New Parliament Group Monitors EU Trade Pacts’ Impact On Poor’s Medicines Access 28/01/2010 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment BRUSSELS – Trade agreements must not contain clauses on intellectual property rights that could imperil the poor’s access to affordable medicines, a veteran member of the European Parliament (MEP) has said.
WTO Adopts Appellate Body Report On US-China Film Distribution Dispute 19/01/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment China is expected to implement changes that will allow foreign distributors to import audiovisual entertainment products in China without trade being narrowed by state-owned channels after it lost its dispute case against the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The recommendations of the dispute settlement panel and the Appellate Body were adopted today by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body.
Panel Explores Use Of Geographical Indications For Development 21/12/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual property related to geographically-specific products can be harnessed for development purposes, argued panellists at a recent event in Geneva. But there are specific challenges related to using such tools in the developing world that must also be addressed.
International Policy Network — Fake Scare About Fake Drugs 15/12/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 8 Comments Recent customs seizures by some European Union members of Indian-made generic drugs en route to Latin America have caused uproar amongst development NGOs. But their claims are not only wide of the mark but dangerous, say Philip Stevens and Julian Harris.