On July 17, 2007, Rwanda notified the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) that it plans to import the HIV-drug TriAvir from the Canadian company Apotex and will not enforce any patents granted in that respect in Rwanda.[1] Two months later, Canada issued a compulsory license allowing Apotex to use nine patented inventions for manufacturing and exporting TriAvir to Rwanda.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) recently decided Copland v. United Kingdom,[1] in which the ECHR expanded the basis and extent of protection for personal data in a variety of settings, including the workplace. The European Union's Data Protection Directive already mandated very broad protection for such data in EU member states. This decision may further widen the gulf between U.S.

On April 29, 2007, the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)[1] marks the tenth anniversary of its entry into force. Along with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the CWC forms an important part of the international law supporting disarmament and non-proliferation concerning weapons of mass destruction.

In February 2007, international media reported that Indonesia had decided not to continue to share with the World Health Organization (WHO) samples of avian influenza A (H5N1) strains appearing in Indonesia. Instead, Indonesia decided to pursue a commercial arrangement with a pharmaceutical company, which would use the samples to develop an avian influenza vaccine for Indonesia.

Background

Introduction

Introduction

On February 7, 2006, a panel of the World Trade Organization (WTO) circulated its draft report on the high-profile dispute European Communities ? Measures Affecting the Approval and Marketing of Biotech Products to the parties. In May 2003, Argentina, Canada and the United States (US) had requested the establishment of a Panel because consultations with the EC on an amicable solution had failed.