InfoJustice Roundup – October 16, 2018

Submission by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) on the Statutory Review of the Canadian Copyright Act

[Gerald Leitner] IFLA specifically expresses support for the following points: A) Maintain the fair dealing exception for education… B) Retain the current copyright term of 50 years… C) Protect copyright exceptions from contract override and allow the circumvention of technological protection measures for non-infringing purposes… D) Provide clarity on the legal status of text and data mining (TDM)… E) Ensure e-book availability… F) Indigenous Knowledge. Click here for more.

Biological Drugs – Challenges to Access

[Third World Network] In this paper Dr. Sengupta examines the landscape of biological medicines, and locates this analysis in the characteristics of biological drugs which set them apart from small molecule drugs (SMDs). These characteristics of biological drugs impact on the way these drugs are manufactured; on the development of follow-on versions of innovator biological drugs; on the way biological drugs – both innovators and follow-ons – are regulated; on the way these drugs are protected by different kinds of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and data protection mechanisms; and on the opportunities and challenges in the introduction of biological drugs, including biosimilars, in a range of countries. Click here for more.

Copyright Exceptions, Trade Agreements, and Digital Trade

[Mike Palmedo] PIJIP has researched IP and trade for a while, but we’ve mostly focused on FTAs that included the US.  This year we’ve begun to broaden our view – to look more closely at agreements like RCEP and other Asia-Pacific agreements. This fall we began a detailed comparison of CPTPP, RCEP, CETA, RCEP, EU-Mercosur, EU-Japan, and the China-Korea FTA, with a focus on the copyright and enforcement provisions, and with an eye toward provisions that affect the digital economy. In the last few couple of weeks we’ve begun looking into the provisions in USMCA as well.  This post compares some of the existing text on two provisions: the ‘balance’ provision and protection of TPMs. Click here for more.

Multilateral Matters #1: Achieving Positive Outcomes in International Intellectual Property Negotiations

[Wend Wendland] The Multilateral Matters is an occasional blog on international developments related to intellectual property, innovation, development and public policy. Multilateral institutions matter because that is where international rule-making takes place. And, multilateral institutions are useful, especially for smaller and less powerful developing countries, because they are rules-based and every state, no matter its size, has a voice. However, in reality, it is profoundly challenging for developing countries to engage effectively in international negotiations and achieve their preferred policy outcomes. Click here for more.

Webcast of KEI Seminar: Appraising the WIPO Broadcast Treaty and its Implications on Access to Culture

KEI hosted a 1.5 day seminar on the WIPO broadcasting treaty on October 3-4, 2018, at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID). Links to the webcast can be found here:

EU Copyright Reform Grinds Into Trilogue Negotiations

[Communia Association] Last month the notorious EU Parliament vote approved almost all of the worst measures of the proposed Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. It was a significant setback for user rights and the open internet. …After the plenary vote in the Parliament on 12th September, the Directive moves into trilogue negotiations consisting of the Commission, Parliament, and Council of the European Union (the EU Member State governments). The first official meeting of the trilogue was held on 2 October. …The trilogue bodies will work to reconcile their versions of the directive text, and a final vote will take place in the European Parliament in early 2019. Click here for more.

“The People’s Prescription”: New Report Calls For Value Creation Instead Of Value Extraction In Pharmaceutical R&D

[David Branigan] A new report, “The People’s Prescription: Re-imagining health innovation to deliver public value,” calls for restructuring research and development innovation systems to create, rather than extract, value. It also calls for long-term “mission-oriented” public investment, and a public return on this investment. Click here for the full story on IP-Watch.

Recoupment Patent

[Miriam Marcowitz-Bitton, Yotam Kaplan and Maayan Perel (Filmar)] … by any standard our patent system is broken. At present it encourages the filing of a plethora of low-quality patents that have no true innovative value, is plagued by opportunistic patent trolls, and produces endless amounts of costly litigation. This article demonstrates how these phenomena are due to central design flaws in the current system. First, although the patent system is designed to encourage investment in innovation, it lacks a mechanism for directly examining an inventor’s level of investment. This major flaw systematically ignores the single most important factor the patent system seeks to promote. Second, the current system offers one-size-fits-all protection, granting the same 20-year monopoly to any and all inventions. This inflexible legal standard is outdated and inappropriate, given the wide variety of inventions it addresses and the immense differences between them. Click here for more.