Today KEI attended the annual listening session at DHHS, when speakers are alotted no more than 1.5 minutes to speak on a specific agenda item, with no more than two agenda items per speaker. Our brief comments were focused on advancing the delinkage approach in the contexts of the GSPOA, CEWG, and cancer.
On May 3, 2017, 29 civil society organizations and 33 health professionals, activists, and economists — including Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz — asked delegates to the World Health Assembly (WHA) to support a feasibility study on the progressive delinkage of the costs of research and development from the price of cancer medicines. The groups and experts sent a letter to the delegates.
This was the KEI submission to the OECD consultation on “Sustainable access to innovative therapies,” which involved four questions posed by OECD on access to medicines.
Question 1: Reflecting on the last 5-10 years, what do you think have been the major changes affecting access to medicines?
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May 4, 2017 SCCR 34 Discussion on Limitations and Exceptions for people with other disabilities
If the final text of the Marrakesh Treaty had included Article 15(b) of the 1st version of the treaty negotiating text (SCCR/18/5) that would have clearly covered “other disabilities”, we would not have had the morning discussion.
Here is what had been drafted with the approval of an inclusive group of disabilities experts:
ARTICLE 15. DISABILITIES COVERED(a) For the purposes of this Treaty, a ‘visually impaired’ person is:
a person who is blind; or
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SCCR 34 May 3. Chair’s proposal regarding the committee’s work on L&E and member states comments
In brief:
May 3, 2017 AM Session. SCCR 34 Limitations and Exceptions for libraries and archives
NGOs statements
IFLA presented its proposal for future work:
May 3, 2017 AM Session
SCCR 34 Limitations and Exceptions for libraries and archives
Some statements from member states regarding L&E for libraries and archives:
[…]
5:55pm Plenary May 2, 2017 We were told there will be no time for NGOs to make statements.
The Chair started the Plenary at 5:55 pm or 5 minutes before the meeting was to clse for the day.
In brief:
- No recommendation to the GA for a Diplomatic Conference in 2018 (not ready for prime time).
- The Chair’s text is being replaced by a “committee Text”.
- The EU is not happy.
- The broadcasting treaty has stalled. Again.
Here is the transcript of what we can share:
Just like since yesterday afternoon, the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights has convened in informal. Some members of delegations and NGOs are staying in the main room and are listening to the discussions but cannot participate nor report on anything that is being said.
It is frustrating of course but it looks as if it will be the “new process of negotiation” for the time being. As one person said to me “secret negotiations regarding broadcasting, cablecasting and webcasting at WIPO? what could go wrong?”
CAROLE CROELLA, WIPO Secretariat:
