WHO Chief: No Government Should Be Intimidated For Doing “Right Thing” In Public Health 24/01/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Discussions on access to essential medicines yesterday at the World Health Organization were in some ways overshadowed by the recent leak of a global pharmaceutical campaign aimed at derailing efforts by the South African government to revise its intellectual property policy. WHO Director General Margaret Chan strongly supported South Africa, as did several developing countries, while developed countries remained silent on the subject.
Year Ahead: Copyright Issues Top EU IP Policy In 2014 23/01/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Copyright tops the European Union intellectual property agenda this year, with completion of a collective rights management directive, and European Commission statements on IP rights enforcement and possible revisions to EU copyright rules, due this spring. “Steady progress” on rollout of a unified EU patent and patent court system is expected, and trademark and other issues also figure prominently. But with European Parliament elections in May, and a new Commission in November, the timetables for these and other IP-related issues could shift, the EC and others said.
Global Health 2035 Report: Flawed Projections 23/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Daniele Dionisio writes: Hopes that a comprehensive global health goal could be reached by 2035 are hardly credible with the load of unresolved issues still on the table. This article turns the spotlight on much-debated relevant questions that were left out or under-scrutinised in a recently published Lancet report.
New Health Collaboration Touts Ethics, Aims To Put Patients First 22/01/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Several health care organisations this week signed a “consensus framework” for ethical collaboration between patients’ organisations, healthcare professionals, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Concerns Erupt Over Leaked Pharma Lobbying Plan Against IP Policy In South Africa 22/01/2014 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The South African minister leading the charge in drafting a revised intellectual property policy for the country has expressed his dismay at reports of a pharmaceutical company campaign aimed at derailing the process of implementing the new IP policy.
Special Report: Traditional Knowledge And IP: View From The Ground Up 17/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Participants at a recent conference in South Africa offered insights and some optimism about prospects for local communities to exploit their traditional knowledge to help their economies while at the same time protecting that knowledge.
Successful WHO Drug Prequalification Programme Deemed At Risk 16/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A 12-year-old World Health Organization programme for prequalifying medical products has helped international organisations and others to safely purchase billions of US dollars’ worth of quality medicines per year, but now is at risk due to funding shortages, a new study released today found.
Departed Indian Diplomat Confronted US Business Over India’s IP Policy 12/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Just weeks before being abruptly arrested and strip-searched in New York, a now-departed Indian diplomat took on the powerful US business lobby over India’s controversial approach to intellectual property.
IPR Remains Among Top USTR Priorities For China In 2014 07/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The Office of the United States Trade Representative will again make intellectual property rights a top priority in trade relations with China in 2014, and will not hesitate to take actions such as to bring World Trade Organization dispute settlement cases as needed, USTR has said.
Conclusions From Top Trademark Offices Meeting 22/12/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Five top trademark offices, which call themselves the TM5, met earlier this month in Seoul, South Korea, and agreed on seminars, reports and other activities intended to improve their coordination and help fight bad practices.