US signs Marrakesh treaty for the blind

USPTO has confirmed that on October 2, 2013, the United States has signed the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. The U.S. signing, which was not accompanied by a press release, took place on the last day of the WIPO General Assembly, and one day after the United States government began to shut down non-essential operations as a consequence of disputes over the Affordable Care Act.

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Congress asked to hold hearings on NIH failure to address abuses of government financed medical inventions

We sent this letter to the Hill today.

October 8, 2013

Dear Senators Reid and McConnell, Representatives Boehner and Pelosi,

We are writing to ask that Congress hold a hearing on the failure of the NIH to exercise its authority to protect the public from abuses in federally funded inventions.

Since the passage of the Bayh­Dole Act in 1980, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has never granted a petition to “march in” to permit third parties to use patents invented on federally funded research in response to abuses of the patent rights.

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WTO teams up with South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry, WHO and WIPO to convene workshop on IP and public health

On 7-8 August 2013, the Department of Trade and Industry (the DTI), Republic of South Africa and the World Trade Organization (WTO), in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will hold a National Workshop on Intellectual Property and Public Health in Pretoria. Leading experts from these intergovernmental organizations, Roger Kampf (WTO), Dr. Continue Reading

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IGC25: Draft Recommendation to WIPO General Assembly (24 July 2013)

On 24 July 2013 the Ian Goss (Australia), the facilitator of the 25th session of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC/GRTKF),
prepared the following draft recommendation for consideration by the WIPO General Assembly in September 2013. Currently, WIPO member states are examining the text and will provide their comments on the draft recommendations when the plenary resumes this afternoon.

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