Advocating for a world where intellectual
property law serves the public interest.

The TRIPS Intellectual Property Waiver Proposal: Creating the Right Incentives in Patent Law and Politics to end the COVID-19 Pandemic

[Siva Thambisetty, Aisling McMahon, Luke McDonagh, Hyo Yoon Kang, and Graham Dutfield] ...This paper elucidates the legal issues surrounding the ‘TRIPS waiver’ proposal ... We analyse the different intellectual property rights relevant to the proposal – focusing primarily on patent rights and trade secrets – which are most relevant to the present COVID-19 vaccine context. We explain why the existing
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The Proposed Pandemic Treaty and the Challenge of the South for a Robust Diplomacy

[Obijiofor Aginam] The motivation for a pandemic treaty is infallible because of the ‘globalization of public health’ in a rapidly evolving interdependence of nations, societies, and peoples. Notwithstanding the lofty purposes of the proposed pandemic treaty as a tool for effective cooperation by member-states of the WHO to address emerging and re-emerging disease pandemics in an inter-dependent world, the proposal
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Letter from 141 Scholars to USTR, re: United States Facilitation of the TRIPS Waiver

Dear Ambassador Tai: As members of the academy, we welcome your new leadership as an opportunity to both restore the standing of the United States as a global leader as well as to build global confidence in the United States as a reliable ally. The leadership of the United States as well as the confidence over the policies supported by
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Reversion of Copyright In Europe

[Martin Kretschmer, Ula Furgal, and Elena Cooper] Abstract: Reversion rights became a topical issue in Europe following the adoption of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (2019) which introduced a new right of revocation to the EU copyright framework. The right gives effect to a “use-it-or-lose-it” principle, entitling authors and performers to reclaim their works when they
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A New WHO International Treaty on Pandemic Preparedness and Response: Can It Address the Needs of the Global South?

[Germán Velásquez and Nirmalya Syam] A recent joint communiqué by 25 Heads of Government and the WHO Director-General have called for the negotiation of a pandemic treaty to enable countries around the world to strengthen national, regional and global capacities and resilience to future pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of the mechanisms at the disposal of WHO
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Joint Academic Opinion on South Africa’s COpyright Amendment Bill (B-13B of 2017)

[Malebakeng Forere, Klaus D. Beiter, Sean M. Fiil-Flynn, Jonathan Klaaren, Caroline Ncube, Enyinna Nwauche, Andrew Rens, Sanya Samtani and Tobias Schonwetter] We offer the enclosed Joint Opinion on the President’s referral of the Copyright Amendment Bill back to Parliament. We address the President's reservations about the Bill’s constitutionality, as well his expressed concerns about the Bill’s domestic application of international
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