In December 2016, Brazil submitted a proposal to the World Trade Organization entitled, ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND COPYRIGHT (JOB/GC/113, JOB/IP/19), intended for circulation at the WTO’s General Council and the TRIPS Council. This paper will be discussed at the next session of the TRIPS Council under agenda item 13, “Work Programme on Electronic Commerce” (1-2 March 2017).
In December 2016, during the twilight of President Barack Obama’s 44th presidency, the World Trade Organization (WTO) conducted a Trade Policy Review (TPR) of the United States of America. 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).
On Friday, February 24, 2017, KEI hosted a meeting exploring compulsory licensing in the United States.
Title: History, Experiences, and Prospects of Compulsory Licensing on Medical Patents in the United States
Date: Friday February 24, 2017
Location: Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health
700 Second St. NE (near Union Station)
Washington, DC 20002
The Cámara de Diputados of the Chilean Congress voted on January 25, 2017 in favor of Resolution 798, calling on the government to implement compulsory licenses on drugs for cancer and other diseases. The vote was 67 yes, 0 no, and 32 abstentions. The resolution was put forward by Giorgio Jackson and six other members (V. Mirosevic, Miguel Alvarado, Karla Rubilar, Juan Luis Castro, Gabriel Boric, and Victor Torres). Continue Reading
KNOWLEDGE ECOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12 JANUARY 2017
CONTACT: Zack Struver, zack.struver@keionline.org, +1 (202) 332-2670
Groups Object to Army Proposal to Give Sanofi a Monopoly on Patents for Taxpayer-Funded Zika Vaccine
On Wednesday, 14 December 2016, the delegation of South Africa delivered a comprehensive, moving account of South Africa’s “journey in the quest to provide access to essential medicines” at WIPO’s Standing Committee on the Law of Patents.
South Africa Access to Medicines: South Africa’s Experience Related to the Topic of Access to Medicines at the Standing Committee on the Laws of PatentsBackground
Madam Vice Chair,
PCB39: Address of Justice Michael Kirby – HIV/AIDS & Solidarity – 30 Years On
On 7 December 2016, Justice Michael Kirby delivered the following keynote speech at the 39th Meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board during discussions on intellectual property and access to medicines. Justice Kirby served as a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines.
UNAIDS
PROGRAMME COORDINATING BOARD
39TH MEETING, WHO, GENEVA
AGENDA ITEM 6, 7 DECEMBER 2016HIV/AIDS & SOLIDARITY – 30 YEARS ON*
Michael Kirby**
USPTO meeting on “Developing the Digital Marketplace for Copyrighted Works” Dec. 9, 2016
On Friday December 9, 2016, the Department of Commerce held a meeting at USPTO on “Developing the Digital Marketplace for Copyrighted Works” in order to “facilitate constructive, cross-industry dialogue among stakeholders about ways to promote a more robust and collaborative online marketplace for copyrighted works.” Among the topics for discussion were “the potential for interoperability across digital registries and standards work in this field, and conside Continue Reading
PCB39: Eight hour drafting session charts future course for UNAIDS work program on Intellectual Property and the UN HLP
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) held the 39th Meeting of its Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) from 6-8 December 2016 in Geneva Switzerland. In his opening speech on Tuesday, 6 December 2016, Michel Sidibé (Executive Director, UNAIDS) paid tribute to the life of Australian national Katie Kirk – who passed away on 20 October 2016 while on mission in Indonesia.
In his speech, Sidibé noted:
SCCR 33, KEI’s intervention on legal protection for technological protection measures
This was our intervention at SCCR 33 on the topics of exceptions to the legal protection for technological protection measures.
TPMs are an legitimate and important measure to protect certain works, data and technologies from unauthorized uses.
The issues raised by libraries and archives concern the legal protection that one gives the technological protection.