South Centre Statement to the 18th session of WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property
The following is the statement delivered on 31 October 2016 by the South Centre to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) at its eighteenth session. The Centre highlights the importance of the WIPO Development Agenda.
UN General Assembly: World leaders pledge action to control superbugs
By Martin Khor
World leaders at the Summit of the UN General Assembly last week spoke on the need to save millions of lives by controlling the crisis of antibiotic resistance and adopted a landmark political declaration calling for global action. At the opening of the Summit of the United Nations General Assembly on 20 September, it sounded much like the swansong of two of the regular stalwarts of this annual affair. It is the last General Assembly to be attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United States President Barack Obama. (more…)
Statement by the South Centre on the Report of the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Access to Medicines released on 14 September 2016
The South Centre endorses the report of the United Nations Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Access to Medicines and its call on governments, the United Nations entities and others including the World Trade Organization, to take action on the report’s recommendations. (more…)
Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges for Developing Countries
On 21 September 2016, a High Level Meeting was held on antimicrobial resistance at the sides of the United Nations General Assembly. It was followed by the adoption of a political declaration. This declaration paves the way for new coordinated actions on antimicrobial resistance backed by higher political commitment, on the basis of the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (GAP) of the World Health Organization (WHO). (more…)
Uruguay’s victory over Philip Morris: a win for tobacco control and public health
By Germán Velásquez
In a landmark decision that has been hailed as a victory of public health measures against narrow commercial interests, an international tribunal has dismissed a claim by tobacco giant company Philip Morris that the Uruguay government violated its rights by instituting tobacco control measures. The ruling had been much anticipated as it was the first international case brought against a government for taking measures to curb the marketing of tobacco products. (more…)
About the book: The publication in 1998 by the WHO’s Essential Drugs Department of the document “Globalization and Access to Drugs: Implications of the WTO/TRIPS Agreement” marked a point in time in the movement to ensure access to essential medicines for all. The publication, often referred to as ‘the WHO red book’, marked the beginning of an international policy process to address the issue of innovation and access to essential medicines. It triggered a series of reactions from the pharmaceutical industry, the US Government and the WTO, reproaching WHO for stepping out of its role. In light of these attacks, the then Director General of WHO decided to send the document to be revised by three independent academics specializing in intellectual property. The letters and documents criticizing the WHO publication as well as the review by the three international experts are reproduced in this book.
Authors: Germán Velásquez and Pascale Boulet
About the book: The international debate and negotiations over access to medicines in the last ten years have been one of the most important moments in the recent history of public health. This debate is taking place in UN specialized agencies like WHO, UNDP, UNCTAD, UNAIDS, WIPO, WTO, the Commission of Human Rights, NGOs working on health, philanthropic foundations, and the pharmaceutical industry. This book is a collection of papers by the South Centre between 2011 and 2014 on the deliberations and negotiations in the World Health Organization (WHO) on access to medicines and their relationship with other actors dealing with international trade and intellectual property regimes.
Author: Germán Velásquez is the Special Adviser for Health and Development at the South Centre, Geneva, Switzerland
Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual, Investigación y Desarrollo, Derechos Humanos y Acceso a Medicamentos: Bibliografía Seleccionada y Anotada
Descripción:
El Centro del Sur ha preparado esta bibliografía seleccionada y anotada para asistir a los países en desarrollo en la implementación de políticas y reglamentaciones en materia de PI de manera coherente con los objetivos de desarrollo y los principios de salud pública. El creciente volumen de literatura que se está produciendo en torno al tema de PI, I+D, derechos humanos y acceso a medicamentos en los últimos cinco años puede ayudar a los países a encontrar las oportunidades y el espacio de maniobra para proteger a los ciudadanos de los países en desarrollo del medio insano que han generado las nuevas normas del comercio internacional.
Autores: Germán Velásquez, Carlos M. Correa, Xavier Seuba
South Centre Statement to the Open-Ended Meeting of WHO Member States: Follow-up of the report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG)
At the open-ended meeting of WHO Member States on the follow-up of the report of the CEWG, the South Centre called for concrete discussions to start negotiations on a binding legal instrument on R&D financing and coordination. (more…)
The Bolar Exception: Legislative Models and Drafting Options
The basic principle of patent law is that once the term of a patent has expired, the protected subject matter becomes a part of the public domain. Hence, it can be freely used, including for commercial purposes, without the interference by the former patent owner. This allows competitors to enter the market immediately after such expiry, eventually leading to lower prices for consumers and welfare gains. (more…)
Implementing Pro-Competitive Criteria for the Examination of Pharmaceutical Patents
This document discusses criteria for implementing the patentability requirements in relation to patent applications covering products and processes, as well as the use of pharmaceutical products. The adoption of rigorous criteria with this purpose is important for four main reasons. (more…)
The grant of patents and the exorbitant cost of “lifesaving” drugs
By Germán Velásquez
The important relationship between the examination of patents carried out by national patent offices and the right of citizens to access to medicines hasn’t always been well understood. Too often these are viewed as unrelated functions or responsibilities of the state. And the reason is clear: patentability requirements are not defined by patent offices, but frequently by the courts, tribunals, legislation or treaty negotiators. This is the case when patent policy is implemented in isolation from, rather than guided by, public health policy. (more…)
