Fair Use Week 2015

[Krista Cox] Thanks to everyone who contributed to Fair Use Week 2015!  We had more than 60 organizations participate and there are many great resources that you can check out from the rest of the week here: http://fairuseweek.org/resources/  and here: http://fairuseweek.org/blog/.

LDC Members’ Entitlement to and Need for a Further Extension of Their Pharmaceutical Transition Period

[Brook Baker] LDCs Members have submitted a duly motivated request for an unconditional extension of the 2002-2016 pharmaceutical transition period (covering patents and data) and for relief from the requirements of TRIPS Article 70.8 and 70.9 (mailbox and marketing exclusivity provisions).  This expert analysis confirm LDCs’ need and entitlement to the requested extension. Click here for more.

See also:

  • M. Gopakumar for the South-North Development Monitor. WTO – LDC request for extension of transition period on pharmaceuticals. (Link)
  • Ellen t’Hoen for IP-Watch. Why The Request By Least Developed Countries For An Extension Of The Transitional Period For Granting And Enforcing Medicines Patents Needs To Be Supported. (Link)

Los Dudosos Fundamentos y Efectos del Proyecto de Ley Beltrones en México

[Paula Jaramillo] Se trata del proyecto de Ley Beltrones, en honor al diputado mexicano que ya había presentado a fines de 2013 un proyecto similar al que, en su momento, debió retirarle su firma de apoyo producto de la presión social. Ahora la misma idea vuelve a la carga –sin la rúbrica del mencionado parlamentario- y pretende modificar las leyes de propiedad industrial y federal de derecho de autor para introducir una serie de limitaciones sobre la descarga de contenidos sujetos a la protección de derechos de autor en sitios de internet. Click here for more on derechosdigitales.org.

The Medicines Patent Pool Signs Licensing Agreement with MSD for Paediatric Formulations of Raltegravir

[Medicines Patent Pool]  The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) announced a licence today with MSD, known as Merck in the United States and Canada, for paediatric formulations of raltegravir, a key medicine approved for children living with HIV four weeks of age and older. With the new licence, generic manufacturers and other companies based anywhere in the world can develop, manufacture and sell low cost, paediatric versions of raltegravir in countries with the highest burden of disease, where 98 percent of children with HIV in the developing world live. Click here for more.

Copyright In Brussels: Two Reports, More Than Meets the Eye

[La Quadrature du Net]  Just as the Julia Reda report (GREEN/EFA – DE MEP) on copyright reform was being discussed this week in the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), another report was examined today by the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT). The latter concerns the reinforcement of the “Intellectual Property” rights, and contains a number of disturbing points regarding repression and enforcement that bring back to mind highly contested provisions from the ACTA agreement, and encourages an extra-legislative approach to fighting “commercial scale counterfeiting”. Citizens should get ready to mobilise on a large scale, both to support the positive evolutions of the Reda report, and to denounce the dangerous proposals pushed by the European Commission and some Member States. Click here for more.

Open Textbooks: The Billion Dollar Solution

[Ethan Senack] According to the College Board, the average undergraduate student should budget between $1,200 and $1,300 for textbooks and supplies each year. That’s as much as 40% of tuition at a two-year community college and 13% at a four-year public institution. For many students and families already struggling to afford a college degree, that is simply too much – meaning more debt, working longer hours, or making choices that undermine academic success. Click here for more.

Yale Report: Millions of People with Hepatitis C Blocked from Obtaining Treatment in Low-and Middle-Income Countries

[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 – five times as many people as HIV, predominantly in low-and middle-income countries – has been called a silent epidemic. Now, a new report by Yale’s Global Health Partnership (GHJP), the Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the Initiative for Medicines, Access and Knowledge (I-MAK) warns that global efforts to extend treatment to millions is in peril unless key obstacles to access are confronted immediately…  strategies used with other diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, to extend treatments to millions who need it has largely depended on getting less expensive, generic versions of these drugs on the market, by pressuring companies to allow other manufacturers to produce their drugs. Click here for more.

Governance of Online Intermediaries: Observations From a Series of National Case Studies

[Urs Gasser and Wolfgang Schulz] A review of online intermediary governance frameworks and issues in Brazil, the European Union, India, South Korea, the United States, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam creates a picture full of nuance, whether looking at the genesis of intermediary frameworks, the reasons for intervention, or the specifics of the respective governance models, including strategies, institutions, modalities, and the effects of regulation, among other dimensions. The country case studies both highlight and illustrate the importance of cultural and political context, which is not only reflected in the respective legal norms aimed at regulating intermediaries, but also expressed through different views and perceptions regarding the social function of intermediaries.  Click here for more.