WIPO Patent Database Is Flawed And Promotes Linkage

28 Feb 2019

An online register of global patent information for medicines launched by the WIPO and brand industry body IFPMA serves as a tool for patent linkage, contains no mechanisms to ensure accuracy, and is inappropriate for a UN agency to endorse, according to the IGBA.

Padlock — Pat-INFORMED Is A Patent Linkage Tool That Blocks Access, The IGBA Says • Source: Shutterstock

In an open letter to Francis Gurry, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Generic and Biosimilar medicines Association (IGBA) has sharply criticized an online register of global patent information launched by the WIPO and global brand body the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) last year.

The WIPO and IFPMA collaborated with 20 major pharmaceutical firms last year to launch the Pat-INFORMED database, with the purpose...