On Tuesday, 21 April 2015, the 15th session of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) considered the Evaluation Report for the Project on Open Collaborative Projects and IP-Based Models (CDIP/15/3). This project on open collaborate development models is based on Recommendation 36 of the WIPO which states,
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) will present the following statement on 20 April 2015 to the Open Session of the 20th Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines.
Statement of Knowledge Ecology International: WHO 20th Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines, with specific focus on expanding access to new cancer drugs, when available at affordable prices
20 April 2015
Dear members of the WHO Expert Committee and the WHO secretariat,
In advance of the World Trade Organization’s October 2014 session of the TRIPS Council, the European Union, Switzerland and the United States made a written request to the TRIPS Council to discuss “Intellectual Property and Innovation: Promoting Awareness; Case Studies” under agenda item 12. This marked the 7th time that the United States tabled an item to the TRIPS Council relating to intellectual property or innovation.
In the context of these October 2014 discussions of Intellectual Property and Innovation, the Government of India delivered the following intervention asserting that,
On Wednesday, 11 March 2015, Oliver Hall-Allen, First Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Office in Geneva delivered the following statement in response to the presentation of the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights (Farida Shaheed) on her Report on Copyright policy and the right to science and culture (A/HRC/28/57).
Oliver Hall-Allen (blue tie, white shirt), First Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Office in Geneva
On Wednesday, 11 March 2015, Ambassador Keith Harper, U.S. Representative to the Human Rights Council, delivered the following statement to the 28th Session of the Human Rights Council on the topic of cultural rights. Continue Reading
On Wednesday, 11 March 2015, Farida Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights presented her seminal report on Copyright policy and the right to science and culture (A/HRC/28/57) at the 28th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Highlights from the report’s recommendations include the following:
As part of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) technical assistance and capacity building program, on Thursday, 26 February 2015, the WTO Secretariat convened a Symposium on the TRIPS Agreement for TRIPS Council Members and Observers which brought together negotiators from the 1986–94 Uruguay Round to discuss how the Round introduced intellectual property norms into the architecture of the multilateral trading system. In addition, other experts were brought in to discuss what has happened since the introduction of the TRIPS Agreement, and what augurs for the future.
The following statement was delivered by the European Union on Tuesday, 24 February 2015 at the WTO TRIPS Council during discussions on “Concerns with respect to proposals for plain packaging of tobacco products in the United Kingdom and Ireland”.
On Tuesday, 24 February 2015, Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group, presented the submission of the LDC Group on an Extension of the Transitional Period Under Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement for LDC Members for Certain Obligations with Respect to Pharmaceutical Products in the following impassioned statement.
ANY OTHER BUSINESSEXTENSION OF THE TRANSITION PERIOD UNDER ARTICLE 66.1 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT FOR LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS FOR CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS WITH RESPECT TO PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS
Mr. Chair
WTO TRIPS Council (February 2015): LDC Group statement on Non-Violation and Situation Complaints
On Tuesday, 24 February 2015, Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group delivered the following statement on non-violation and situation complaints.
AGENDA 6: NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTSMr. Chairman,
I am taking floor on behalf of the LDC group.
LDCs are concerned that non-violation and situation complaints may pose unnecessary problems to LDCs which can be otherwise avoidable if we do not implement this provision under TRIPS.