Authors: Joerg Baten, Nicola Bianchi, and Petra Moser Abstract: This paper investigates whether compulsory licensing – which allows governments to license patents without the consent of patent-owners – discourages invention. Our analysis exploits new historical data on German patents to…
Dear Secretary McDonald: I am writing to urge you to use your authority as Secretary of Veterans Affairs to break the patents on Hepatitis C medications for the treatment of veterans suffering with the disease. Last December, as Chairman of…
[Yale Global Health Partnership press release] Just last week, worldwide leaders came together in Geneva, Switzerland at the World Health Organization to begin to develop a five-year strategy to combat Hepatitis C. The disease, which affects 185 million people worldwide…
[Updated Jan 5] The U.S. International Trade Commission has released its report on Indian trade, investment and industrial policies, including but not limited to intellectual property rights. The full report is here and the the press release is here. The…
[Lawyers Collective press release, Link] In a momentous decision that would have wide-ranging implication for access to medicines, the Supreme Court of India refused to entertain Bayer’s appeal to set aside the compulsory license (CL) on Sorafenib (Nexavar). The Supreme…
Issues New Compulsory Licenses; Signs Harmful Trade Agreement with the EU [Luz Marina Umbasia and Peter Maybarduk, Link to PDF] In July, Ecuador issued four compulsory licenses for medicines targeting cancer and arthritis treatment and immunological reception to kidney transplant.[1]…
[Lotti Rutter, Treatment Action Campaign, Link (CC-BY)] In 2011, the UN and member states set a goal of reaching 15 million people on AIDS treatment by 2015—a goal many questioned but that will be met next year. Since then, evidence…
Pharmaceutical companies’ abuse of monopolistic position results in million-dollar overspending in public purchases. [Javier Llamoza and Ana Romero] Atazanavir is an antiretroviral, second-line medicine that is used to treat people living with HIV. In Peru, this drug is patented by…
Pr. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, HepCoalition, Link 185 million people across the world are infected with HCV; 150 million are chronically infected. The HCV pandemic is concentrated in middle-income countries (MICs); while 15% of the 150 million people with chronic HCV live…
Authors: Charles R. McManis and Jorge Contreras Abstract: The chapter discusses the statutory and treaty basis for compulsory patent licensing, briefly reviews instances in which compulsory licenses have been issued, surveys the economic rationale behind compulsory licensing and compares the…
Press release from Sen. Leahy’s office WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Friday sent a letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) urging the agency to consider using its authority to ensure greater access to…
On June 18, 2013, 170 Members of Congress wrote to President Obama complaining about Indian trade policy and more particularly India’s intellectual property “climate.” Under the umbrella of claiming that policies of the Government of India favor domestic producers over…