One of the more aggressive PhRMA submissions to the USTR Special 301 list is the section on the Philippines. Excerpts, which are given below, illustrate the breath of PhRMA’s demands on the USTR. Continue Reading
The following is the KEI letter to the US Department of Justice on the proposed merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation.
February 25, 2009
US Department of Justice
Antitrust Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
E-mail: antitrust.atr@usdoj.gov
Re: Opposition to Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger
To whom it may concern:
Yesterday, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary had a hearing before the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights on “The Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger: What Does it Mean for Consumers and the Future of the Concert Business?
LINK http://judiciary.senate.gov/about/subcommittees/antitrust.cfm
The witnesses were:
Do we need an international treaty for reading disabled persons?
Yes, and today the World Blind Union is seeking international support for a proposed Treaty for Reading Disabled Persons at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The next meeting where this matter could be taken up is at the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights taking place in Geneva, May 25-29, 2009.
For more information, KEI general page on the Bayh Dole Act, or one of the mini Bayh-Dole timelines, such as the ones on transparency, march-in rights or royalty free uses. TIMELINE 1980 1980. October 21. Public Law 96-480. Stevenson-Wydler Technology… Continue Reading
On 3 February 2009 WIPO released the revised Report on the International Patent System (SCP/12/3 Rev.2) with three annexes. Continue Reading
There are plans for the next ACTA negotiation to take place in Rabat, Morocco. However, since none of the Obama trade people have been placed at USTR, this might be delayed.
The USTR is still maintaining secrecy over details of the negotiation, including the names of participants and all of the proposed texts for negotiations. Despite this, KEI has obtained some documents related to the negotiations. We can report the following:
Romulus
Although the founding of Rome is a mystery, the myths of its origin hold that Romulus and Remus, the sons of Mars and Rhea Silvia, abandoned by their parents on the banks of the river Tiber, were suckled by a she-wolf, Lupa. Upon reaching adulthood, Romulus and Remus vied for control of Rome. According to Wikipedia,
Roundtable on De-linking R&D Incentives from Prices: Designing Innovation Inducement Prizes for Diagnostics, New Drugs and Vaccines for Type II and III diseases and conditions, with a particular focus on TB and Chagas Disease
The meeting is going to be small with around 40 high level policy makers and technical participants, including industry, donors, civil society and government officials.
The 13th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) will take place from March 23, 2009 to March 27, 2009 in Geneva at WIPO headquarters. The WIPO Report on the International Patent System is the first substantive agenda item of the 13th session. Continue Reading