Ways and Means Democrats Urge USTR to Strike Balance Between Patent and Public Health Issues in Upcoming Trade Negotiations
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander M. Levin joined fellow Committee Members Rahm Emanuel and Chris Van Hollen in a letter today urging the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to strike a balance between patent and public health issues in upcoming trade negotiations. The letter outlined the members’ concerns that current efforts are not adequately addressing the need to improve public health, particularly in developing nations.
In a closely watched copyright-infringement lawsuit, Georgia State University fired back this week at its accusers, three academic publishers that say the institution invites students to illegally download and print readings from thousands of works. The university asserts that its online distribution of course material is permitted under copyright law's fair-use exemption.
Washington, D.C. (June 23, 2008) – Vermont’s law restricting the sale of prescription drug information that identifies prescribers and patients for commercial marketing purposes does not restrict free speech and serves substantial governmental interests, according to a brief to be filed today by an American University Washington College of Law professor on behalf of AARP and organizations representing physicians, state legislatures, consumers and public policy advocates.
The Associated Press said that it will attempt to define clear standards as to how much of its articles and broadcasts bloggers and Web sites can excerpt without infringing on The A.P.’s copyright. The effort to impose some guidelines on the free-wheeling blogosphere, where extensive quoting and even copying of entire news articles is common, may offer a prominent definition of the important but vague doctrine of “fair use,” which holds that copyright owners cannot ban others from using small bits of their works under some circumstances. For example, a book reviewer is allowed to quote passages from the work without permission from the publisher.
Filipinos can now expect more low-cost medicine in the market with the signing into law of the Universally Accessible, Cheaper and Quality Medicine Act of 2008. The law allows the government to use patented drugs when the interest of the public is at stake, allows generic firms to test their products before patent expiry, and allows parallel imports of pharmaceuticals. It prohibits second-use patents for drugs already on the market.
