Intellectual Property and Access to Science
[Carlos Correa] Abstract: The boundaries between scientific and technological knowledge are nebulous in some technical fields, such as the biological sciences and their applications. This has led to the appropriation under patents of knowledge (such as on specific genes) of scientific nature, which may not only have negative effects for the further development of science and new technological contributions, but also encroach on the fundamental right of access to science. Click here for more.
Letter from 56 Non-profit Organizations and Academic Experts to Secretary Kerry Regarding State Department Pressure Against Access to Medicines Efforts
Dear Secretary Kerry: We are writing to express our concern about recent statements made by representatives of the State Department on issues regarding intellectual property (IP) and access to medicines in various settings, including proceedings in Colombia, several important United Nations fora, and in India. Click here for more.
There Is Now Freedom of Panorama in Belgium
[Dimitar Dimitrov] Thanks to synchronised interplay between our EU-level policy initiative and the steady work of our Belgian community, a new copyright exception allowing for thousands of new images on Wikimedia projects is now in place. But how exactly did this public policy ping pong work out? Click here for more.
The Freedom of Expression Contours of Copyright in the Digital Era: A European Perspective
[Elena Izyumenko] Abstract: This paper analyses the influence of the right to freedom of expression and information on European copyright law in the digital context. Drawing on the practice of the two major European courts – the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) – it begins by exploring how this fundamental right shapes both the scope of copyright protection in Europe and what is traditionally termed as “exceptions and limitations” to exclusive rights. Specifically, a long-standing practice of the ECtHR, in accordance with which copyright in turn may be viewed as an exception to freedom of expression and must hence be narrowly interpreted, is scrutinized. Click here for more.
South African Intellectual Property Consultative Framework
[South Africa Department of Trade and Industry] The National Development Plan (NDP) calls for greater emphasis on innovation, improved productivity, more intensive pursuit of a knowledge economy and better exploitation of comparative and competitive advantages. Intellectual property (IP) is an important policy instrument in promoting innovation, technology transfer, research and development (R&D), industrial development and more broadly – economic growth. Click here for more.
Obama Gets “Big Thank You” from Big Pharma at 2016 International AIDS Conference
[STOP AIDS] At the 2016 International AIDS Conference held in Durban, South Africa, treatment access advocates presented a huge greeting card addressed to President Obama from Big Pharma to US Ambassador Patrick Gaspard, thanking the US government for “doing big pharma’s bidding all over the world”… They lavished praise on the Ambassador for the US pursuit of the interests of the pharmaceutical industry at the expense of access to affordable medicines, including pressuring India to curtail its legal generic medicine industry, and attacks on an initiative of the UN Secretary General to address access to medicine challenges. Click here for more.
