SCO loses appeal in dispute with Novell over copyright claims to code used in Linux operating system

As reported by Groklaw, SCO has lost an appeal, at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a dispute with Novell “over copyright ownership of early versions of the UNIX operating system and the scope of Novell’s rights in licenses issued to its former customers prior to its partial sale of UNIX to SCO.” According to Groklaw, this is likely to be the end of the litigation with Novell over SCO’s claims to ownership of code used in Linux. (The IBM case is still outstanding, it seems).

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Wikileaks cables shows Obama Administration role in lobbying EU to approve Oracle acquisition of MySQL and other Sun assets

Two cables recently disclosed by Wikileaks illustrate the degree to which the Obama Administration was monitoring the EU review of the Oracle acquisition of Sun, and leaning on the European Union to permit Oracle to acquire MySQL and other “open source” assets controlled by Sun.

Both cables were signed by Ambassador Christopher W. Murray, who served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Mission to the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium, from 2007 to 2010.

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USG cable on WTO TRIPS Council meeting of October 25-26 2005, discussion on LDC extension of TRIPS

http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/11/05GENEVA2798.html

Cable subject: Wto Trips Council October 25-26 2005
Cable written Wed, 16 Nov 2005 09:17 UTC

TRANSITION PERIOD FOR LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES-REQUEST FOR EXTENSION

  1. Zambian Ambassador introduced LDC proposal to extend transitional period for TRIPS Compliance by An additional 15 years. He stressed points concerning that resource and economic difficulties LDCs face and the costs of implementing TRIPS obligations. Tanzania, Uganda, Cambodia, Senegal, Lesotho all supported Zambia’s statement.
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From Wikileaks, a US government cable on its involvement to shape Guatemala legislation on pharmaceutical IPR

August 28, 2011
From KEI staff review of Wikileaks cables (/wikileaks)

Among the many new cables released by Wikileaks is this gem, a detailed account of the U.S. government pressure on the Guatemala legislature to shape legislation on pharmaceutical test data IPR.

http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/03/05GUATEMALA659.html

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 GUATEMALA 000659

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2010
TAGS: ETRD KIPR PGOV PREL GT
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John LaMattian, former head of Pfizer R&D, says industry mergers have harmed R&D efforts

John L. LaMattina, the former President of Pfizer Global Research and Development, has just published an article in Nature that looks at the impact of drug company mergers and increased industry concentration on R&D. Among his conclusions: the “impact on the R&D of the organizations involved has been devastating.”

http://www.nature.com/nrd/journal/v10/n8/full/nrd3514.html

COMMENT

NATURE REVIEWS | DRUG DISCOVERY VOLUME 10 | AUGUST 2011 | 559

The impact of mergers on pharmaceutical R&D

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ADAP waiting lists continue to grow; 9,217 individuals on waiting lists, 64% are African American or Hispanic

The number of patients sitting on AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP) wait lists, denied the life-saving treatment they need, have risen dramatically over the past two years. ADAPs are critical in providing HIV/AIDS treatment to low-income, uninsured, or underinsured patients within the United States and its territories. As noted in an earlier KEI blog, in January 2010, 361 individuals were on ADAP waitlists; that number grew to 7,873 across eleven states as of May 5, 2011 (a 2100% increase over less than sixteen months).

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