KEI is circulating a sign on letter to be sent to Ambassador Michael Froman of USTR. We learned that in a USTR has been stating that there was no evidence that stronger intellectual property rules created barriers for access to medicine.
This is a shocking statement for USTR to make, and we are seeking confirmation and clarification of USTR’s assertion. The text of our letter follows below.
If you would like to sign on to this letter, please send your name, city and state of residence, and affiliation if any, along with contact details (only for confirmation if necessary), to:
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Every year USTR issues a list of countries targeted to be subjected to trade pressures over their policies on intellectual property rights. This year’s list was published on April 30, 2015. KEI has a copy of every version of the Special 301 list here: https://www.keionline.org/ustr/special301
USTR describes the list as follows:
The Special 301 Process
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At the February 24, 2015 USTR hearing on Special 301, KEI asked to provide supplemental comments on R&D for the record, and KEI was separately asked by USTR to provide comments on online pharmacies, and by DHHS to comment on the relationship between emergencies and compulsory licensing. (The KEI page on Special 301 is here: /ustr/special301).
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At the February 24, 2015 USTR hearing on Special 301, KEI asked to provide supplemental comments on R&D for the record, and KEI was separately asked by USTR to provide comments on online pharmacies, and by DHHS to comment on the relationship between emergencies and compulsory licensing. (The KEI page on Special 301 is here: /ustr/special301).
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On Wednesday February 24, 2015, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 Committee held its annual public meeting following written comments sent earlier by trade associations, corporations and a few public interest groups that follow trade and intellectual property.
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On February 24, 2015, the USTR convened the Special 301 Review, taking testimony almost exclusively from witnesses representing large corporate rights holders. Over the course of the three-and-a-half hour hearing, groups such as Phrma, NAM, IPO, and the misleadingly-named Alliance for Fair Trade with India (an alliance comprised of groups such as Phrma, NAM, MPAA and many other similar groups) as well as foreign-owned multinational Bridgestone, pushed for the watch-listing of countries that fail to implement TRIPS+ measures. Continue Reading →
On 16 December 2014 and 18 December 2014, the World Trade Organization (WTO) undertook a trade policy review of the United States of America. All members of the WTO are subject to review under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). Continue Reading →
The USTR’s Special 301 Report has been issued every year beginning in 1989. The Executive Summary of the 2009 report says:
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On Friday, 24 October 2014, India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) announced the creation of an IPR Think Tank to Draft National Intellectual Property Rights Policy.
The composition of the think tank follows:
Justice Prabha Sridevan, Chairperson, IPR Think Tank;
Ms. Pratibha Singh, Advocate, Singh & Singh Associates, Member;
Ms. Punita Bhargava, Advocate, Inventure IP, Member;
Dr. Unnat Pandit, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited, Member;
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