Robinson Esalimba – One of the renowned American inventors from the last century and former head of research at General Motors, Charles Kettering, was famous for his snazzy quotes and sound bites. One of my favourites is; “A problem well stated, is a problem half solved.” I couldn’t agree more. In the first part of my post on Stuck in the First Gear, I suggested that the draft WIPO proposal on Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer (CDIP/4/7) which is up for discussion at the fifth session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) from April 26 to 30, 2010; is unlikely, as currently framed, to move forward the discussion on transfer of technology. This is because the problem has not been well stated.
Archive for the ‘Communications for Development’ Category
Stuck in the First Gear: Moving Forward the Discussion on International Transfer of Technology – Part II
Saturday, February 6th, 2010Who Owns the HIV Genome Knowledge and Why the Deafening Silence?
Monday, September 7th, 2009Hope you didn’t blink the other week or you may have missed the fact that they have mapped the HIV genome. It was in the journal Nature, on the BBC News and on Medical News Today website, among others. It’s great news as it opens up all sorts of health benefits. My worry is that it may not be great news for everyone, and the point is that the public does not know who owns the information and, therefore, does not know who can benefit or at what cost.
