Background In 2001, the World Trade Organization (WTO) began negotiations on the rules regarding patents and access to medicine. While several issues were clarified and resolved in the November 2001 “Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health”, the negotiations took… Continue Reading
In February 2020, the World Trade Organization (WTO) de-restricted the minutes of the TRIPS Council’s October 2019 session. While the official minutes (IP/C/M/93/Add.1) were circulated to WTO members on 9 December 2019, the October 2019 minutes were only available to… Continue Reading
Through a Freedom of Information Act request, KEI has obtained records relating to US Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Lighthizer’s attendance at the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. While many of the records were related to scheduling and re-scheduling… Continue Reading
PhRMA’s Special 301 submissions are part of a yearly ritual to shape the “Special 301” Report, an annual review of the global state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement, conducted by the Office of the United States Trade… Continue Reading
The panel in a WTO dispute regarding Australia and plain packaging of tobacco products reached the conclusion that 2001 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health has the status of an agreement that has modified the interpretation of… Continue Reading
On Tuesday, 27 February 2018, the representative of the Republic of South Africa delivered the following statement at the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS Council; South Africa delivered this statement under the agenda item on IP and the Public Interest: Regulatory… Continue Reading
KEI page on the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Policy Reviews 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… Continue Reading
The October 2017 meeting of the WTO TRIPS Council witnessed heated discussions on compulsory licensing within the context of IP and the Public Interest. As reported earlier by Knowledge Ecology International, on 31 May 2017, Brazil, China, Fiji, India, and… Continue Reading
India 2010 2010: India’s intervention to the WTO TRIPS Council: TRIPS plus enforcement trends, 2010-06-10 2011 2011: Karl De Gucht writes Andris Piebalgs on topic of European Union IPR demands on India and other developing countries, 2011-05-28 2011: WTO TRIPS… Continue Reading
On December 13, 2017, a joint statement on e-commerce was endorsed by Ministers representing 70 WTO members at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina (see below). KEI’s statement on the WTO e-commerce agenda is as follows: “There… Continue Reading