On Monday afternoon, 27 July 2015, Brazil on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC) delivered the following opening statement which,inter alia, called for a
Attached is a letter from eleven of the 28 House Democrats that supported the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) Fast Track legislation, on the topic of intellectual property rights and medicine. The letter, which is moderate and cautious in substance, but overall helpful given where negotiations stand, closes by telling Ambassador Froman that “As members who support trade done right, we strongly believe that TPP must not inhibit access to lifesaving medicines.”
The World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Twenty-Second session of the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) is taking place from 27 July 2015 to 31 July 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland. The prior session of the Committee (November 2014) ended in deadlock. Ultimately, patents and health proved to be the deciding factor.
On Wednesday, July 22, 2015, the Senate Veterans Committee held a mark-up to consider several bills. During the mark-up, Senator Sanders offered an amendment, attached below, that would create a compulsory license mechanism in the Department of Veterans Affairs, for patents on medical inventions. (See amendment text below). The motivation for the amendment was a crisis in the VA involving access to drugs for the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
On the topic of the TPP and copyright, KEI has sent a letter to Maria Pallante, the Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs for USPTO, and Nancy Weiss, Senior Advisor to the Chief Technology Officer, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Executive Office of the President.
KEI asked these agencies to address certain issues in the TPP intellectual property chapter that relate to access to copyright issues, with a focus on orphan works, and uses by governments.
KEI’s release of TPP Intellectual Property Chapter – May 11, 2015 Draft Link to full text of the IP Chapter: /tpp/11may2015-ip-text 2015:2 KEI TPP Briefing Note: The Evolution of the Article on Patents/Patentable Subject Matter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Intellectual… Continue Reading
On Thursday, 23 July 2015, at 11AM Eastern Time (Washington, DC), KEI will host a seminar on drug pricing featuring Dr. Ruth Lopert, the Deputy Director of Pharmaceutical Policy and Strategy at the Center for Pharmaceutical Management, at Management Sciences for Health (MSH).
Selected KEI blogs and letters on provisions in ACTA, TPP and other trade agreements on copyright damages and access to orphan works. 2009 June 15, 2009, James Love, Damages, Injunctions and Transparency Key Issues in ACTA Negotiations. Available at /blogs/2009/06/15/thoughts-acta-negotiations… Continue Reading