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| Ambassador Michael Froman wants to block compulsory licenses on drug patents in India |
USTR wants comments on the USTR out of cycle review of India. The deadline is October 31, 2014, for everyone but foreign governments, who file by November 7, 2014. This is an opportunity to explain to USTR that India is an important source of generic medicines for people who are poor. It appears this is something that Ambassador Froman either does not know, or does not fully appreciate or respect. Here is the USTR blog on the OCR:
USTR Requests Public Comments for the 2014 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of India
2014 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of IndiaIn the 2014 Special 301 Report, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that, in order to assess progress on engagement with the Government of India on intellectual property rights (IPR) issues, an Out-of-Cycle Review (OCR) would be conducted for India. USTR requests written submissions from the public concerning information, views, acts, policies, or practices relevant to evaluating the Government of India’s engagement on IPR issues of concern, in particular those identified in the 2014 Special 301 Report. The 2014 Special 301 Report is available at www.ustr.gov.
Deadlines: Friday, October 31, 2014—Deadline for the public, except foreign governments, to submit written comments.
Friday, November 7, 2014—Deadline for foreign governments to submit written comments.Addresses: All written comments should be filed electronically via www.regulations.gov, Docket Number USTR-2014-0020, and be consistent with the requirements set forth below. Please specify “2014 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of India” in the “Type Comment” field.
For Further Information Contact: Susan Wilson, Director for Intellectual Property and Innovation, Office of the United States Trade Representative, at Special301@ustr.eop.gov. Information on the Special 301 Review is available at www.ustr.gov.