For over a year, TAC has eagerly been awaiting the release of the intellectual property (IP) policy for South Africa. TAC has closely followed the development of the policy as it will impact on the price of medicines in the future. During a TAC/MSF meeting last year, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced […]
READ MOREFor years, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been drafting an intellectual property (IP) policy that reviews all IP-related legislation in South Africa. Noting with concern the high price of medicines in South Africa, TAC has closely followed the DTI’s development of the policy, which could recommend that South Africa utilize key legal […]
READ MORERepublished from Times Live. This article was originally published on 6 December at http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2012/12/06/review-medicine-patents By Katharine Child HEALTH activists say South Africa’s patent system allows pharmaceutical companies to license any drug they wish, making many medicines prohibitively expensive. They are calling for a review of the system to prevent what they term “abuse”.
READ MOREImportant new paper describes why and how India set up a patent examination system The South African patent office does not substantively examine patent applications. As long as administrative requirements are met, patents are usually granted. As a result, many patents of poor quality are granted. A University of Pretoria study estimated that had the […]
READ MOREJOHANNESBURG, 9 NOVEMBER 2012 Thank you all for coming and welcome to Johannesburg. We are joined today by over 40 activists from all parts of the world, including organisations of people living with HIV, MSF, as well as individual experts and lawyers who have fought for the rights of people to access affordable quality medicines. […]
READ MOREBy Lieve Vanleeuw The Council for Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or “Council for Trips”, on November 7, 2012 received a request from least developed country members for an extension of their transition period under article 66.1 of the TRIPS agreement. Article 66.1 recognises the “need and requirements of least-developed country members, their […]
READ MORERepublished from IRIN Plus News. This article was originally published on 5 November at http://www.plusnews.org/Report/96712/SOUTH-AFRICA-Easy-patents-cost-South-African-patients By Laura Lopez Gonzalez JOHANNESBURG, 5 November 2012 (PlusNews) – South Africa grants almost every patent application it receives, making its patent regime one of the world’s most lenient. While pharmaceutical companies cash in, patients face staggering healthcare costs, and […]
READ MOREThis article was originally printed on MSF Access Campaign’s blog ‘Don’t Trade Away Our Lives’ on 2 November Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), Chennai (India) has set aside the patent granted to Roche for pegylated interferon alfa-2a (sold by Roche under the brand name Pegasys). The invention (interferon alpha-2a + polyethyleneglycol) was held to be […]
READ MOREReport of the meeting ‘Time to rethink our patent laws: A public health perspective’ On 23 October 2012 the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hosted a meeting to examine intellectual property in South Africa from a public health perspective. The meeting explored the challenges posed by excessive pharmaceutical patenting in the […]
READ MOREThe below article was published online by the Medical Chronicle on 8 October. The article was prepared by TAC’s Catherine Tomlinson and Marcus Low in response to criticism by IMSA of the Fix the Patent Laws campaign. The IMSA article is also published below. SA Should Take Advantage of Key Flexibilities to Protect Health By […]
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