Author: Thiru

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.

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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:

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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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On 30 July 2015 at 8:30 PM Geneva time, the Chair (Bucura Ionescu, Romania) of WIPO’s 22nd Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) distributed the following non-paper as a pathway for future work addressing 1) Exceptions and Limitations to Patent Rights, 2) Quality of Patents, Including Opposition Systems, 3) Patents and Health, 4) Confidentiality of Communications between clients and their patent advisors and 5) Transfer of technology. The SCP is WIPO”s main normative committee dealing with patents.

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28 July 2015
WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP)
Written Statement of Knowledge Ecology International on Patents and Health

As the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is currently reported to be in the final stages of negotiation, it is both appropriate and urgent that this Committee is addressing the topic of patents and health.

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On 29 July 2015, Australia provided the following response to the proposal by the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC) to revise the 1979 WIPO Model Law for Developing Countries on Inventions.

Australian Delegation Proposal

The Secretariat prepare a study on:

1) experiences of how developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) have implemented the patent model law; or

2) to determine the unmet need for a patent model law.

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Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) delivered the following intervention on 29 July 2015 during WIPO discussions on the proposal by the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC) to revise the 1979 WIPO Model Law for Developing Countries on Inventions.

KEI statement on GRULAC proposal (SCP/22/5)
WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP)
29 July 2015

Proposal: Engage Member States in the Revision of the 1979 WIPO Model Law for Developing Countries on Inventions

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