AUD $2 million Australia-WIPO MOU targets TIGAR, neglected diseases, developing IP systems and technology transfer

On 15 June 2012, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Australian Permanent Mission to the World Trade Organization signed an agreement and released a joint communiqué “detailing how an AUD$2 million Australian contribution would assist least-developed and developing countries improve their intellectual property systems”.

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Agenda of TRIPS Council meeting (5-6 June 2012): Information exchange on counterfeits, WIPO negotiations on copyright L&Es

The following WTO airgram WTO/AIR/3943/REV.1 (23 May 2012) contains the agenda for the upcoming WTO Council for TRIPS meeting to be held in Geneva from Tuesday, 5 June 2012 to Wednesday, 6 June 2012. The airgram notes that the United States has made a written request for an agenda item on the “exchange of information on securing supply chains against counterfeit goods” (agenda item K). Brazil and the United States made a joint request for an additional agenda item (L) on “copyright limitations and exceptions: ongoing negotiations at WIPO-Briefing by Brazil and the United States”. Continue Reading

Uncategorized

What’s a counterfeit? And how many counterfeit drugs are there?

Donald McNeil has an article in the New York Times that appeared in print on May 22, 2012 (page D6 of the New York edition) with the headline: “Malaria: Fake and Substandard Drugs Grow as Threat to Fight Disease.” A web version is available here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/health/policy/fake-and-substandard-drugs-grow-as-threat-to-fight-malaria.html

Continue Reading

Uncategorized
1

Open letter to those who collectively produced the May 23, 2012 statement to the WIPO SCP on the topics of patents and health

Open letter to those who collectively produced the May 23, 2012 statement to the WIPO SCP on the topics of patents and health (Copy of US statement available here: https://www.keionline.org/node/1416).

May 25, 2012

To each and everyone who worked on the SCP submission:

This letter outlines our concerns to the May 23, 2012 statement to the 18th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP), on the agenda for patents and health.

In its opening, the USPTO said the following:

Continue Reading

1

US statement to SCP 18 on the United States proposal on Patents and Health

The following is the statement read today by USPTO during a meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patent, on the agenda item for patents and health. I’ll provide more commentary later, but in general, this was seen an aggressive attack on a proposal for work by the Development Agenda Group (DAG), and on the notion that countries should grant compulsory licenses on patents to address concerns over access or affordability of drugs.

[Update: KEI wrote to USPTO about the submission: /node/1420]

The USPTO statement follows:

1

KEI Statement on India’s granting of compulsory license to patents on cancer drug sorafenib (NATCO Vs. BAYER)

The India Controller General Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks has just (March 12, 2012) issued an order granting a compulsory license to patents on the cancer drug sorafenib/Nexavar, in the matter of NATCO Vs. BAYER. A copy of the decision is attached below.

Continue Reading