Knowledge Ecology International

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.”

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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.

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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.

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Attached are two documents from Mylan regarding their concerns about the TPP. The first is an April 13, 2015 10 page letter from Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, to USTR head Michael Froman. (Copy here). The second is a table of inconsistencies between the TPP and US law (Copy here).

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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).

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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 →

In a comprehensive, 2000 word speech to the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee (INTA) on Modernising Trade Policy – Effectiveness and Responsibility, European Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, cast a wide net in her speech covering in her words, 1) the “benefits of trade for all: our economy in general, consumers, entrepreneurs, SMEs and the poorest countries”, 2) “trade policy’s commitment to our values in the world, supporting our foreign policy, promoting the respect of human rights, soci Continue Reading →

On 20 March 2015, the European Union published a position paper on intellectual property outlining its priorities for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). At the time of publication of this position paper, the EU noted that “the U.S. has not yet formally identified the areas of interest that it could consider as priorities.”

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