WTO Tobacco Ruling Opens Door to New Plain-Packaging Laws

Editor’s Note: Cross-posted from CRE’s FDA/TPSAC IPD. See also Counterfeit Products, Genuine Harm: How Intellectual Property Theft Fuels Organized Crime While Undermining American Communities.

From: Bloomberg News

By 

  •  Decision could lead other countries to adopt similar measures
  •  Tobacco companies warn plain packs raise counterfeit risk

The World Trade Organization upheld Australia’s right to require cigarettes to be sold in plain packs without any logos in a landmark case that could usher in a new wave of global tobacco restrictions.

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Since August, the U.S. has blocked nominees to the WTO’s appellate body, saying it has overstepped its mandate. If the U.S. continues its hold, the body will be paralyzed by late 2019 because it will lack the three panelists required to sign off on rulings.

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