· FEBRUARY – In support of the TRIPS Waiver proposal, 10 groups of health activists delivered letters to 15 embassies in Pretoria and Cape Town demanding that their governments support the waiver request or at the very least stop obstructing the adoption of the proposed waiver in the WTO. · MARCH – Members of the […]
READ MORE· MAY – More than 80 leading academics, researchers and teachers in South Africa sent a letter to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. They urge the President to urgently reform South Africa’s patent laws and take further steps to ensure access to COVID-19 related health products. · MAY – The Fix the Patent Law campaign […]
READ MORE· APRIL – The Fix the Patent Laws campaign leads a protest of hundreds of people outside the Fair Pricing Forum in Johannesburg that asked the question “what is a fair price for a medicine?” Together with 64 global organisations, the campaign launched a joint statement highlighting the concerns with the WHO’s definition of a […]
READ MORE· MAY – The cabinet of South Africa approves the new Intellectual Property (IP) Policy.
READ MORE· FEBRUARY – The Fix the Patent Laws Campaign leads a global day of action against pharma company Roche in memory of the late Tobeka Daki, launching the Tobeka Daki Campaign for Access to Trastuzumab in her memory.
READ MORE· MARCH – Members of the Fix the Patent Laws campaign picket outside pharmaceutical company Roche to highlight the excessive price charged for breast cancer medicine trastuzumab. · JULY – Cabinet approves a new IP Consultative Framework for South Africa, which is published for public comment by the Department of Trade and Industry · SEPTEMBER […]
READ MORE· JANUARY – Pharmagate scandal hits South African media—25 pharmaceutical companies under the umbrella organisation IPASA are revealed to be plotting a scheme to delay the finalisation of the IP policy. Minister of Health calls the plot tantamount to “genocide”. · MARCH – Mass marches are held by the Fix the Patent Laws campaign in […]
READ MORE· SEPTEMBER – DTI releases draft IP policy, inviting public comment. The draft policy outlines principles and proposals that promise to increase competition in the pharmaceutical sector and lower the prices of medicines in South Africa. · OCTOBER – Public comment period closes on draft IP Policy. Over 100 submissions are submitted to the DTI. […]
READ MORE· NOVEMBER – TAC, MSF and SECTION27 jointly launch the Fix the Patent Laws campaign on the 10 year anniversary of the Doha Declaration.
READ MORE· JUNE – South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) initiates the process of reforming intellectual property (IP) laws on its own accord. The DTI announces plans to release a policy document for reform of South Africa’s IP legislation during 2009.
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