Knowledge Ecology International

According to OpenSecrets.Org, the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector has reported $115,571,832 in lobbying for 2011, a number that will grow considerably when all quarterly reports are filed. The top lobbying outlays were reported by PhRMA, the trade association, followed by Pfizer, Amgen, Merck, Lilly, Novartis, Bayer and GSK. The top generic company was Teva, which ranked 12th overall. As reported by OpenSecrets, some firms are listed more than once, for lobbying outlays by different subsidiaries. Continue Reading →

On Friday, 18 November 2011, the WHO Consultative Expert Working Group on research and development: financing and coordination (CEWG) held an open briefing on the results of its work thus far. This meeting was attended by delegates from Bangladesh, Brazil, the European Union, Germany, the Holy See, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Tanzania, United States in addition to representatives from the Global Fund, South Centre, WHO, WIPO, UNITAID, Berne Declaration, HAI, KEI, IFPMA, MPP, MSF and TWN.

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Next week, the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR 23) will meet beginning on 21 November and continue through 2 December 2011. One issue that will be discussed is a possible treaty for copyright limitations and exceptions for persons who are visually impaired or have other disabilities. A treaty is necessary to provide minimum standards for limitations and exceptions to permit the creation of accessible format works and also to facilitate cross-border sharing of these works. Continue Reading →

On November 13, 2011, the Los Angeles Times published a story by David Willman on a no-bid contract with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to supply the government with a drug for smallpox. The LA Times story begins with this:

Over the last year, the Obama administration has aggressively pushed a $433-million plan to buy an experimental smallpox drug, despite uncertainty over whether it is needed or will work.

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In May 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) passed resolution WHA63.23 which established the Consultative Expert Working Group on research and development: financing and coordination (CEWG) to further “examine current financing and coordination of research and development, as well as proposals for new and innovative sources of funding to stimulate research and development related to Type II and Type III diseases and the specific research and development needs of developing countries in relation to Type I diseases, and open to consideration of proposals from Member States”. Continue Reading →

On October 26, 2011, a bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced HR 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act, known as SOPA. While much of the bill deals with “online” piracy,” some sections of the bill appear to have nothing to do with the Internet. The bill also creates a new bureaucracy to deal with very broadly defined trade related intellectual property rights issues, including those identified in the annual USTR Special 301 report.

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The following is the intervention delivered by Brazil on 1 November 2011 at the Special Session of the Executive Board on WHO Reform.

INTERVENCÃO DA EMBAIXADORA MARIA NAZARETH FARANI AZEVÊDO NA ABERTURA DA SESSÃO
ESPECIAL DO CONSELHO EXECUTIVO DA OMS SOBRE A REFORMA DA ORGANIZACÃO

Genebra, 1º de novembro de 2011

Mr. Chairman,

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On 25 October 2011, the WTO TRIPS Council held its annual review of the Paragraph 6 System under Item G. Under the sub-heading of alternatives to the Paragraph 6 system, Ecuador asked the European Union (EU) about the issuance of three compulsory licenses in Italy between 2005 to 2007. In its intervention, Ecuador asked the EU for more detail regarding the Italian Competition Authority’s issuance of compulsory licenses for export to Spain and other EU members in cases involving Glaxo and Merck including, but not limited to, administrative procedures, decision-making processes, and rationale. Continue Reading →

The ninth round of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) took place in Lima, Peru from 19-28 October 2011. Stakeholders were given the opportunity to present at the stakeholder platform on 23 October, attend the stakeholder briefing on 25 October and the reception on 25 October.

Intellectual Property

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This is the intervention that the United States made on ACTA on 25 October 2011 during the WTO TRIPS Council discussions of “Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights”.

O. ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (PARTY III OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT)

The United States thanks Japan for its opening remarks, with which we fully associate ourselves.

We appreciate this opportunity to share with colleagues from other WTO Members our views on the importance of enforcement and to provide some additional information on the ACTA.

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