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Europe attacking access to affordable generic drugs
The EU claims data exclusivity is required under international law. It is not. It also claims that there will be no harm to access to medicines. But other countries have learned the hard way how harmful it can be.
Trade deal could limit US dairy exports
One possible outcome of the free-trade agreement between the European Union and South Korea is that terms such as "mozzarella" and "feta" are off-limits for US producers selling cheese to Korea.
EU-China agreement: no knockoff Champagne and Brie
EU ministers have formally approved negotiations with the Chinese government to strike a wide-ranging bilateral agreement protecting traditional food manufacturers in Europe and China from illicit copies of their products.
India’s central role in AIDS medicines supply could be threatened by trade agreements, new study says
A new study from UNITAID warns that free trade agreements India is currently negotiating may close the tap on affordable medicines for AIDS patients.
Treaty negotiators turn to “ACTA lite” in hopes of closure
Everyone you ask this week about the Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement (ACTA) tells you that they’re just about to work their way through the new draft version to understand the implications of changes made during the recent negotiation round in Washington, DC. Massive changes to the text have been revealed by yet another leak of the draft treaty text being negotiated by 10 countries and the EU 27 member states.
India seeks to insulate FTAs from IP policies of the West
If commerce ministry officials have their way in negotiations, all future free trade agreements (FTA) will include a clause protecting India’s interests against third-party agreements, which include FTA partner nations.
Govt speaking in two voices on generic medicines
The Indian government’s doublespeak on generic medicines has the stakeholders in a tizzy.
’Developed countries must stop using arm-twisting measures in FTAs’
The European Union is demanding longer patents through free trade agreements (FTAs), longer than demanded by the World Trade Organization.
EU wine diplomacy and Indian exports
The EU has many bilateral agreements on wine in order to aggressively protect its corporate interests
China, India to raise concerns at WTO about “TRIPS-plus” measures, ACTA
China and India next week plan to voice concerns at the World Trade Organization about efforts by developed countries to push poorer trading partners beyond their WTO commitments on trade and intellectual property rights, so-called TRIPS-plus measures.
Biodiversity in the FTAs with the USA and Europe: the crisis of the Andean integration process
While the Andean countries initially called for a balance to be struck between IPRs and the Andean countries’ interests – in particular education, culture, research, access to medicines, public health, food security, environmental protection, access to information, and technology transfer – Europe has insisted on measures to further entrench the intellectual property protection aspects of regional integration.
Pharma dept says no to IP clauses in FTAs
The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has firmly declined the commerce ministry proposal to incorporate intellectual property (IP) protection clauses, which go beyond the existing rules, as part of the free trade agreements (FTAs) being negotiated with the European Union (EU) and Japan.
Draft trade agreement worries technology companies
Technology companies and public interest groups are warning that an international trade agreement being drafted could expose Internet access providers, Web search engines and other online businesses to damaging legal risks.
Groups call for human rights review of US medicine policy
In a report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council over the weekend, PIJIP joined with HIV treatment advocacy organizations Health Global Access Project (HealthGAP) and the European Community Advisory Board to call for a human rights review of U.S. trade policy on access to medicines.
No ACTA-free trade link? ’Yeah right’, says IP lawyer
Suspicions persist over a link between the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and negotiations for international free-trade pacts, despite efforts by officials to downplay the issue.
Beware the EU agenda
Tough intellectual property rights sought by the EU in its free trade agreement with India have set off global protests
Q & ACTA, with Michael Geist
With the Wellington round of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) talks underway, organised opposition to the proposed treaty on intellectual property rights and enforcement is also gathering in the New Zealand capital. A brief chat with a global expert on the ACTA treaty.
ACTA not linked to free-trade agreement, say officials
Officials negotiating New Zealand’s position on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) intellectual-property treaty say they have no perspective on the separate negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Nor would they be involved in any trade-off of ACTA concessions against broader free-trading rights.
A prescription for failure: Health and intellectual property in the Dominican Republic.
A group of nine Georgetown Law students have written a report, "Prescription for Failure: Health and Intellectual Property in the Dominican Republic," which finds that U.S. efforts to increase intellectual property protections in the Dominican Republic may lead to sharp increases in the cost of lifesaving drugs and, as a result, the declining health and even deaths of those who may be unable to afford them.