WHA: Experts Discuss Innovation, Access For Middle Income Countries 23/05/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch and Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Country officials, academics and leading global health advocates this week raised one of the key concerns of this year’s World Health Assembly: innovation and access to medicines in middle-income countries. Government procurement strategies, voluntary and compulsory licensing, de-linkage models and UNITAID mechanisms were among some of the solutions put forward.
World Health Assembly Approves Resolution On Combatting Tuberculosis 22/05/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Assembly on 21 May approved a resolution on global strategy and targets for tuberculosis prevention, care and control after 2015, which includes a new multisectoral strategic approach and bold targets to bring an end to the global epidemic by 2035.
World Health Assembly: Panels Discuss Diagnostics, Surveillance, R&D Models For Antibiotic Resistance 22/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Multiple stakeholders are pushing for a World Health Organization-led global action plan to curb antimicrobial resistance.
IP, R&D Among Issues In Packed Agenda Of 2014 World Health Assembly 16/05/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The annual World Health Assembly kicks off next week with a full agenda of new and old public health issues, including several related to intellectual property, pricing, and research and development. Below is a guide to the key issues for Intellectual Property Watch readers.
Comparative Study Of National Approaches To Internet Intermediary Liability 09/05/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The increasing influence and role of internet intermediaries over the past decade has led to a debate regarding their liability in relation to online infringement of copyright and related rights. A recent study analyses legal approaches adopted across both common law and civil law countries in order to pinpoint potential worldwide trends in these liability doctrines.
Digitisation Projects For Orphan And Out-Of-Commerce Works Presented At WIPO 06/05/2014 by Jos̩phine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch and Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Digitisation of copyrighted works is in growing demand, and books are increasingly being made widely available in digital form. Two forms of works however Рorphan and out-of-commerce works Рare in danger of missing out, said speakers at a recent World Intellectual Property Organization event, and there is a risk of forever losing an important part of our cultural heritage embedded in these works. Another panel, meanwhile, illustrated that laws on copyright and licensing also present obstacles to cross-border use of digitised works by universities, libraries and archives.
Four More WIPO Members Sign Marrakesh Treaty For Visually Impaired 30/04/2014 by Catherine Saez and Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments During a signing ceremony held today at the World Intellectual Property Organization, the European Union, France, Greece and India signed the treaty adopted last June to provide a wider access to copyrighted books in special format for visually impaired people.
Year Ahead: Biotech, IP Promise to Create Controversy From Farms To Big Pharma In 2014 25/02/2014 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The intersection of biotechnology and intellectual property continues to be a hot topic across the globe. From the patenting of certain plant varieties to human genes, to biodiversity and food security, to genetic resources, countries from developing to developed are attempting to navigate often blurred lines in terms of what can and cannot be patented, what should – and shouldn’t – be patented, and protecting innovators from farmers to plant breeders to drug manufacturers.
WIPO Genetic Resources Text Compiles Differences, Heads To General Assembly 10/02/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Despite spending a week in mostly closed, informal discussions, the World Intellectual Property Organization committee working on the protection of genetic resources, got little closer to breaching the opposing viewpoints. Members managed to produce a draft text – with signs of steps toward a middle ground – that they say can serve as a basis for further discussion on the development of an international instrument preventing wrongful patents.
New CBD Access And Benefit Sharing Clearing-House Website Presented At WIPO 07/02/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new website of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will allow tracking of the use of genetic resources in order to ensure access and benefit-sharing of those resources.