The World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) General Assembly is currently engaged five separate informal consultations on the following topics: 1) Lisbon Union, 2) the future of the Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, 3) the work program of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), 4) the Design Law Treaty and 5) WIPO External Offices.
The WTO TRIPS Council meets from Thursday, 15 October 2015 to Friday, 16 October 2015. The hot topics for consideration include agenda item 13 (Request from the LDC Group for an indefinite exemption from WTO IP obligations to provide patents for pharmaceutical products, agenda item 8 (non-violation and situation complaints), agenda item 7 (Review of the Paragraph 6 system) and agenda item 14 (a discussion item co-sponsored by Australia, the European Union and the United States on “Intellectual Property and Innovation: Entrepreneurialism and New Technologies).
US, AU and CA try to block WTO LDC drug patent waiver because PhRMA’s not happy enough with the TPP
Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) meet this week in Geneva (15 October 2015 – 16 October 2015) to decide if the poorest countries on earth are exempt from WTO rules for pharmaceutical patents. The WTO’s TRIPS Council is expected to make a decision in respect of the request of the LDC Group’s request for indefinite exemption from TRIPS obligations on pharmaceutical patents. Continue Reading
WIPO General Assembly 2015: Statement of United States on Broadcasting Treaty and Copyright Limitations and Exceptions
On Wednesday, 7 October 2015, the United States of America delivered the following statement on agenda item 12 (Report on the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights). The US expressed support for a broadcasting treaty under a signal-based approach, focused on “unauthorized simultaneous or near-simultaneous retransmission of broadcast signals to the public over any type of platform, including the Internet.”
On copyright limitations and exceptions, the US expressed support for
WIPO General Assembly 2015: Opening statement of Brazil on behalf of the Group of Latin and the Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
On Monday, 5 October 2015, Brazil delivered the following opening statement on behalf of the Group of Latin and the Caribbean Group (GRULAC) at the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) General Assembly.
Statement Delivered by the Delegation of Brazil on behalf of GRULAC“Mr President,
1. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Latin American and the Caribbean Group (GRULAC).
Joint NGO letter to USTR and USPTO: What is the US Position on LDC Pharmaceutical Extension of TRIPS Transition Period?
On Friday, 11 September 2015 five public interest groups (Health GAP, Knowledge Ecology International, Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam America and Public Citizen) sent a letter to Ambassador Michael Froman (United States Trade Representative) and Michelle Lee, (Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office) requesting that the Obama administration disclose its position on the LDC request for an extension of their pharmaceutical production transition period under the WTO TRIPS Agreement.
European Commission supports indefinite exemption for LDCs from WTO IP rules for pharmaceuticals
In a closely watched announcement, the European Commission issued a press release on Thursday, 10 September 2015 supporting the indefinite exemption for least developing country Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from TRIPS obligations on pharmaceutical products. These TRIPS obligations include pharmaceutical patents, pharmaceutical test data protection, exclusive marketing rights and the mailbox provisions.
The LDC Group, in their February 2015 submission to the WTO TRIPS Council, requested the following:
17 WTO Members (Brazil, China, India, Russia) submit draft Ministerial Decision on Non-Violation and Situation Complaints
On 24 July 2015, 17 Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) tabled a draft Ministerial decision (published by the WTO secretariat on 29 July 2015) on “Non-violation and situation complaints” for “consideration at the 10th Ministerial Conference of the WTO” (Source: IP/C/W/607). The 10th Ministerial Conference of the WTO will take place in Nairobi from 15 December 2015 to 18 December 2015. Continue Reading
WTO Trade Policy Review of India- EU, Japan, Switzerland and the US question India over Section 3(d) and Compulsory Licensing
June 2015 – WTO Trade Policy Review of India: Section 3(d) and Compulsory Licensing under the Spotlight
Consensus achieved at WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) on Future Work Program
After two days of intense negotiations over the future work program of WIPO’s Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP), the committee achieved consensus at around 3:40 PM Geneva time on Friday, 31 July 2015.
The future work of WIPO’s main normative committee dealing with patents now has a pathway on the following work streams:
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