Knowledge Ecology International

On Thursday, 16 August 2012, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in the case Association for Molecular Pathology v. US Patent and Trademark Office, again rejecting the plaintiffs’ contentions that isolated DNA is not eligible for patent protection. This case surrounds the patent eligibility of isolated DNA, particularly the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes known to be associated with an individual’s susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer.

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As Geneva awakes from its summer slumber post-Jeûne genevois (6 September 2012), the following conferences and negotiations are expected to shape the knowledge governance landscape in the second semester of 2012 at WHO, WIPO and WTO.

World Health Organization

Here are upcoming meetings of the WHO in 2012 of relevance to public heath, innovation and access.

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A story today by Adam Behsudi in the trade publication, Inside U.S. Trade, quotes from ISP industry sources who basically defend the USTR position, which is the worst among the TPP negotiating countries. Taken as a whole, we read the ISP positions as both weak and incredibly damaging, as they are undercutting real opposition to the USTR proposal by non-US governments in the TPP negotiations. Continue Reading →

When politicians and trade officials tell you they want to impose a restrictive 3-step test to narrow the copyright limitations and exceptions permitted under the Berne Convention, take a minute to review what the Berne exceptions cover, and ask yourself, why would anyone want to further limit these exceptions?

[The related rights in the Rome Convention, the rights in the WCT, WPPT and Beijing treaties, and the flexabilities in the WTO TRIPS Agreement require a separate discussion].

Article 2(4,7 and 8) – Protected Works:

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