Summer Changes Make A Splash In The IP Community 28/07/2016 by Catherine Saez and Alexandra Nightingale for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Over the summer months, people in the intellectual property world continue to circulate. UNITAID has changed heads, and other well-known figures in Geneva set off to new horizons. And no rest it seems for law offices, which maintained their usual level of moves between firms. Here is the latest on People in the IP community.
Infojustice: NGO And Academics Letter To US Secretary Of State On Access To Medicines 26/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments From Infojustice.org: Letter from 56 Non-profit Organizations and Academic Experts to Secretary Kerry Regarding State Department Pressure Against Access to Medicines Efforts
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.
The “Denial Playbook”: An Original Product Of The Oil Industry 22/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments New documents reveal that the oil and tobacco industries took pages from the same book to engineer their decade long campaigns on denying the existence of climate change and smoking-related cancer. The playbook also appears to have originated not with tobacco, but with the oil industry itself, and the two even appeared to share patents.
Civil Society Calls On India To Backtrack On Policy Threatening Global HIV Response 21/07/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The International AIDS Society made a statement today at the International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, voicing concerns about India’s recent policy which, according to the group, is threatening access to HIV treatment in India and around the world.
The Significance Of Uruguay’s Win Over Philip Morris International 21/07/2016 by Alexandra Nightingale for Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments The tobacco industry’s global efforts to use bilateral and multilateral agreements to challenge the spread of tobacco control measures such as trademark-minimising plain packages were dealt a significant blow last week when the World Bank dispute settlement body dismissed a case brought by Philip Morris against the government of Uruguay. The decision is seen a landmark for those who view the company as using test cases to continually challenge and delay public health protection measures and discourage other countries, particularly those with fewer resources, from strengthening their health regulations. Additionally, the case reasserted that trademarks are subject to government regulations and also illustrated the role that international organisations and actors can play in support of national governments defending their health measures.
Free Trade Agreements Threaten Farmers’ Rights, Food Security, Group Says 21/07/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Small farmers around the world are threatened by new free trade agreements, a civil society group has argued. Those agreements go beyond the requirements of agreed international intellectual property rules and jeopardise the ability of small farmers to save, produce, and exchange seeds, the group said.
AIDS Conference: Will The UN High-Level Panel Report Deliver R&D And Access To Medicines? 20/07/2016 by Munyaradzi Makoni for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment DURBAN, South Africa – The lessons derived from the history of AIDS treatment have become a rallying call for civil society organisations globally. Not being able to afford AIDS medicines should not be repeated for people with other diseases, including HIV co-infections, treatment activists told world leaders here.
UK Government Called To Action To Further Boost IP Enforcement 19/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United Kingdom-based Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) industry group launched a “manifesto” earlier this month, calling on the government to establish a more effective and comprehensive response to intellectual property crime.