WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents: Obama Administration’s proposal on patents and health
On Wednesday, 7 December 2011, the United States of America tabled a proposal on patents and health which was distributed at 6 PM by the WIPO Secretariat after much of the substantive dicussions
Standing Committee on the Law of PatentsSeventeenth Session
Geneva, December 5 to 9, 2011PATENTS AND HEALTH: PROPOSAL BY THE DELEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Document prepared by the Secretariat
WIPO patent committee: Statement of Group B (industrialized countries) at WIPO on discussions of patents and health
The United States, on behalf of Group B (which includes Western European countries, Norway, the United States, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Israel and the Holy See) presented the following statement opposing the adoption of the African Group/Development Agenda Group on patents and health (in its current forum). In its individual intervention, the Holy See supported the African Group/Development Agenda Group proposal.
Senator Sanders calls for better trade policy on access to medicines and public release of TPPA text
On December 1, 2011, Senator Sanders (I-VT) sent a letter to United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Kirk, objecting to USTR’s position with regard to access to medicines in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and the apparent retreat from the May 10th Agreement. Senator Sanders also objects to the secrecy of the negotiations and calls for the public release of the TPPA negotiating texts. Continue Reading
WIPO SCCR discusses modalities for text based discussions on libraries and archives
General statement of the United States of America at SCCR 23
The United States delivered its general statement to the 23rd session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) on Monday, 21 November 2011. The following text is captured from WIPO’s live stream of this meeting.
Pharma company registered lobbying expenditures for USA
According to OpenSecrets.Org, the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector has reported $115,571,832 in lobbying for 2011, a number that will grow considerably when all quarterly reports are filed. The top lobbying outlays were reported by PhRMA, the trade association, followed by Pfizer, Amgen, Merck, Lilly, Novartis, Bayer and GSK. The top generic company was Teva, which ranked 12th overall. As reported by OpenSecrets, some firms are listed more than once, for lobbying outlays by different subsidiaries. Continue Reading
Accessible formats for people with visual disabilities: a human right requiring a binding legal instrument
Next week, the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR 23) will meet beginning on 21 November and continue through 2 December 2011. One issue that will be discussed is a possible treaty for copyright limitations and exceptions for persons who are visually impaired or have other disabilities. A treaty is necessary to provide minimum standards for limitations and exceptions to permit the creation of accessible format works and also to facilitate cross-border sharing of these works. Continue Reading
How the US government subsidized Ron Perelman’s smallpox drug: ST-246 (Tecovirimat)
On November 13, 2011, the Los Angeles Times published a story by David Willman on a no-bid contract with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to supply the government with a drug for smallpox. The LA Times story begins with this:
Over the last year, the Obama administration has aggressively pushed a $433-million plan to buy an experimental smallpox drug, despite uncertainty over whether it is needed or will work.
Special 301 on steroids? Section 205 of HR 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is not just about the Internet
On October 26, 2011, a bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced HR 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act, known as SOPA. While much of the bill deals with “online” piracy,” some sections of the bill appear to have nothing to do with the Internet. The bill also creates a new bureaucracy to deal with very broadly defined trade related intellectual property rights issues, including those identified in the annual USTR Special 301 report.
Glossary of pharmacy and drug price terms
How complicated is it to identify the “price” of a drug? This is from an HRSA web page.
http://www.hrsa.gov/opa/glossary.htm
Glossary of Pharmacy-Related Terms
“This glossary is based, in part, on Drug Pricing Glossary and Other Key Terms, prepared by Powers, Pyles, Sutter & Verville PC, and is used with their permission. Parts of this glossary also include definitions obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.”