Today the World Health Assembly (WHA) reached consensus on a “decision”, WHA67(15), regarding the Consultative Expert Working Group (CEWG) on Research and Development. Continue Reading
KEI and other NGOs attending SCCR 27 have been able to make interventions on various articles in the proposed library treaty. On the issue of library access to orphaned works, KEI’s intervention covered the following points, and made a proposal for text.
1. There is ample evidence that national approaches to providing access to orphan works is quite diverse.
2. The diversity of approaches have been used by some to express pessimism that this issue can be addressed in a treaty.
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According to USTR’s 2014 report, six countries have been listed on the Special 301 list “every year since the report’s inception.” The six countries that have appeared on the Special 301 list every year were Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Turkey.
KEI comment to SCCR 27 on the proposed Broadcasters Treaty
KEI is a non-profit organization representing consumer and public interests and seeking better outcomes for knowledge governance.
KEI opposes continued discussions in the SCCR on the treaty for broadcasting, for the following reasons.
1. The broadcasting organizations have failed to explain (a) the problem the treaty is supposed to address, (b) how the proposed text is related to the alleged problem.
The attached letter, dated April 10, 2014 and signed by a bipartisan group of 32 members of the House of Representatives, asks USTR to elevate Canada to the Special 301 “priority watch list,” for “violation of their international obligations” for not granting enough patents on “innovative medicines.” According to the members of Congress signing the letter, Canada is in violation of its WTO TRIPS obligations. Continue Reading
On April 1, 2014, ViiV, a consortium of Pfizer and GSK, and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), announced two new licensing agreements that expand generic competition for dolutegravir (DTG), and integrase inhibitor used for the treatment of adult and pediatric HIV infection. (MPP press release here.) Dolutegravir is a new drug, approved for marketing by the US FDA on August 12, 2013. Continue Reading
ZEIT ONLINE has published the EU’s July 2, 2013 proposals for TRADE IN SERVICES, INVESTMENT AND E-COMMERCE in the TTIP negotiation. A copy of the proposal is available here. Tags: ISDS, TTIP
TRADE IN SERVICES, INVESTMENT AND E-COMMERCE
Chapter I General provisions
Chapter II Investment
Chapter III Cross border supply of services
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Here is the REVISED agenda for the Special 301 hearing on February 24. Public Citizen has been added to the list of witnesses, and USTR now lists the names of the speakers for the various trade associations. Unlike recent years, the level of participation by major trade organizations is significant.
SPECIAL 301 PUBLIC HEARING
February 24, 2014 – 10:00 a.m.
Office of the United States Trade Representative
1724 F Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20508
The Special 301 Hearing is open to the public. Members of the press are welcome to attend.
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The Alliance for Fair Trade with India (AFTI) was created in June 2013, to lobby for “increased action to address the erosion of intellectual property rights (“IPR”) in India.” According to the group, it is “comprised of organizations representing a range of U.S. industries adversely impacted by India’s troubling and frequently discriminatory policies, including manufacturing, agriculture, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and beyond.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s (Global Intellectual Property Center) submission (7 February 2014, USTR-2013-0040) to USTR’s 2014 Special 301 Review requests USTR classify India as a Priority Foreign Country specifically citing concerns over compulsory licensing. The submission noted that India… Continue Reading