The ties between Universities and businesses are often complex and blurred. Private companies or trade associations fund research and seminars, and have consulting relationships with faculty members, trying to shape public policy and judicial decisions on a wide range of issues. A particularly interesting industry/university connection concerns something called the "India Project," that is associated with the George Washington University (GWU) Law School.

On February 18, 2010, 12 NGOs working on Access to Medicines submitted joint comments to the 2010 Special 301 Process

The submission is available here.

And a summary below:

SUBMISSION OF GLOBAL HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS:

La Organización Nacional de Ciegos de España (ONCE) agradece la oportunidad que nos ha brindado de tomar la palabra en esta importante sesion del SCCR para pedir el apoyo a la propuesta de tratado de la Union Mundial de Ciegos, organización de la que la ONCE es miembro.

La ONCE da servicio exclusivo a sus afiliados, que han de ser personas ciegas y deficientes visuales con nacionalidad española. Actualmente la ONCE tiene 70000 afiliados, y su número crece en 4000 cada año.

Information for the SCCR at WIPO 14-18 December, 2009.

Mr Chairman,

I would like to take this opportunity, in the framework of our discussions on exceptions and limitations, to inform you about what the European Commission has been doing over the past year and a half and is preparing for the future.

We are distributing this letter (in English and Spanish, with Tiflolibros Argentina) to writers, journalists and authors who support the World Blind Union WIPO treaty proposal to improve access to books in formats accessible to people who are blind, visually impaired or have other disabilities. If you are a writer and you are interested in signing it, contact writers.for.tvi@keionline.org

On November 23, 2009, Pablo Lecuona from Tiflolibros Argentina sent a letter to Kareem A. Dale, the Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy, asking the Obama Administration to support the WIPO Copyright treaty for the blind, visually impaired and people with reading disabilities. Mr. Lecuona has also submitted this letter to the U.S. Copyright Office, and the USPTO as a reply in the request for comments on the WIPO Treaty proposal. Among other things, the Tifloibros letter says:

Korean civil society has asked KEI to disseminate this request for solidarity and action in their efforts to reduce the price of Gleevec, a leukemia treatment pill. The current price is approximately 2,300 USD per month for an adult patient and the Korean government has been sued by Novartis for trying to reduce the price a 14%. Korean civil society is also requesting Novartis to introduce a higher form, 400 mg, in Korea.

REQUEST for Solidarity:

Find below Civil Society Coalition (CSC) written intervention to the 18th Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. The intervention was submitted in Spanish by Pablo Lecuona, director and co-funder of Tiflolibros, a library for blinds in Argentina, and CSC fellow during the 18th Session of the WIPO SCCR.

Comentarios de la Civil Society Coalition (CSC)

Mi nombre es Pablo Lecuona y soy director y co-fundador de la biblioteca para ciegos, Tiflolibros en Argentina.

On 13-14 May 2009, representatives from 10 Latin American and Caribbean governments, representatives from blind organizations and nongovernmental organizations met in Montevideo (Uruguay) to analyze the World Blind Union (WBU) proposal for a WIPO treaty for the blind, visually impaired and other reading disabled persons.

This is the statement that the government of Bolivia delivered today to the 62nd World Health Assembly at the conclusion of the discussions on the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (WHA 61.21).

Statement of Bolivia on resolving outstanding elements of agenda item 12.8

Join Statement on behalf of

Bangladesh, Barbados, Bolivia and Suriname, and
Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela