On 6 November 2017, a group of US civil society organisations sent a letter urging the US government and industry not to interfere with South Africa’s efforts to promote access to lifesaving medicines. The group wrote they were “gravely concerned that the US government and industry representatives will try to undermine the South African government’s […]
READ MOREFinalise the draft policy and amend laws to save lives, activists tell dti 24-10-2017 PRETORIA – Today, more than 1,000 members of the Fix the Patent Laws Coalition (FTPL) will march to the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) in support of the government’s efforts to fix our patent laws and ensure everyone has access […]
READ MORE[googlepdf url=”https://www.fixthepatentlaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Submission-by-UKZN-Academics-on-SA-Draft-IP-Policy-2017-23-October-2017.pdf” width=”100%” height=”800″]
READ MOREJOHANNESBURG, 14th AUGUST 2017 – On 8 August 2017, the Department of Trade and Industry published the Draft Intellectual Property Policy of the Republic of South Africa, Phase I, 2017. The Fix the Patent Laws Campaign (FTPL) welcomes its publication for public comment. The FTPL, a coalition of 34 patient advocacy groups, welcomes the clear […]
READ MOREOn 7 June 2017, the FTPL coalition sent letters to all government ministers who form part of South Africa’s cabinet asking them to urgently finalise the draft intellectual property policy. The draft policy has been delayed in cabinet for more than 2 months, while people living in South Africa still struggle to access the medicines they […]
READ MOREACTIVISTS AROUND THE WORLD MARCH #ForTobeka – Demonstrations held at Roche & pharma associations in South Africa, Malaysia, UK, France, Zambia, Brazil, US – 108 organisations endorse a letter to Roche Tuesday, 7th February 2017 – Swiss multinational company Roche faced […]
READ MOREOn the heels of the statement by South Africa earlier this week on patents and health, the Fix the Patent Laws campaign is again very encouraged to see the second statement from the South African government, made on 14 December 2016. This time, a comprehensive account of South Africa’s experience related to access to medicines […]
READ MOREThe Fix the Patent Laws Campaign is heartened by the statement delivered yesterday, 13 December 2016, at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) during discussions on patents and health. We remind the South African government that it is crucial to turn these words into actions by reforming […]
READ MORE2 August 2016 – Cabinet recently approved a new Intellectual Property (IP) Consultative Framework for South Africa. This follows a Draft National IP Policy published for comment in 2013 – on which we and many other groups commented. The 2013 Draft National IP Policy committed to reforming South Africa’s patent law to address shortcomings that impede medicine […]
READ MOREBut public remains in the dark regarding stalled policy process The Fix the Patent Laws (FTPL) coalition welcomes recent public comments made by Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies and Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi about patents and patent law in South Africa and in other developing countries. Earlier this month Minister Davies […]
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