InfoJustice Roundup – July 15, 2019

Letter from 104 Members of Congress to USTR, re: Data Protection for Biologics in NAFTA 2.0

We write to express our strong opposition to provisions that limit access to medicines in the revised NAFTA agreement, also known as United States-Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA)…. The USMCA would keep drug prices out of reach for patients by increasing and locking in 10 years of marketing exclusivity for brand biologics, expanding the scope of brand biologics eligible for protection, and making it easier for brand-name drug companies to extend their monopolies through additional patents, patent extensions and other forms of patent “evergreening.” Click here for more.

User Rights Data: Ranking Openness in 21 Countries

[Sean Flynn] I had the honor of presenting the latest updates to our User Rights Database at the 18th annual Congress of the Society for Economic Research on Copyright Issues. I include here some new analysis of our data released for the first time at SERCI, ranking the countries in our study and categorizing them based on whether they have a civil or common law tradition. Click here for more.

The Impact of Copyright Exceptions for Researchers on Scholarly Output

[Mike Palmedo] Abstract: High prices restrict access to academic journals and books that scholars rely upon to author new research. One possible solution is the expansion of copyright exceptions allowing unauthorized access to copyrighted works for researchers. I test the link between copyright exceptions for health and science researchers and their publishing output at the country-subject level. I find that scientists residing in countries that implement more robust research exceptions publish more papers and books in subsequent years. This relationship between copyright exceptions and publishing is stronger in lower-income countries, and stronger where there is stricter copyright protection of existing works. Click here for more.

Mainstreaming or Dilution? Intellectual Property and Development in WIPO

[Nirmalya Syam] In 2007 Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) unanimously adopted a set of 45 recommendations which constitute the WIPO Development Agenda. Developing countries sought to give new direction to WIPO through the Development Agenda, away from the pursuit of facilitating and strengthening protection, acquisition and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights as an end in itself towards an approach that would be sensitive to the impact of IP on development, both in terms of opportunities as well as costs. Click here for more.

Liability for User-Generated Content Online: Principles for Lawmakers

[Joint statement endorsed by 28 civil society groups and 53 individuals] Policymakers have expressed concern about both harmful online speech and the content moderation practices of tech companies. Section 230, enacted as part of the bipartisan Communications Decency Act of 1996, says that Internet services, or “intermediaries,” are not liable for illegal third-party content except with respect to intellectual property, federal criminal prosecutions, communications privacy (ECPA), and sex trafficking (FOSTA). Of course, Internet services remain responsible for content they themselves create. Click here for more.

MSF update on 26th round of RCEP negotiations in Melbourne, Australia

[Médecins Sans Frontières] …Negotiating countries have confirmed with MSF representatives the withdrawal of two provisions relating to medicines – patent term extensions and data exclusivity – that would put the timely entry of generic competition at risk. However, a range of damaging IP enforcement provisions proposed by Japan remain on the negotiating table. These provisions go beyond the requirements of the WTO Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Agreement and are similar to those included in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial, pluri-lateral treaty abandoned by the European Union thanks to intense public and political scrutiny. Click here for more msfaccess.org.

Letter to the Editor of South Africa’s Business Day: The Copyright Bill Gives to Creators What Those In Other Countries Already Have

[Nontando Tusi] Bekezela Phakathi’s report on the Copyright Amendment Bill made a mountain out of a molehill (Copyright Bill threatens R12bn in exports to US markets, June 11). This has often been the case with conversations concerning the bill, which has been a much-debated topic in the media over the past few months. It is important to note what the bill in question does. At its heart it extends the rights of SA creators and performers to own, earn from and create their works. Often, as in the case of the adoption of a “fair use” right to enable transformative works of creativity and technology, the bill is giving to SA creators what those in many other leading countries already have. Click here for more on businesslive.co.za.