COVID and Copyright – Impact on Education and Libraries in South Africa
[Denise Nicolson] …The COVID-19 has not only harmed the economy, education, health, and livelihoods of millions of South Africans. It has certainly highlighted the long-known inadequacies and restrictions in the current copyright law that negatively affect access to information, knowledge-sharing, and the provision of relevant teaching and research materials. Click here for more.
Lessons from COVID-19: Pharmaceutical Production as a Strategic Goal
[Carlos Correa] As often said, major crises bring about challenges but also opportunities. The strategic importance of a local pharmaceutical industry has been growingly recognized as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Developing countries should take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen their pharmaceutical industry, including biological medicines. Industrial policies would need to be reformulated under an integrated approach so as to expand value added & create jobs while addressing public health needs. South-South cooperation may also play an important role in increasing the contribution of developing countries to the global production of pharmaceuticals. Click here for more.
Carolina Botero Appointed to the UNESCO Open Science Advisory Committee
UNESCO has launched a two-year consultation process to build a global consensus on open science. The consultation process includes the establishment of an Open Science Advisory Committee appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO that will be in charged of drafting the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science so that we can have a “regionally balanced, inclusive and transparent consultation. Click here for more.
Regulating Technology Through Copyright Law: A Comparative Perspective
[Pamela Samuelson] Abstract: The EU’s recently adopted DSM Directive marks a break after 30-some years of general convergence in the way EU and US copyright laws have regulated digital technologies. Given the differences in underlying rationales for IP rights and in the legal cultures of the EU and US, the two might pursue divergent paths going forward, particularly in respect of ISP liability and press publisher rules. Click here for more.
European Parliament Backs WHO Effort to Create a COVID-19 Technology Access Pool
[Ed Silverman] In an overwhelming vote, the European Parliament late last week agreed to support a World Health Organization initiative to create a Technology Access Pool, which would collect patent rights, regulatory test data, and other information that could be shared for developing drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to combat COVID-19. Click here for more.
Court Cases and FOIA Reveal Notable Details on DNA Vaccine Production Efficiency
[Edward Hammond] The lawsuit between the COVID-19 vaccine company Inovio and biologics maker VGXI over intellectual property to manufacture DNA vaccines is heating up and has taken on geopolitical tones. The lawsuit has revealed interesting information on making DNA vaccines and on relationships between vaccine companies and the contract manufacturers on which many vaccine companies depend for production capacity. Click here for more on the Third World Network site.
Video: The Global Health Impact – Extending Access to Essential Medicines
[Mike Palmedo] Last week, Professor Nicole Hassoun presented the Global Health Impact – Extending Access to Essential Medicines, a novel approach to evaluate the impact of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical companies. The approach addresses questions and relies on methodology that is interdisciplinary in nature, covering fields of study including economics, political science, public policy, sociology, geography, and philosophy; emphasizes empirical evidence as critical to assessing the capabilities and capacities of agents and institutions and valuing how facts inform political theory, and; considers the obligations of pharmaceutical companies and the case for a new kind of ethical investment and consumption to promote global health from the perspective of bioethicists and business ethicists. Click here to view the video.
