WIPO Broadcasting Treaty – Paving the way for a right for on-demand streaming services?

In April 2019, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) published a new version (SCCR/38/10) of the WIPO Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations. Currently, the proposed treaty anticipates the scope of application to include new beneficiaries such as on-demand… Continue Reading

Verinata v. Ariosa – compulsory license granted to Roche over prenatal screening technologies under eBay v. MercExchange

On July 19, 2018, the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, denied a permanent injunction requested by Illumina, Inc, and instead ruled that a forward looking royalty for continued non-voluntary use of the invention, a type of compulsory license,… Continue Reading

UNDP, Unitaid, and WHO caught in Big Pharma’s crosshairs

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

Italy’s Draft WHO resolution: Improving the transparency of markets for drugs, vaccines and other health-related technologies

On 1 February 2019, Dr. Giulia Grillo, Italy’s Minister of Health, sent a letter to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), with an attached “first draft” of a resolution on “Improving the transparency… Continue Reading

TRIPS Council: Statement of the European Union on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest: Promoting Public Health Through Competition Law and Policy

On 1 February 2019, the World Trade Organization (WTO) published a submission (IP/C/W/651)by South Africa to the TRIPS Council on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest: Promoting Public Health Through Competition Law and Policy. The South African paper endeavored to… Continue Reading

WTO TRIPS Council: Submission of the European Union, the United States and 9 other WTO members on Public-Private Collaborations in Innovation

On 8 February 2019, the World Trade Organization (WTO) published a submission (IP/C/W/652) by Australia; Canada; Chile; The European Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; and the United States to the TRIPS Council… Continue Reading