Gilead is reported to be in talks to issue voluntary licenses to Indian generic manufacturers for the production of sofosbuvir, an important new drug to fight hepatitis C. If the intended territorial scope of licenses is only 60 countries, it…
PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America) is putting $350,000 on the table to stop proposed patent law reform in South Africa and instead to lobby for even more monopoly protections for medicines. Why would a pharmaceutical association from the…
On December 11, the Medicines Patent Pool announced a new licensing agreement for a 2013 WHO recommended second-line antiretroviral, atazanavir (ATV). At this point, it is important for IP activists, generic companies, and countries to understand both the express territorial coverage…
Inside U.S. Trade (Nov. 27, 2013) has reported that the U.S. floated a non-paper proposal for differential treatment and a transition period for developing country partners (Vietnam, Peru, Mexico, and Malaysia) with respect to some of its intellectual property demands…
Inside US Trade[1] and the USTR[2] have announced that the U.S. is floating new proposals on IP in its marathon Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations. Although the U.S. touts its new proposals as being balanced, as prioritizing access to medicines, and…
Investor-state dispute resolution is a growing concern for governments like Canada that should want to preserve policy space for regulating business activity. From licenses for fracking, mining, and timber cutting, to health and safety regulations, to labor policy, and to…
The U.S. pharmaceutical industry and its Big Brother Chamber of Commerce have launched an all-out disinformation campaign against the India Patent Act and decisions rendered thereunder. They have enlisted allies in the U.S. government, including Members of Congress, the United…
The Brazilian Center for Strategic Studies and Debates has just released the English version of its major report – Brazil’s Patent Reform: Innovation Towards National Competitiveness. This 363-page report comprehensively addresses the need for patent law reform in Brazil. The…
After losing two patent cases before the appellate courts of a Western democracy, should a disgruntled foreign multinational pharmaceutical company be free take that country to private arbitration claiming that its expectations of monopoly profits had been thwarted by the…
The U.S., acting on behalf of the U.S. biologics industries, will soon be trying to convince parties to the TPP that they should adopt extended data exclusivity for biologics (at least 12 years) as part of the intellectual property chapter.…
[UPDATE: Spanish version of the statement added July 21.] Activists and progressive health forces in Brazil have succeeded in catalyzing a proposal to reform Brazilian patent law to take advantage of key TRIPS flexibilities in order to increase access to…
As many of you may have heard, Brazil has been engaged in a long process of studying patent law reform and in August 2013 (originally scheduled for July 10, 2013) will be issuing a major report and proposed legislative reforms. …