Freedom Of Expression – Paper Looks At ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ In Latin American Context 15/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments It’s hard to escape the watchful eye of the internet – it will follow you through life. But if something put on the internet about you is wrong, misrepresents you or even endangers you, should you have a right to remove it from the internet? A new paper from the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, DC […]
Infojustice – US, Canadian & Mexican Law Professors, Academics And Policy Experts: NAFTA Must Include Fair Use, Safe Harbors 15/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment WASHINGTON – Today, over seventy international copyright law experts called for NAFTA and other trade negotiators to support a set of balanced copyright principles. The experts urge trade negotiators to support policies like fair use, safe harbor provisions, and other exceptions and limitations that permit and encourage access to knowledge, flourishing creativity, and innovation. Signatories include preeminent intellectual property professors and experts from law schools, think tanks, and public interest organizations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as Argentina, Australia, China, Ireland, and Switzerland.
‘Damaging’ Provisions On IP Dropped From TPP Agreement, MSF Says 15/11/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Trade ministers negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the United States have dropped many problematic provisions related to intellectual property and health, Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) reported today. Also removed from the agreement appears to be the investor-state dispute settlement provisions, according to a source.
US Congress Members Signal Move To Block Allergan Patent Deal With Tribe 14/11/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Members of a US congressional subcommittee on intellectual property held a hearing last week that appeared aimed at finding ways to stop companies from “renting” the sovereignty of Native American tribes in order to avoid a process that can lead to the invalidation of patents. Elected officials called a deal between Allergan pharmaceutical company and a northeastern tribe a “sham” and a “mockery”, and signalled the start of the legislative procedure to prevent such deals.
As Global Fund Board Meets To Choose New Director, Sands Seeks To Reinstate Candidacy 13/11/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Days after withdrawing from consideration to be the next director of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the UK’s Peter Sands has asked to be reinstated. The actions come as the Fund’s Board gathers this week to choose among the final candidates for head of the international health funding organisation based in Geneva.
WIPO Hosts Widely Represented Discussion On Vaccine Innovation And Access 09/11/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A well-represented set of experts this week held discussions on the current situation of access to vaccines, the market, the role of pharmaceutical companies, and partnerships. Vaccines were not a field much affected by patents in the past, but the situation has changed and new vaccines are now covered by intellectual property, which might constitute a barrier to access, according to speakers.
Custom Built Software And The IP Law – What You Need To Know 07/11/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The practice of building custom software is alive and well despite the emergence of tons of ready to use offline and online business apps. Businesses build custom software for various reasons. Some are unsatisfied by solutions available on the market, others need very specific features or overall functionality, security and privacy concerns are another major driver of tailored software development. The process of building custom software involves five basic stages, if you stick to traditional software development workflow, or an indefinite number of iterations under agile development method. Both approaches, however, include various scenarios in which intellectual property rights are involved, writes Jorge Sagastume.
WHO Issues Guidelines Against Antibiotic Overuse In Farms And Food Industry 07/11/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Against the growing threat of a world where bacteria can kill again because they have developed resistance to available antibiotics, and the lack of new promising options in the research pipeline, several international agencies are seeking solutions. The World Health Organization today published a set of recommendations to help stop the routine use of antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals.
New WHO 5-Year Programme Is Out. In The Recipe? SDGs, Access To Medicines, Innovation, Better Health For All 01/11/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The new leadership of the World Health Organization today issued its draft new programme of work for the next five years. The programme depicts new orientations for the global health actor, starting with the alignment of the programme with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and universal health coverage. The organisation also commits to help establish policies promoting access to health products, including generic medicines, innovation, and fair pricing. The WHO is set to help address innovation barriers, and to step up its global leadership, but asks that its members actually fully finance the budget that they approve.
UNCTAD Shows Role As Convenor On Investment In Antimicrobial Resistance 30/10/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) this month gathered a wide range of key stakeholders to have a frank discussion about how to solve rising global resistance to existing antibiotics. While not a negotiation, stakeholders in the expert group opened up and shared perspectives, leading to some informal conclusions. Among them: more public and private investment, and a shift in the R&D system to new-style incentives, are needed.