Registration Open for the 3rd Global Congress on IP & the Public Interest, Cape Town, December 9-13
[Global Congress/Open Air, Link] In December 2013, delegates from national and international governmental entities, the private sector, civil society and academia will gather for five days of interconnected events in Cape Town, South Africa. Hosted by the University of Cape Town (UCT), participants will engage with diverse perspectives and future scenarios for intellectual property (IP), innovation and development during the combined 3rd Global Congress on IP and the Public Interest and Open A.I.R. Conference on Innovation and IP in Africa, running from 9 to 13 December 2013 in Cape Town. These concurrent events are being convened at the historic Breakwater Lodge conference centre in Cape Town’s Waterfront district. Click here for more.
Announcing the Launch of Creative Commons-U.S.
[Michael Carroll] American University Washington College of Law’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property is proud to announce that it is the new home of Creative Commons United States (CC US). CC US is the U.S. volunteer affiliate in the Creative Commons Affiliate Network. Join us on October 17, 2013 for the CC US launch party from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. Click here for more.
Economic and Political Weekly: “The Glivec Precedent”
[Dwijen Rangnekar] I write to share news about a set of articles that critically evaluate the recent Supreme Court of India’s decision on the patentability of Glivec – the Novartis anti-cancer drug. The ruling that finds Glivec foul of the standards under India’s patent laws – in particular section 3(d) that concerns with ever-greening – is a particularly important judgment on, among other things, the residual space to interpret TRIPS. The latest issue of Economic and Political Weekly has a set of short pieces that evaluate the judgment and the wider context to this case – and the long-standing struggle in the South for a humanitarian patent regime. Click here for more
South Africa’s Department of Trade & Industry Delay Patent Llaw Reform, While Local Drug Prices Remain Excessive
[TAC/MSF Joint Press Release] The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) today delivered a memorandum to the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) at the National Workshop on Intellectual Property and Public Health in Pretoria, outlining needed reforms to South Africa’s patent laws in order to expand access to more affordable drugs. The country’s current patent laws can delay the introduction of generic medicines in South Africa, limiting access for patients to more affordable treatment. Unless specific changes are incorporated into an anticipated draft intellectual property (IP) policy from the dti, South Africans will continue to pay unbearably high prices for medicines, even when lower-cost generic alternatives are available elsewhere. Click here for more.
Campaign for Affordable Trastuzumab Welcomes the Dismissal of Trastuzumab’s Divisional Patent Applications
[Press release] The Campaign for Affordable Trastuzumab welcomes the decision of the Patent Controller, Kolkata, to dismiss the divisional applications for patents on Trastuzumab (Herceptin), the life-saving breast cancer drug controlled by Swiss pharma major Roche. Faced with misleading statements by Roche and factually incorrect reporting by the international media, the Kolkata Patent Office took the unusual step of explaining its stand in a press release issued last evening. The note clarifies that the divisional applications (filed in 2005 and 2008) were dismissed because Genentech/Roche missed the stipulated deadline for filing of applications, and failed to appear and make their case when requested to do so by the Patent Controller. Click here for more.
Library Copyright Alliance User Guide to the Marrakesh Treaty
[Jonathan Band] On June 27, 2013, a Diplomatic Conference of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held in Marrakesh, Morocco adopted the “Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled.” The Treaty is intended to promote the making and distribution of copies of books and other published materials in formats accessible to people with print disabilities. The Treaty would achieve this objective by obligating signatory countries (referred to as Contracting Parties) to adopt exceptions in their copyright laws that permit the making of copies in accessible formats as well as the distribution of those copies both domestically and internationally. Click here for more.
