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intellectual property

Thailand-US: AIDS drugs take centre-stage at trade talks
30-Jun-2005 IPS
After tiptoeing around the issue for months, Thailand’s trade negotiators will have to finally reveal where they stand on the life-or-death question of producing cheap, generic anti-AIDS drugs.
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.
AU’s Ministerial Declaration on EPA negotiations
30-Jun-2005 AU
EPAs should serve as instruments for development and poverty reduction. They must also support the deepening of intra-African trade.
US trade rep helps powerful drug industry
28-Jun-2005 Seattle Post Intelligencer
When George W. Bush and the U.S. pharmaceutical industry team up in Washington, you know it’s bad news for U.S. consumers. Now they are taking their show on the road — to Central America.
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.
Conversation: Rob Portman
25-Jun-2005 Public Broadcasting Service
Rob Portman, the new US trade representative, discusses the US trade deficit with China and the controversial Central America Free Trade Agreement.
Health sets out options for FTA talks
21-Jun-2005
After letting health advocates air their opposition to the Thai-US free trade agreement (FTA) for more than a year, the Public Health Ministry yesterday unveiled its position on how Thailand should deal with drug patents.
Thai Govt urged to put off US talks
11-Jun-2005 Bangkok Post
Farm advocates, intellectual property rights experts and farmers groups yesterday called on the government to postpone the upcoming round of free trade negotiations with the United States that would focus on intellectual property rights (IP) to avoid the impact on farmers.
Australian Govt to get tough on China trade issues
11-Jun-2005 AAP
Trade Minister Mark Vaile signalled a major assault on tariffs, quarantine systems and intellectual property laws as part of free trade negotiations with China.
Free trade, the new con trick
7-Jun-2005
It is two years since the US and Australia signed a so-called free trade agreement, and it is nearly 60 years since George Orwell introduced the concept of "newspeak", which describes how politicians often subvert language to make it mean the opposite of what it says.
Intellectual property in investment agreements: The TRIPS-plus implications for developing countries
2-Jun-2005 South Centre
In this analytical note, the South Centre examines the implication of the emerging approaches relating to the fair and equitable treatment and the national and most-favoured nation (MFN) treatment in investment agreements for the overall regimes for the protection and enforcement of IP in developing countries.
BIMSTEC meet on June 1: Six priority sectors to be discussed
29-May-2005 New Nation
A BIMSTEC Free Trade Area agreement was signed in last February. The agreement covers trade in goods, services and investment. Negotiations are progressing well on specific issues. The Agreement would come into force from July 2006.
Removing IPR - too much at stake for Thailand
13-May-2005
The recently concluded round of US-Thai FTA negotiations brought little contentment for the Thais, especially those with direct interests in maintaining the existing degree of intellectual property right (IPR) protection already in place.
Zoellick hits RP violations of IPRs
7-May-2005 Philippine Star
Washington said it would use the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and the out-of-cycle review to assist the Philippine government in strengthening its IPR regime.
Zoellick’s visit fails to ease Thai concerns
5-May-2005
Thailand was Robert Zoellick’s first stop on a week-long visit to Southeast Asia to discuss economic, security and political issues.
AIDS drugs dog US-Southern Africa trade deal
1-May-2005 Reuters
The United States and the Southern African trade bloc are set to revive free trade talks next month, but analysts say intellectual property rights for urgently needed AIDS drugs remain a stumbling block.
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.
Thailand has little to gain in trade pact with US
29-Apr-2005 Bangkok Post
The FTA with the US would tighten the intellectual property rights regime even further, offering no perceptible benefit to Thailand
Thailand-US FTA: "Whatever we have to sacrifice must be sacrificed, if that helps get a better deal"
26-Apr-2005 Focus
The third round of Thailand-US free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations ended on 8 April with great disappointment for civil society activists because people’s demand and concerns were cast aside.