Author: Thiru

The 19th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) meets in Geneva from 25 February 2013 to 28 February 2013. The 18th session of the SCP ended on a contentions note as WIPO member states could not agree upon the future work of the Committee. In fact, SCP 19 was initially scheduled for November 2012 but was delayed till February 2013 as WIPO’s membership thought informal discussions were required to produce a successful outcome for the future work of the patent committee.

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Attached below is the version of the negotiating text from 20 February 2013. It includes several new or edited footnotes. We expect the WIPO Special Session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) to discuss the new text at the plenary which is scheduled to commence at 10, Wednesday, 21 February 2013.

Footnote 10 is placed within Article E of the draft treaty text on “Importation of Accessible Format Copies” which states

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On 28 January 2013, the following question tabled by MEP Franziska Keller (Verts/ALE) to the European Union on the EU’s position on extension of WTO TRIPS Agreement transition period for Least Developed Countries was made available. Continue Reading →

As mentioned in a previous piece, the trilateral report by the secretariats of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation: Intersections between public health, intellectual property and trade, covers a lot of ground including but not limited to: 1) the global burden of disease and global health risks, 2) health and human rights, 3) access to essential medicines: an indicator for the fulfillment of the right to Continue Reading →

On 13 April 2011, Senator Orrin Hatch (Republican-Utah) wrote a letter to then-Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton complaining about Global Fund’s policy on generic procurement and compulsory licensing. With respect to procurement, Sen. Hatch asserted that Global Fund monies were used to procure generic drugs “at unnecessary costs in recipient countries” while branded drugs (all Abbott products) were were available at a lower cost. Continue Reading →

On Tuesday, 5 February 2013, the Secretariats of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) released their joint publication, Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation: Intersections between public health, intellectual property and trade. This 251-page report covers a lot of ground.

In the words of the secretariats,

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* The author thanks Belinda Townsend, Katy Athersuch, Judit Rius Sanjuan and Alice Fabbri for their comprehensive notes during the WHO Executive Board discussion of the CEWG agenda item.

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Joint Letter to the 132nd WHO Executive Board: Follow-up of the report of the CEWG

Distinguished Delegate,

We are writing to express our deep concern at the lack of ambition and apparent inaction of the WHO and Member States in taking forward the work of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG). This inaction is costing lives.

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The Licensing Executives Society International, Inc. (LESI) is convening its second Global Technology Impact Forum (GTIF) at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) from 20 January 2013 to 22 January 2013. Although this international forum is hosted at WIPO headquarters, this event does not appear on the calendar of WIPO events for January 2013. It should be noted that this Forum just precedes the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting In Davos from 23 January 2013 to 27 January 2013.

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KEI collection of various interviews, statements and news clips from the December 17-18, 2012 WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly that approved a June 2013 diplomatic conference to negotiate a treaty on copyright exceptions for persons with certain disabilities.

Video Interviews

Video interviews from the WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly, after reaching a landmark decision to:

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