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EU: Negotiations between the EU, Central America and the Andean countries concerning patents
According to Latin American trade unions and organisations, patenting has had devastating consequences for biological diversity in several Latin American countries. Yet neither the patent rules proposed in the association agreement between the EU and Central America nor the bilateral trade negotiations taking place between the EU and Colombia and Peru have taken account of such criticism.
FTAs could hurt farmers, too
After generic drugmakers, it’s the farmers who are feeling the heat of the intellectual property (IP) regime.
India, US sign pacts on investment promotion, sharing traditional knowledge
India and the US have signed two inter-governmental agreements on traditional knowledge, intellectual property and investment promotion during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s first state visit to the US.
A Trade Agreement’s Impact On Access To Generic Drugs
The Central America Free Trade Agreement has kept some generic drugs from Guatemala even though they’re available in the United States.
Thai rice gene patent ’sends wrong signal’
The recent patenting of a Thai rice gene will pave the way for overseas firms to obtain copyrights of Thai biological and genetic resources, intellectual property rights experts and farmer advocates warn.
Negotiation of an EU-India FTA: Will India accept TRIPS-plus protection?
The negotiating texts so far known do indicate that India is resisting many aspects of the EU demands of higher IPRs standards. Analysis by Carlos Correa.
Swine flu highlights the problem of accepting the intellectual property protections promoted by the European Union
Confronted by a potential pandemic, negotiations for FTAs with the European Union are taking place in Brussels this week, where more extensive protections for intellectual property will be discussed.
Stronger IP enforcement finds a home in bilateral trade agreements
Bilateral free trade agreements can have a profound effect on national intellectual property legislation. A recent panel offered countries a deeper understanding of the stronger enforcement provisions typically found in such agreements.
Norway withdraws from EFTA negotiations on IPR
Norway has resigned from the EFTA negotiations on intellectual property rights. The sole EFTA cooperation may now be in danger. “We have chosen to pull out of the negotiations. We have a different policy than the other EFTA countries in this area. This has not been problematic so far, but differences have crystallized during the negotiations with India”, says State Secretary Rikke Lind, Norway Ministry of Trade and Industry, to the New Time.
Obama administration says treaty text is state secret
The Office of US Trade Representative (USTR), part of President Barack Obama’s office, has denied a company’s request for information about a secretive anticounterfeiting trade agreement being negotiated, citing national security concerns.
FTA: The new Andean disease
The Free Trade Agreement or the Association Agreement the European Union is promoting with two of the four countries member of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) risks the continuity of this bloc, but it also represents a threat to access to medications and health of the Andean peoples.
FTAs facilitates biopiracy: The case of Peru
The United States has done it, and done it again. As part of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Peru, the US has managed to wrest an amendment in the existing Intellectual Property laws that virtually ’facilitates biopiracy and hamper Peru’s position as a protector of traditional knowledge,’ reports SciDev.net
EU-ASEAN proposals on intellectual property too sweeping, say consumers
The proposed EU-Asean free trade policy on intellectual property rights protection is too sweeping, says a consumer group.
Revised laws ’could promote biopiracy’ in Peru
Modifications to intellectual property laws that the Peruvian government "rushed through" to enable the go-ahead of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Peru and the United States could facilitate biopiracy and hamper Peru’s position as a protector of traditional knowledge, say experts.
Strong EU trade provisions on IP seen as threat to poor nations’ medicines access
Efforts by the European Union to insert strong provisions on pharmaceutical patents in free trade agreements it is negotiating with India, Colombia, Peru and ASEAN could imperil access to medicines in developing countries, global public health activists have alleged.
Health protection in the Association Agreement between the European Union and the Andean Community
This new publication from Health Action International critically reviews the European proposals on intellectual property and discusses the impact they will have on access to essential medicines in the CAN countries.