Losing the packaging fight
Critics contend that plain packaging has done little to reduce smoking rate in Australia.
The Intellectual Property (IP) sector is fighting a losing battle against standardized packaging, according to 93 percent of readers who responded to a World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) survey.
In a note posted on its website, WIPR said that last week it had noted that: ‘The UK Supreme Court refused to allow an appeal from the tobacco industry, in a final domestic decision on plain packaging’. It had then asked: ‘Is the IP sector fighting a losing battle against standardized packaging?’
One reader replied that health policy would trump IP interests on the issue of tobacco standardized packaging, while another reader claimed that the tobacco industry, rather than the IP sector, was losing the battle.
‘This is excellent news,’ one respondent said. ‘Public health considerations should always trump private profit considerations. Even if there is the slightest chance that plain packaging reduces rates of smoking and the inevitable resulting deaths, then it should absolutely be mandatory.’
The WIPR story is at: http://www.worldipreview.com/news/wipr-survey-ip-sector-fighting-losing-battle-against-plain-packaging-13857