The latest version of the USTR NAFTA renegotiation hearings schedule is out. USTR has a page for the NAFTA hearings, here, which now has the a link to the witness schedule.
There are 26 panels of witnesses over 2.5 days. Doing the math, each witness seems to have less than 10 minutes, including questions from the panel.
Knowledge Ecology International: Compulsory licensing of patents in the United States
DATE: Wednesday, 5 July 2017
TIME: 1 PM to 3 PM
VENUE: Room NB0.107, World Intellectual Property Organization
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) cordially invites you to attend our side event during deliberations at the Twenty-Sixth Session of Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Today, six Senators, including Sen. Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Markey (D-MA), Sen. Brown (D-OH), Sen. Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sen. Angus King (I-ME), sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer requesting a public hearing on the proposed exclusive license of a federally-funded Zika vaccine to the French multinational, Sanofi, and saying that “it is imperative that any forthcoming vaccine is accessible and affordable for all, especially given the significant taxpayer investment to date.”
Attached here is the draft Trump Executive Order, titled “REDUCING THE COST OF MEDICAL PRODUCTS AND ENHANCING AMERICAN BIOMEDICAL INNOVATION,” as leaked by Politico today.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) convened its 35th session from 6 June 2017 to 23 June 2017. During HRC35 (which took place in Room XX of the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva), a group of 21 countries tabled a resolution entitled, “The right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. Continue Reading
I wrote an 1800 word comment on the proposed Trump Executive Order on drug prices in medium, here. The bulk of the comment focused on the first of the “principles” and “talking points” reported by Emily Kopp in Kaiser Health News.
USTR has a request for comments on negotiating objectives for the moderation of NAFTA, docket USTR-2017-0006, and will hold a public hearing on June 27, 2017. KEI filed a set of comments and a request to testify, available here.
KEI’s comments cover an eclectic set of issues.
As reported by Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), on 6 June 2017, the World Trade Organization (WTO), published a paper tabled by Brazil, China, Fiji, India, and South Africa, entitled “Intellectual Property and the Public Interest.” In their communication (IP/C/W/630), the proponents called for a series of discussions at the WTO TRIPS Council on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest. Continue Reading
Yesterday, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer expressing strong concerns regarding the proposed exclusive license of a federally-funded Zika vaccine to Sanofi, stating that, “If the Army chooses to move forward with its plan to provide Sanofi Pasteur an exclusive license to sell this vaccine, it must first obtain assurances that the vaccine will be affordable to all who need it.” Senator Nelson is a senior member of the Committee on the Armed Services.
As reported by Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), on 6 June 2017, the World Trade Organization (WTO), published a paper tabled by Brazil, China, Fiji, India, and South Africa entitled, “Intellectual Property and the Public Interest.” In their communication (IP/C/W/630), the proponents called for a series of discussions at the WTO TRIPS Council on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest. Continue Reading