Gilead Announces Voluntary Licenses to Seven Indian Manufacturers for Production of Generic Hepatitis C Medicine Sofosbuvir

  • Gilead Statement. Gilead Announces Generic Licensing Agreements to Increase Access to Hepatitis C Treatments in Developing Countries.  September 15. (Link)
  • Cipla Statement. Cipla enters into a licensing agreement with Gilead to increase access to Hepatitis C treatment. September 15.  (Link)
  • Knowledge Ecology International statement. KEI welcomes the Gilead HCV licenses, as a step to expand access to treatments. Notes challenges that remain. September 15.
  • Brook Baker, Health GAP. Gilead’s Proposed Hepatitis C Medicines License: How Badly Will it Miss the Target? September 12. (Link)
  • Shailly Gupta and K M Gopakumar, Third World Network. Gilead Sciences seeks to pre-empt affordable generic Hepatitis C medicine. September 12.  (Link)

Assessment of Proposed Regulations to Address Internet Piracy in Australia

[Henry Ergas and Professor Allan Fels] The changes proposed in the government’s recent discussion paper on “Online Copyright Infringement” have the potential to impose costs that greatly exceed their benefits. By extending authorisation liability, the proposals will place on ISPs and on a broad range of other entities, including cloud service providers, schools and libraries, risks they are poorly placed to manage. This inefficient allocation of risk will increase costs for end-users and chill innovation. Click here for more.

The Draft National Intellectual Property Policy Proposals for Improving South Africa’s Patent Registration System: A Review

[Caroline Ncube] Abstract:  This article discusses South Africa’s draft Intellectual Property Policy proposed reforms. It considers how these may be practically implemented. In particular, it focuses on the phased sector specific introduction of substantive patent examination, possible co-operation with other national or regional patent offices to enhance examination capacity, the retention of non-examination for utility or second-tier patents and the involvement of third parties in the examination process. It also considers the re-introduction of opposition proceedings to further strengthen the patent system. Click here for more.

September 18-19: The WIPO Development Agenda+10 and Beyond

[ICTSD] The global innovation and intellectual property landscape is witnessing rapid and far reaching changes. This dialogue is the first in a series of multi-stakeholder dialogues aimed reflecting on these changes and their possible implications for international cooperation. Convened by ICTSD, the dialogue will examine the implementation of the 2007 WIPO Development Agenda recommendations, a decade after the original Development Agenda proposal launched. Click here for more.

PIJIP and AEJS Hold International Intellectual Property Law Training for Argentinian Judges

[PIJIP] This week PIJIP is hosting  Judges’ Approach to Scientific Thought: Biotechnology, Bioethics, Medicines and the Right to Health, a training for Argentinian judges on the interpretation of international intellectual property law. It is Sponsored by the Buenos Aires-based Academy of Exchanges and Judicial Studies. The three day training will feature lectures by Sean Flynn, Joshua Sarnoff, Jonas Anderson, Salvador Darío Bergel, Alberto Bueres, Jorge Kielmanovich, Carlos María Correa, and Mauricio Seigelchifer. Click here for the full agenda.

Civil Society Groups Release African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms

[Mike Palmedo] Last week, 23 civil society groups released the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms at the Internet Governance Forum. The Declaration was drafted by a committee led by Edetean Ojo , Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda, which announced the Declaration as “a Pan-African initiative to promote human rights standards and principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation on the continent. The Declaration is intended to elaborate on the principles which are necessary to uphold human and people’s rights on the internet, and to cultivate an internet environment that can best meet Africa’s social and economic development needs and goals.” Click here for more.

UNCTAD on Intellectual Property and Development: Trade Agreements “Restrict National Policy Space”

[UN Conference on Trade and Development] Multilateral agreements maintain some flexibilities and incorporate some special and differential treatment (SDT) for least developed countries (LDCs); however, they typically limit or forbid the kinds of policies that played an important role in successful processes of structural transformation in the past. This process of limiting national policy space began with the Uruguay Round Agreements [URAs], which included several rules that were not directly related to trade flows. Subsequent bilateral and regional trade agreements have… included disciplines concerning IPRs and investment-related measures that are more stringent than those already incorporated in multilateral agreements. Click here for more.