Knowledge Ecology International

Briefing on the Report of the WHO Expert Working Group on R&D Financing

19 April, 2010
Geneva, Switzerland
Rue de Lausanne 78, Salle LEH
Médecins Sans Frontières

The WHA Executive Board (EB) has been asked to submit to the 2010 World Health Assembly (WHA) a report by the the WHO Expert Working Group on R&D Financing. This report was presented to the WHO EB in January 2010. A meeting of the EB to consider the report will be held on May 13, 2010.

The briefing on Monday April 19 will review the following topics.

Program

9:30am – 10:00am

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On April 28, TACD will be holding a meeting from 9 am to 3 pm at the U.S. Department of Commerce, in Washington, DC, to discuss the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

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KEI has issued a new research note, Comments on ACTA Provisions on Injunctions and Damages, KEI Research Note 2010:1, dated April 6, 2010.

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In a parallel trade case involving Costco, a popular discount outlet, and Omega, the Swiss watchmaker, the US Department of Justice has come down against U.S. consumers, backing the Swiss companies use of copyright laws to block imports of watches sold at lower prices outside of the US, by Omega. A copy of the DOJ brief is available here. Costco filed a response, which is available here.

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In today’s court ruling in Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. USPTO, et al., Judge Robert Sweet rejected claims by Myriad that invaliding the patents would be an unconstitutional taking, or violate the WTO TRIPS Agreement. In discussing the TRIPS, Judge Sweet mentioned Article 8.1 and 27.3 of the TRIPS.

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Ben King of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has kindly provided some details of the April 13, 2010 meeting between ACTA negotiators and private sector stakeholders. The event is “by invitation only” but we are told it will include civil society groups. Inquiries about April 13 event can be forwarded to trademarks@med.govt.nz

——– Forwarded Message ——–
From: KING, Ben (WSH)
To: Jamie Love
Subject: From New Zealand Embassy
Date: 03/28/2010

[UNCLASSIFIED]

Hi Jamie

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Michael Geist has leaked the lasted draft of the intellectual property chapter of the Canada – EU Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement. These are some brief comments on the new document.

It applies to both parties.
When a very large trading partner negotiates with a smaller one, it is sometimes overlooked that the norms are designed to bind both parties. So the Canada/EU IPR agreement should be of interest to Canada and the 27 members of the European Union.

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In looking at how enforcement norms are being changed in ACTA, it is helpful to review the enforcement chapter of NAFTA.

Article 1714: Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights: General Provisions

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The January 2010 Guadalajara, Mexico, meeting on ACTA included an agenda item on transparency. I asked USTR if they could provide TACD with a briefing on transparency and other issues in the negotiation. The one hour briefing was held today. I can report nothing of what the USTR said at the meeting, other than they insisted it be off the record. TACD has asked for an on the record meeting, but that apparently will have to wait until after the New Zealand meetings are held the week of April 12. Continue Reading →

Senators Barrasso, Bingam and Enzi have proposed a prize fund for “competitive technology financial awards for carbon dioxide capture from media in which the concentration of carbon dioxide is dilute.” This bill is is now being proposed as an amendment to an energy bill that might see some action this year. A few things to highlight.

• First, the prize requires that:

“an applicant shall agree to vest the intellectual property of the applicant derived from the technology in 1 or more entities that are incorporated in the United States.”

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