US Copyright office proposes limits on damages, injunctions, for Orphan Works, contradicting TPP language
The US Copyright Office has proposed limitations on damages and injunctions, when “orphan” copyrighted works are infringed. Continue Reading
The US Copyright Office has proposed limitations on damages and injunctions, when “orphan” copyrighted works are infringed. Continue Reading
The following statement was delivered by the European Union at the February 2015 session in response to the proposal by the LDC Group Request for an Extension of the Transitional Period Under Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement for Least Developed Country Members with Respect to Pharmaceutical Products and for Waivers from the Obligation of Articles 70.8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement.
In particular, the European Union noted,
On 2 June 2015 and 4 June 2015, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is conducting a trade policy review of India. All members of the WTO are subject to review under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). The TPRM takes place in the “Trade Policy Review Body which is actually the WTO General Council — comprising the WTO’s full membership — operating under special rules and procedures” (Source: WTO, Trade Policy Reviews: Brief Introduction).
For any of you in Bucharest this weekend at the EASL conference on liver disease, KEI Europe will host a side event on access to affordable HCV medicines on Saturday morning.
Pathways to Widespread Access: Affordable HCV Medicines in Romania
Date: 10:00-12:00 Saturday, 30 May 2015
Venue: Novotel Bucharest City Centre, Conference Room Lyon (Mezzanine Floor)
A Panel Discussion:
Peter Beyer, World Health Organization (WHO). Access to Medicines and Intellectual Property Rights
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On Thursday, May 21, 2015, KEI and KEI Europe hosted a side event at the 68th World Health Assembly on compulsory licensing of patents on drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tests. The event was graciously hosted by UNAIDS in the Kofi Annan room.
The TPP, following a plethora of other trade agreements involving the United States, the European Union and Japan as trading partners, seeks to expand and extend drug monopolies, by requiring lower standards for the grant of patents, extensions of patent terms, exclusive rights in test data, among other measures. These proposals and polices are designed to have the predictable effect of making drug prices higher.
On Tuesday, 26 May 2015, the following statement was delivered in Committee B of the 68th World Health Assembly on behalf of Stichting Health Action International and Knowledge Ecology International on the topic: Follow-up to the 2014 high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to undertake a comprehensive review and assessment of the progress achieved in the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases.
Panel discussion
Compulsory licensing of patents on drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tests
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) and Knowledge Ecology International Europe (KEI Europe):
DATE: Thursday, 21 May 2015
TIME: 17:30-19:00
VENUE: Kofi Annan Room, UNAIDS, Avenue Appia 20
Moderator:
Panel members
On Monday, 18 May 2015, the Greek Minister of Health, Panagiotis Kouroumplis, delivered the following speech at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, explicitly calling for the de-linkage of the “cost of R&D from the final price of medicines” while highlighting the deleterious effects of austerity measures eroding public health systems, counter to the theme of WHA68, “Resilient Health Systems”.
Here is his speech in full:
Madam Director General, dear colleagues, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen