2016: Midissia Therapeutics license of NIH owned breast and prostate cancer vaccine patents

(More on government funded inventions here. Other KEI comments on NIH licenses are found here.) Sabarni K. Chatterjee, Ph.D., M.B.A. Senior Licensing and Patenting Manager, NCI Technology Transfer Center, 9609 Medical Center Drive, RM 1E530 MSC 9702, Bethesda, MD 20892-9702… Continue Reading

2016: AltraTech, KEI comments on NIH proposal for exclusive licenses for vitro diagnostics patents

Other KEI comments on NIH licenses are found here: /nih-licenses

February 22, 2016

Patrick McCue, Ph.D.
Senior Licensing and Patenting Manager
Technology Advancement Office
The National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
12A South Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
via email: patrick.mccue@nih.gov

Dear Dr. McCue:

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Knowledge Ecology International joins amicus brief on non-copyrightability of model laws and statutes

Washington, DC — On January 11, 2016, Knowledge Ecology International joined Public Knowledge and the American Library Association in an amicus curiae brief that argued that the contents of model laws, once enacted into statute, cannot be protected by copyright. The brief was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the case of ASTM International v. Public.Resource.Org.

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US ITC notice for public comment, Jan 13, 2016 hearing, and Commission report on the TransPacific Partnership Agreement (TPP)

Here is the US International Trade Commission (USITC) notice for the public hearing, public comments and Commission report on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). The deadlines and other requirements for participation may be strictly enforced. Note the ITC anticipates transmitting its report to the President and the Congress on May 18, 2016.

http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/fed_reg_notices/332/tpa_105_001_notice11172015sgl.pdf

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Letter from six NGOs to Obama on the WTO LDC patent waiver negotiation

Six NGOs — including Oxfam America, Health GAP, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), the Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment (UACT), the Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network (YP-CDN), and Public Citizen — sent a letter to President Obama today asking him to publicly express the United States’ “full and unconditional support” for the waiver of World Trade Organization (WTO) drug patent rules for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Continue Reading

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Final draft, India National IPR Policy, by IP Think Tank constituted by DIPP, Ministry of Commerce and Industry

This is a copy of recommendations for an Indian National IPR Policy, written by the “IP Think Tank,” which was constituted by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion(DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. A copy scanned from a hard copy is here.

The members of the IPR Think Tank were:

  • Justice Prabha Sridevan (Retd) – Chairperson
  • Mrs. Prathiba M. Singh, Senior Advocate – Member
  • Mr. Narendra K. Sabharwal – Member & Convener
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Senator Bernie Sanders proposal to expand Veterans access to patented medical inventions

This is a video by Zack Struver about Senator Bernie Sander’s proposal to expand Veterans access to patented medical inventions. The video discusses both the proposal by Senator Sanders to give the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs the authority to use compulsory licenses on patents on medical inventions, including drugs, and the history of “government use” provisions in current U.S. statutes, including 28 U.S.C. 1498, which Sanders proposes modifying.

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Eleven of the 28 House democrats supporting Fast Track write USTR about Medicine IPR issues

Attached is a letter from eleven of the 28 House Democrats that supported the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) Fast Track legislation, on the topic of intellectual property rights and medicine. The letter, which is moderate and cautious in substance, but overall helpful given where negotiations stand, closes by telling Ambassador Froman that “As members who support trade done right, we strongly believe that TPP must not inhibit access to lifesaving medicines.”

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