Infojustice Roundup

 

Canadian Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Broad Interpretations of Fair Dealing

The court issued rulings last week in five separate cases that involved fair dealing.  According to Michael Geist, “the court has reaffirmed that fair dealing is a user’s right that must be interpreted in a broad and liberal manner. In fact, the court provides further guidance on interpreting fair dealing with an emphasis on the need for a flexible, technology-neutral approach. In reading the decisions in the Access Copyright and song previews cases, it is hard to imagine a bigger victory for education, Internet users, and innovative companies.”  Click here for Michael Geist’s analysis of the rulings. For more information, see  Howard Knopf’s analysis here.

WIPO SCCR Meeting this week will focus on Limitations and Exceptions

The 24th meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights opened today, and will run through July 25.  The conference will discuss limitations and exceptions to copyright for educational and research institutions, as well as for people with disabilities.  Documents for the meeting are available here and the hashtag for live updates on twitter is #sccr24.

International HIV/AIDS Conference to Be Held in Washington DC, July 22-27

Washington DC will host the XIX International AIDS Conference from July 22-27.  The conference webpage with the full schedule and registration information is available at aids2012.org.  Events at the conference related to intellectual property and access to medicines will include

 

 

One Step Ahead Two Steps Back: Reverse Engineering 2nd Draft for 3rd Revision of the Chinese Copyright Law

Author: Hong Xue Abstract: On July 6, 2012, the National Copyright Administration of China released the 2nd Draft of the 3rd Revision of the copyright law, in which 81 provisions were changed from the 1st Draft. It does contain a few improvements, but it contains more compromises and even steps backward under the pressure of interest groups. It is unfortunate that China, the largest country by both population and Internet users, despite its fast-growing economy, seems missing the opportunities to craft a 21st-Century Copyright Law, but instead follows the old path of “the more the better” (more copyright protection and enforcement, the better economic growth and social development), “one size fits all” and “modeling on US law” (on draconic enforcement rather than general and robust limitations and exceptions). This paper looks into the inner design of the 2nd Draft and analyzes both its improvements and setbacks. Click here for the full paper.

UK to Provide Open Access to Government-Funded Research

The British government has announced that it will make government-funded research freely available beginning next year. The Research Council’s UK announcement states that the new policy “will apply to all qualifying publications being submitted for publication from 1 April 2013″ and it “mandates use of the Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ license (CC-BY), when an Article Processing Charge (APC) is levied. The CC-BY licence allows others to modify, build upon and/or distribute the licensed work (including for commercial purposes) as long as the original author is credited.” Click here for more.

Mexico Signs ACTA, Despite Legislative Opposition

Mexico’s Ambassador to Japan, Claude Heller, signed ACTA on July 12, 2012. A press release by the Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI),  said that the agreement aims to “provide Mexican people with a sound international protection of their intellectual property rights, to attract new investments, to ensure the existing work flows, to increase the creation of formal jobs and to foster the creativity, innovation and competitiveness of our enterprises.”  It further asserts that ACTA “does not contravene the Human Rights acknowledged in our Constitution and in International Treaties to which Mexico is a party.” Click here for more.

“Fair Deal” Coalition in New Zealand Warns TPP Will Change Copyright Law

Eight civil society groups and trade associations in New Zealand have started a coalition called  Fair Deal, which has the goal of “keeping the Trans Pacific Partnership from changing our copyright laws.”  The members are Internet NZ, NZRise, Creative Freedom, the Foundation of the Blind, Tuanz, Consumer, the Institute of IT Professionals, and Trade Me.  For more, see fairdeal.net.nz.

2012 Global Innovation Index Focuses on Linkages Between Innovative Sectors

WIPO and INSEAD jointly published the 2012 Global Innovation Index (GII) on July 3.  The GII profiles 141 countries according to 84 indicators, which fit into the following categories: institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs.  The indicators include patent and trademark registrations, though they do not include an overall measurement of the strength of IPR protection. This year’s report examines the ways in which different stakeholders work together to further innovation.  It recommends that countries try to strengthen the linkages among innovative sectors in their economies. Click here for more.