Open Access Week 2014 Kick Off Event at the World Bank: Generation Open
[Andrea Higginbotham] On Monday, October 20th, from 3:00 to 4:00pm EDT, SPARC and the World Bank will co-host the official kickoff event for International Open Access Week 2014 with a reception to follow. The event will be held at the headquarters of the World Bank in Washington, DC with a live webcast for online participation around the world. The program will focus on this year’s theme of “Generation Open.” Speakers will discuss the importance of students and early career researchers in the transition to Open Access and explore how changes in scholarly publishing affect scholars and researchers at different stages of their careers. Click here for more.
2014 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of India: Notice Of Request For Public Comments
[US Federal Register Notice] “In the 2014 Special 301 Report, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that, in order to assess progress on engagement with the Government of India on intellectual property rights (IPR) issues, an Out-of-Cycle Review (OCR) would be conducted for India. USTR requests written submissions from the public concerning information, views, acts, policies, or practices relevant to evaluating the Government of India’s engagement on IPR issues of concern, in particular those identified in the 2014 Special 301 Report… Deadlines: Friday, October 31, 2014—Deadline for the public, except foreign governments, to submit written comments. Click here for the Federal Register Notice.
El Salvador Becomes Second Country to Ratify the WIPO Treaty for the Visually Impaired
[Mike Palmedo] El Salvador has become the second country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. Minister of Economy Tharsis Solomon López submitted the notification on October 1. So far, the only other country to ratify the treaty has been India, which ratified it on June 30. Click here for more.
A Unilateral Declaration of Digital Human Rights Dangerously Mistakes Personal Data and Creative Work
French civil society organisations April, Creative Commons France, Framasoft, La Quadrature du Net, Libertic, Open Knowledge Foundation France, République Citoyenne and SavoirsCom1 denounce Forum d’Avignon‘s Preliminary Declaration of the Digital Human Rights which dangerously confuses personal data with creative work. Click here for more.
Responding to Frequently Asked Questions: TPP – TTIP Pharmaceutical Reimbursement “Transparency”
[Sean Flynn] Brand name pharmaceutical companies are advocating for inclusion of disciplines on public pharmaceutical reimbursement programs in the ongoing negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade agreements. This post answers some frequently asked questions by U.S. public health advocates about these proposals. Why is pharmaceutical reimbursement policy being negotiated in trade agreements? Click here for more.
Inconvenient Truths About Foreign Online Pharmacies
[Gabriel Levitt] I wrote an op-ed for The Hill ‘Congress Blog’ about the continuation of a PhRMA-funded effort to prevent access by consumers to lower cost international online pharmacies. They seem to have a new eye for extending criminal penalties for the sale of safe, genuine generic AND even brand medication through parallel trade. Over-zealous enforcement could have significant public health consequences. Much of this is within the American context but it’s worth taking note that consumers in many countries are affected. Click here for the full piece on the thehill.com
