KEI statement on GSK’s announcement of policies to expand access to patented medicines
GSK has made a major announcement of new policies to expand access to its patented medicines. A copy of the press statement is here. Continue Reading
Intellectual Property Rights
EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan issues statement on European Union compulsory licensing in context of COVID-19, makes important statement about TRIPS Article 31bis
On 14 May 2020, Bernd Lange, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) wrote a letter to Phil Hogan (Commissioner for Trade, European Commission) on the “commercial aspects of intellectual property rights for medical products in the… Continue Reading
FOIA: Film industry lobbies South Africa’s Parliament to suspend Copyright Amendment Bill
Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) has obtained 311 pages of correspondence between officials from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) and employees of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), the Recording Industry… Continue Reading
WHA73: Written statement of KEI – Agenda item 3 – Address by WHO Director-General devoted to the COVID-19 pandemic response in advance of the opening of the Health Assembly
KEI is an accredited non-state actor at the World Health Organization (WHO). This is our statement at the 73rd World Health Assembly. https://extranet.who.int/nonstateactorsstatements/meetingoutline/6 Knowledge Ecology International Meeting: Seventy-third World Health Assembly Written statements on COVID-19 pandemic The biggest question today… Continue Reading
WHO member states poised to adopt weaker than needed COVID-19 resolution after tortuous negotiations
UPDATE: The World Health Organization has published the COVID-19 response resolution as a conference paper (A73/CONF./1) marked with the date of 18 May 2020. The sponsors of the draft resolution included: Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia (Plurinational State… Continue Reading
Patents related to PX-UV, an R2-D2 look-alike robot that may disinfect public spaces from SARS-CoV-2
Texas-based company Xenex Disinfection Services, a manufacturer of robots that reportedly removes the SARS-CoV-2 virus from public spaces, has been making news lately. One of their robots, which uses ultraviolet lights to kill viruses and bacteria in surfaces and look… Continue Reading
14 May 2020 – The WHO Covid-19 Technology Pool: The solution to ensure global access to Covid-19 health technologies
Livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNMpuQfH088 On 14 May 2020, Health Action International, Knowledge Ecology International, Medicines Law & Policy, Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation, and Wemos will convene a briefing entitled: “The WHO Covid-19 Technology Pool: The solution to ensure global access to Covid-19… Continue Reading
WIPO General Assembly (May 2020): KEI statement on the appointment of Daren Tang as Director General of WIPO
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is convening an extraordinary session of the WIPO General Assembly from May 7, 2020 to May 8, 2020; the purpose of this extraordinary session of the General Assembly is to appoint Mr. Daren Tang… Continue Reading
Unitaid calls on world leaders and the global community to support the Covid-19 Technology Pool
On Monday, 4 May 2020, The European Union convened a virtual pledging marathon, the Coronoavirus Global Response Initiative, in concert with Canada, France, Germany, Italy (incoming G20 presidency), Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (current holder of the G20 presidency),… Continue Reading
Copyright and related rights issues in the USTR Special 301 Report 2020
Since 1974, the “Special 301 Report” (the Report) provides an annual review of the state of intellectual property protection and enforcement among U.S. trading partners around the world. Amended in 1988 by Congress, the Trade Act is “to provide for… Continue Reading
KEI comments on the resolution WHA73: “Covid-19 Response” proposed by the European Union
On Friday, 24 April 2020, Knowledge Ecology International submitted comments on the resolution WHA73: “Covid-19 Response” proposed by the European Union (EU). The original zero draft text and the note verbale proposed by the European Union can be found here.… Continue Reading