India’s Generics-Big Pharma Battle Drops Drug Prices, Raises Legal Debate 20/05/2012 by Patralekha Chatterjee for Intellectual Property Watch 11 Comments The escalating battle between Big Pharma and India’s generic drug manufacturers is pushing down medicine prices in one of the world’s fastest growing pharmaceutical markets.
US Licensing Experts: Innovation Is Still Happening, Let’s Help It Along 18/05/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment BOSTON – Early stage innovation is still strong in the United States, but parties need to work better together and address bottlenecks in the middle stages, a panel of university and private sector experts said this week. Meanwhile, the president of global biotechnology company Genzyme said the industry is not in crisis and the company is hopeful about its recent merger with Sanofi.
South Africa Hopes New Bill Brings Traditional Knowledge Protection 17/05/2012 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill currently in the in-tray of South African President Jacob Zuma and awaiting a signature, holds the hope that it will finally pave the way for the protection of the country’s most famous red tea, Rooibos, as well as other local staples.
15 Years Later, Prospects For WTO Information Technology Agreement Examined 15/05/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Trade Organization this week celebrated 15 years of a tariff-cutting agreement on information technology products, and issued a publication charting the history of the agreement. Industry representatives invited to a symposium joined voices asking that the agreement be expanded, while some called for strategies to incorporate development into technology trade promotion. And a link was made between the agreement and a rise in patents on technology.
Agreement On Future Work For Development Committee Snatched From Defeat At WIPO 12/05/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments In what could be compared to an obstacle course, World Intellectual Property Organization members agreed late at night yesterday on the future work of a committee working on the development dimension of the organisation’s activities.
INTA: Corporate Call To Action On New Domains, Social Media, Counterfeiting 08/05/2012 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Washington, DC – Corporations need to become more involved in the battles being fought over the internet – from expanding top-level domain names, protecting brands on social media, to counterfeiting and internet security – or they are going to be left on the sidelines as policy is created both in the United States and elsewhere, speakers at the International Trademark Association (INTA) said yesterday.
German Ministry Advises Developing Countries Not To Sign ACTA 08/05/2012 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) advises developing countries against signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, BMZ official Frank Schmiedchen said during a meeting of the Committee of Petitions of the German Parliament today.
WIPO Standards Committee: IP Geeks Meet Policy Wonks 07/05/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization is by its nature a crossroads of IP technical expertise and global public policy wrangling. But the difference between the two became more pronounced at last week’s meeting of the WIPO Standards Committee, according to participants.
Full Agenda For WHO: Reform, R&D Convention, Substandard Medicines, NCDs, Pandemics 02/05/2012 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With just over two weeks until the annual UN World Health Assembly begins, member states face a substantive agenda, including a sweeping reform programme, an innovative public health proposal, the global strategy for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, a mechanism to fight poor quality medicines, and progress in pandemic influenza preparedness.
Industry Report On Trade Secret Theft, Congressional Demand For IP Protection, As US-China Meet 01/05/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A report released today asserts that trade secret theft is occurring on a massive scale worldwide, and that most companies are not taking sufficient steps to stop it. The report, which comes on the eve of bilateral economic meetings between the United States and China, offers a set of recommended actions for companies and others. Also today, leading Democratic members of Congress urged the Obama administration to demand improvements in China on intellectual property rights protection.