Open A.I.R. Briefing Note: Optimising Benefits from Publicly Funded Research
[Open A.I.R.] This Briefing Note highlights Open A.I.R. research findings on apparent disconnects between African national policymaking on intellectual property (IP) from publicly funded research and the actual current realities of university research. In both Ethiopia and South Africa, it was found that recent policymaking has focused on university patenting as a key incentive for improved research output. But such a focus has the potential to undermine public researchers’ full participation in online international “open science” collaborations. Click here for more.
Government Action Needed to Slash Prices for Hepatitis C Treatments
[Public Citizen] The federal government should act to dramatically lower the cost of new and prohibitively pricey medications to treat hepatitis C (HCV), Public Citizen President Robert Weissman told U.S. Senate lawmakers today. Weissman testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, explaining how the extraordinary cost of new treatments, including Gilead’s antiviral Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), is leading to rationing. “The present approach whereby we are at the mercy of Gilead’s monopoly control over sofosbuvir – a government-granted monopoly, at that – is morally unacceptable, because it requires the needless rationing of an important medical therapy,” he said. Click here for more.
The Marrakesh Treaty: an EIFL Guide for Libraries
[Electronic Information for Libraries] In June 2013, member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) adopted the “Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled”. Libraries are key to the success of the treaty for two main reasons. Throughout the world, libraries have a long history serving people with print disabilities, and only blind people’s organizations, libraries and other so-called “authorized entities” can send accessible format copies to other countries. Click here for more.
People Living With HIV Rally in Streets of Delhi as India Hosts RCEP Trade Negotiations
[Médecins Sans Frontières] As the 6th round of negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement take place in India, people living with HIV are rallying in the streets of New Delhi to warn that harmful intellectual property (IP) provisions – put forth by Japan – could severely restrict access to affordable medicines for people in developing countries. Started in May 2013, the RCEP is being negotiated between the 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries and Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The third meeting of the RCEP Working Group on IP (WGIP) is on this week’s agenda, and negotiators are meeting to discuss intellectual property provisions. Click here for more.
Obama Comments to Business Roundtable on China, Intellectual Property, and the Trans Pacific Partnership
[Mike Palmedo] President Obama gave a talk on the stat of the economy last week at the Business Roundtable, group of American CEOs that promotes pro-business public policies. The full transcript of his talk, including questions and answers is here. As part of a longer answer to a general question on the global economy, Obama mentioned bilateral talks with China. He said that his administration is “pushing hard” on China to strengthen intellectual property, and asked the member companies of the Business Roundtable to “help us by speaking out when you’re getting strong-armed.” Click here for more.
The Digital Intellectual Property Challenge Revisited: FileSharing and Copyright Development in Hungary
[Stefan Larsson, Måns Svensson, Peter Mezei, and Marcin De Kaminski] Abstract: The challenge that illegal file-sharing poses to legal criminalisation is addressed in this study. Nonetheless, the pretexts and reasons for the specific character of file-sharing behaviour and norms in a community likely, to various degrees, correlate with the specifics in the legal regulation relating to a particular jurisdiction. Therefore, we argue for the importance of empirically studying both the legal development and the file-sharing practices existing in parallel to the legal development within the domain’s specific jurisdiction. Click here for more.
