Intellectual Property Rights

14 March 2017 – Senate Finance Committee grills Robert Lighthizer (USTR nominee) on trade and IPR policies

Posted on by Thiru

On 14 March 2017, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee held confirmation hearings for Robert Lighthizer, President Donald Trump’s appointee for United States Trade Representative. During the Reagan administration, Lighthizer served as Deputy US Trade Representative with the rank of Ambassador (Source: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=41174). Prior to his tenure as Deputy USTR, from 1981 to 1983, Lighthizer served as Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. Currently, he is a partner at Skadden Arps. Continue Reading →

8 March 2017 – Statement of the European Union – HRC 34 – Panel on Access to Medicines

Posted on by Thiru

On 8 March 2017, the European Union (EU) delivered the following statement to the Human Rights Council’s panel discussion on Access to Medicines. As the Human Right Council imposed a strict two minute limit on interventions, the EU was not able to raise the following two questions contained at the end of its intervention.

I have two questions for the Panel.

Could the panellists suggest further measures to promote a holistic approach to access to medicines?

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Notes on 2017 Special 301 Submissions

Posted on by Zack Struver

Wednesday, March 8, 2017, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will hold the first Special 301 Hearing of the Trump administration. This year, USTR received 63 submissions in advance fo the hearing from governments, civil society organizations, and industry groups.

This blog post pulls out interesting selections from the various submissions, and includes as attachments the submissions of selected organizations.
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8 March 2017 – Human Rights Council’s Access to Medicines panel set to discuss Report of UN HLP

Posted on by Thiru

On 8 March 2017, the Human Rights Council will convene a three hour Access to Medicines panel which will take place from 3 PM to 6 PM in Room XX of the Palais des Nations in Geneva. This panel is mandated by resolution 32/15 which passed at 32nd session of the Human Rights Council (June/July 2016). The resolution directed the Human Rights Council to convene an access to medicines panel at its 34th session in March 2017.

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1 March 2017 – WTO TRIPS Council – India’s intervention on the Report of the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines

Posted on by Thiru

On 1 March 2017, India delivered the following statement during WTO TRIPS Council discussions on the United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Panel Report on Access to Medicines.

Agenda item 12: the United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Panel Report on Access to Medicines

Thank you Chairman.

At the outset, I would like to thank delegations of Brazil, China and South Africa who are also co-sponsors of this agenda item.

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1 March 2017 – WTO TRIPS Council – Brazil’s intervention on the Report of the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines

Posted on by Thiru

On 1 March 2017, Brazil delivered the following statement during WTO TRIPS Council discussions on the Report of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines.

High Level Panel

As we all know, on 19 November 2015, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the creation of the High-Level Panel on Innovation and Access to Health Technologies. Responding to this invitation, two chairs were designated to the panel, namely, Ms. Ruth Dreifuss, from Switzerland, and Festus Mogae, from Botswana.

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Ambassador Shameem Ahsan (Bangladesh) remarks on UN HLP – Opportunities to Advance Health Technology and Access

On 1 March 2017, Bangladesh, Brazil, India and South Africa, the Secretariat of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines and the South Centre convened a side event at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Access to Medicines: Opportunities to Advance Health Technology and Access. This event took place on the margins of the WTO TRIPS Council.

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CDC FOIA shows US, WHO opposed request to discuss UNSG’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines Report at EB

Posted on by Zack Struver

Email records and memoranda released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in response to a Knowledge Ecology International Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request show that representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States government opposed including India’s proposed agenda item on the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines for discussion at the 140th WHO Executive Board meeting.

The full set of documents, which was released to KEI without redaction, are available here:

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MEP Lola Sánchez questions the European Commission: EU’s position on the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines at WIPO

Posted on by Thiru

On 2 February 2017, MEP Lola Sánchez Caldentey (Podemos, Spain) tabled a series of written questions to the European Commission on the positions taken by the European Union at the World Intellectual Property Organization on 14 December 2016 in relation to the United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines (UN HLP)

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Chilean Cámara de Diputados votes overwhelmingly to advance compulsory licensing of drug patents.

Posted on by Andrew Goldman

GiorgioJacksonChile.jpgThe Cámara de Diputados of the Chilean Congress voted on January 25, 2017 in favor of Resolution 798, calling on the government to implement compulsory licenses on drugs for cancer and other diseases. The vote was 67 yes, 0 no, and 32 abstentions. The resolution was put forward by Giorgio Jackson and six other members (V. Mirosevic, Miguel Alvarado, Karla Rubilar, Juan Luis Castro, Gabriel Boric, and Victor Torres). Continue Reading →