Media coverage of the Marrakesh Treaty for the Blind negotiations 22 June 2013, The Washington Post, Filmmakers’ group tries to reshape treaty that would benefit the blind 24 June 2013, The Guardian, US film industry tries to weaken copyright treaty… Continue Reading
On 7-8 August 2013, the Department of Trade and Industry (the DTI), Republic of South Africa and the World Trade Organization (WTO), in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will hold a National Workshop on Intellectual Property and Public Health in Pretoria. Leading experts from these intergovernmental organizations, Roger Kampf (WTO), Dr. Continue Reading
The Forty-Third session of the WIPO General Assembly which meets from 23 September 2013 to 2 October 2013 will have the pleasant task of untangling the Gordian knot that is the Report of the Proposals Made by Delegations Regarding Future Work of the IGC.
On 24 July 2013 the Ian Goss (Australia), the facilitator of the 25th session of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC/GRTKF),
prepared the following draft recommendation for consideration by the WIPO General Assembly in September 2013. Currently, WIPO member states are examining the text and will provide their comments on the draft recommendations when the plenary resumes this afternoon.
On 12 July 2013, Senator Leahy (D-VT), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee requested that the NIH exercise its march-in rights under the Bayh-Dole Act to promote genetic testing for BRCA mutations that are associated with a person’s risk for breast and ovarian cancer. In June, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously ruled that isolated DNA is not patentable, and immediately afterward, other companies stated they would provide BRCA testing. Continue Reading
Knowledge Ecology International is holding a side event in Marrakesh on 24 June 2013 at 2:00 PM in Karam 4 at the Palais des congrès entitled, “Views of observers on the hot button issues contained in the Marrakesh Treaty Text”.
Moderator:
Krista Cox (Staff attorney, KEI)Speakers:
Maryanne Diamond (President, World Blind Union)
Carlo Scollo Lavizzari (Attorney, International Association of Scientific Technical and Medical Publishers)
Pranesh Prakash (Policy Director, Center for Internet and Society)
US Department of State Demarche against fair use in WIPO treaty for blind
In February 2013, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reached a very difficult compromise of the broader copyright issues that were blocking progress on a treaty on copyright exceptions for blind persons. As part of that compromise, the negotiators agreed to this text:
SCOTUS rules in 5-3 opinion that pay-for-delay settlement agreements are not immune from antitrust scrutiny
On Monday, 17 June 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States released its opinion in Federal Trade Comm’n v. Actavis (formerly captioned as FTC v. Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.). The decision, with a 5-3 split, found that pay-for-delay settlement agreements are unusual, raising concerns of anticompetitive behavior, and are not immune from antitrust scrutiny. Continue Reading
Supreme Court Unanimously Finds Isolated Human DNA is Not Patentable; cDNA patent eligible
On 13 June 2013, the long awaited opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States in the case on whether human DNA is patentable was issued and, the last line of the opinion summarizes, “We merely hold that genes and the information they encode are not patent eligible under §101 simply because they have been isolated from the surrounding genetic material.”
Continue ReadingHuman Rights Council: Intervention of Brazil on resolution on access to medicines in the context of the right to health
On Thursday, 13 June 2013, at the Twenty-third session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Brazil delivered the following intervention introducing draft resolution L.10/Rev.1 on Access to medicines in the context of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of physical and mental health on behalf of India, Brazil, South Africa (IBSA), Egypt, Indonesia, Senegal and Thailand and 27 original cosponsors including Gabon, on behalf of the 54 countries of the African Group.
Mr. President,