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Natural resources in the US-Andean Free Trade Agreement
20-Dec-2005 IRC Americas Program
The three Andean countries currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the United States, in their double capacity as signatories to the CBD and members of the group of biologically “mega-diverse” countries, are demanding that the agreement establish regulations that clearly specify the terms of access to genetic resources and the population’s traditional knowledge, and in which proper economic consideration, conservation, and development act as guiding principles.
NGO statement on need for WTO moratorium on regional and bilateral trade agreements undermining access to health
18-Dec-2005
NGOs call upon WTO Members and their trade negotiators to protect the public from the explosion of one-sided and harmful regional and bilateral trade agreements that impose TRIPS plus obligations on developing countries that undermine access to medicine.
Data Exclusivity - Its Interpretation and India
21-Sep-2005
The Intellectual Property Regime in India is in the final stages of ensuring compliance with the standards agreed in the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (‘TRIPS’).
Bilateral agreements imposing TRIPS-plus intellectual property rights on biodiversity in developing countries
24-Aug-2005 GRAIN
A detailed roster of FTAs and other bilateral agreements that impose "TRIPS-plus" standards with regard to biological diversity in developing countries.
Biodiversity and intellectual property rules in the Andean Free Trade Agreement
16-Aug-2005 CIEL
Letter from five US NGOs to the USTR advocating that patents on plants and animals be dropped from the FTA negotiations with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, in favour of the current WTO TRIPS Agreement.
The Thai-US FTA and its impacts on Thai Jasmine rice and biological resources
14-Aug-2005 NHRC
The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRC) has expressed its concern over ongoing negotiations on the Thai-US Free Trade Agreement, particularly on the issues of intellectual property rights.
Big Pharma’s free ride
13-Aug-2005 Salon.com
Pharmaceutical companies are using free-trade deals like CAFTA to eliminate global competition — and deny poor patients access to cheaper generic drugs.
Free or even fair?
11-Jul-2005 Bangkok Post
As the 4th round of Thailand-US free-trade negotiations start today in Montana, a key issue will be the shape of any future intellectual-property regime. The survival of Thai jasmine rice, and the people who grow it, may very well depend on whatever system is finally agreed upon.
The big steal
10-Jul-2005 Newsline
Most observers realise the existence of a parallel economy in Pakistan and the integral role that it plays in the overall financial system. The underground piracy economy is estimated at billions of rupees, providing employment to thousands of people. So no one is complaining. No one except the corporations and Uncle Sam.
Of rice and men
10-Jul-2005 Tech Central Station
For US and Thai trade negotiators meeting next week in Montana, intellectual property rights protections for plant breeders and pharmaceutical innovators are proving to be the most contentious issues in negotiating a Thailand-US Free Trade Agreement (TUSFTA).
Patenting rice: A matter of serious royal concern
30-Jun-2005 Bangkok Post
The prospect of including in many FTAs, especially the Thai-US one, issues like intellectual property and agriculture, could have implications on the survival or disappearance of the Thai rice culture
TRIPS, bilateralism, multilateralism & implications for developing countries: Jordan’s drug sector
30-Jun-2005
Looking at the experience of Jordan’s pharmaceutical sector, this paper shows that the expected benefits from bilateral agreements between developed and developing countries have been largely overestimated while the costs underestimated.
Current developments and trends in the field of intellectual property: implications for Arab countries
28-Jun-2005 ICTSD
Developments relating to protection of IP in Arab countries have, in general, received less attention from stakeholders, particularly civil society, than in other developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. In this connection, the aim of this paper is to stress the need for Arab countries to adopt a more development-oriented perspective on IP protection.
From TRIPS-minus to TRIPS to TRIPS-plus: Implications of IPRs for the Arab world
1-May-2005
This article sheds light on the evolution of free trade agreements (FTAs) and the IPR protection incorporated within such agreements. The emphasis will be on the latest free trade and investment agreements concluded between the United States and the European Union (EU) with the Arab world and their “TRIPS-Plus” nature.
Global bully goes to Guatemala
21-Mar-2005 IP-Health
The global bully, the United States, has just coerced Guatemala, its latest victim, into repealing an important law to lower the price of pharmaceuticals and promote generic competition. The U.S. ambassador to Guatemala acknowledged that the Guatemalan law was intended to advance public health objectives. But, no matter, he said — U.S. commercial interests in the form of Big Pharma demanded that the law go.
Corporate conquest, global geopolitics: Intellectual property rights and bilateral investment treaties
17-Mar-2005 Seedling
Examines how bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements which contain specific investment provisions reflect geopolitical concerns and redefine rights and privileges for transnational corporations, including with respect to commercial control over biodiversity through intellectual property rights.
Aussie BitTorrent case to test Aust-US FTA
17-Mar-2005 Zdnet Australia
Warner Music Australia and other record companies are suing ISP Swiftel Communications for copyright infringement for allegedly hosting and maintaining two Internet computer servers and a Web site called Archie’s Hub which deploys the BitTorrent application. The case is the first to test legislation passed to enact the Australian-United States Free Trade Agreement.
Drug deal gone bad
8-Mar-2005 Al-Ahram
A group of US companies, represented by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), has expressed concern regarding approval by the Egyptian Ministry of Health for some 500 generic versions of patented drugs.
A world united? The US approach to the protection of regulatory data
12-Jan-2005 Patent World
The US has been using Free Trade Agreements to push a US-style system for data exclusivity.