Briefing on Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performers

Posted on by Manon Ress

On Monday, March 7, 2016, from 1:45 P.M. to 2:45 P.M., the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) met with invited stakeholders in a briefing at the White House on the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances and the implementation package that was sent to Congress on February 29, 2016. The package was submitted for review to the Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees.

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Congressman Doggett Voices Support for KEI/UACT Petition to NIH on Xtandi

Posted on by Zack Struver

On Monday, March 7, 2016, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, issued a statement in support of the recent Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) and Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment (UACT) request that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) authorize the generic production of an expensive prostate cancer drug in order to curb an excessive and discriminatory price in the United States.

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TRIPS Council March 2016: India reiterates support for de-linkage and references UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines

Posted on by Thiru

In early March 2016, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) TRIPS Council discussed “Intellectual Property and Innovation: Education and Diffusion”. The following delegations co-sponsored discussion of this item on Education and Diffusion – Australia, European Union, Switzerland, United States, Japan, Singapore, Peru, Russian Federation, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong China.

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2016: Did Army do analysis to determine if public is better off with exclusive license to patent?

Posted on by James Love

We sent this brief note to the Army today regarding this federal register note: https://federalregister.gov/a/2016-04494


From: Jamie Love
Date: Sat, Mar 5, 2016
To: Phoebe.E.Lenear@usace.army.mil
Subject: Digital Optical Method patents

I am writing about the notice of intent for an exclusive license to patents on the Digital Optical Method (DOMTM ), United States Patent No. 7,495,767.

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KEI comments to the Senate Finance Committee Report on the Price of Sovaldi

Posted on by James Love

On March 4, 2016, KEI provided comments to the US Senate Committee on Finance on a report prepared by staff for Senators Grassley and Wyden that was issued by the committee on December 2015, titled “The Price of Sovaldi and Its Impact on the U.S. Health Care System.” Senators Grassley and Wyden asked the public to comment on various issues raised in the report. The comments we filed on March 4 included three major sections.

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KEI Comments to U.S. Copyright Office on Section 1201

Posted on by Andrew Goldman

On March 3, 2016, KEI filed a comment with the U.S. Copyright Office in Docket No. 2015-8, regarding 17 U.S.C. § 1201.

The comment made specific recommendations regarding changes to the rulemaking procedure, the anti-trafficking provisions, and permanent exemptions, and also suggested requiring a registration and application process, as well as payment of a fee, for the DRM/TPM seeking legal protection under the law.

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11 February 2016: 5 groups express concerns over WIPO statements relating to UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines

Posted on by Thiru

On Thursday, 11 February 2016, five groups including Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Oxfam, Stop AIDS, Third World Network (TWN) and Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) sent a letter to Dr. Francis Gurry, Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) highlighting our concerns with statements expressed by WIPO relating to the United Nations Secretary ­General’s High-­Level Panel on Access to Medicines (HLP). To date, we have yet to hear any formal response from WIPO. Continue Reading →