German Court Issues Compulsory License on HIV Drug Patent
A German patent court has ordered a compulsory license under Section 24 of the Patent Act, allowing Merck (US) to continue to market the HIV drug raltegravir (marketed as Isentress).

A German patent court has ordered a compulsory license under Section 24 of the Patent Act, allowing Merck (US) to continue to market the HIV drug raltegravir (marketed as Isentress).

SCP24
27 June 2016
KEI statement on exceptions and limitations to patent rights
In relation to limitations and exceptions, we recall Brazil’s prescient submission, document SCP/14/7 (tabled in January 2010) which called attention to the lack of policy coherence in a world where in certain international fora, countries endorse the use of compulsory licensing to promote access to medicines for all, and in separate fora, criticize developing countries for actually considering or issuing such compulsory licenses.
1 December 2015
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP 23)
KEI Statement on Patents and Health
Thank you Madame Chair
The negotiators have finally released, for the first time, TPP text, which is on the web here.
Despite assurances from the contrary by Australia and USTR, intellectual property is a covered asset subject to Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS):
Article 9.1: Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
. . .
Continue Reading
On 9 October 2015, Wikileaks released the final text of the IP chapter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Jamie Love provided comments via twitter.
https://twitter.com/jamie_love
Updated: 9 October 2015
(In the order posted)
This is a video by Zack Struver about Senator Bernie Sander’s proposal to expand Veterans access to patented medical inventions. The video discusses both the proposal by Senator Sanders to give the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs the authority to use compulsory licenses on patents on medical inventions, including drugs, and the history of “government use” provisions in current U.S. statutes, including 28 U.S.C. 1498, which Sanders proposes modifying.
This is a video by Zack Struver about Senator Bernie Sander’s proposal to expand Veterans access to patented medical inventions. The video discusses both the proposal by Senator Sanders to give the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs the authority to… Continue Reading
28 July 2015
WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP)
Written Statement of Knowledge Ecology International on Patents and Health
As the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is currently reported to be in the final stages of negotiation, it is both appropriate and urgent that this Committee is addressing the topic of patents and health.
On Wednesday, July 22, 2015, the Senate Veterans Committee held a mark-up to consider several bills. During the mark-up, Senator Sanders offered an amendment, attached below, that would create a compulsory license mechanism in the Department of Veterans Affairs, for patents on medical inventions. (See amendment text below). The motivation for the amendment was a crisis in the VA involving access to drugs for the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
KEI’s release of TPP Intellectual Property Chapter – May 11, 2015 Draft Link to full text of the IP Chapter: /tpp/11may2015-ip-text 2015:2 KEI TPP Briefing Note: The Evolution of the Article on Patents/Patentable Subject Matter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Intellectual… Continue Reading