IP-Enforcement Roundup

Civil Society Groups Oppose IP Enforcement Provisions of New OECD Communiqué on Principles for Internet Policy-Making

On June 29, the OECD released a Communiqué on Principles for Internet Policy-Making, a document aimed at “ensuring that the Internet remains open and dynamic.”  The communiqué emerged out of a “High Level Meeting on the Internet Economy” at which the principles were agreed to by government representatives from OECD countries and Egypt, as well as stakeholders including “the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD and the Internet Technical Community.” It contains a number of pledges related to IP enforcement, some of which promote private-sector IP enforcement.  Civil society groups have responded with statements that are supportive of the overall goals of the OECD high level meeting – maintaining an open and dynamic internet – but critical of the IP enforcement language within the communiqué. Click here for more.

EC Recommends that European Parliament Pass ACTA Without Further Review

The EC has produced a Proposal for a Council Decision recommending against further review of ACTA before it is passed by the European Parliament.  The document opens with an explanatory memo noting that “the Commission has opted not to propose that the European Union exercise its potential competence in the area of criminal enforcement pursuant to Article 83(2) TFEU. The Commission considers this appropriate because it has never been the intention, as regards the negotiation of ACTA to modify the EU acquis or to harmonise EU legislation as regards criminal enforcement of intellectual property rights. For this reason, the Commission proposes that ACTA be signed and concluded both by the EU and by all the Member States.” Click here for more.

Google Releases Transparency Report on Government Requests for User Information and Takedowns

Google has released a new “Transparency Report” which presents country-level data on the number of takedown requests and requests for identities of users that Google received from governments between July and December of 2010.  The report also contains data on how many of times Google complied with these requests.  Google engineer Matt Braithwhite wrote in a blog post announcing the report that “Our goal is to provide our users access to information and to protect the privacy of our users. Whenever we receive a request, we first check to make sure it meets both the letter and spirit of the law before complying. When possible, we notify affected users about requests for user data that may affect them. And, if we believe a request is overly broad, we will seek to narrow it.” Click here for more.

Sen. Hatch Proposes Three IP-Related Amendments to Korea FTA Implementation Legislation

At a mock markup of Korea FTA implementation legislation, Sen. Hatch offered 26 amendments, including 3 related to IP enforcement.  One amendment would require the administration to take steps to “to ensure that Chile has implemented its duty under the WIPO Internet Treaties and the FTA to provide effective legal protection for Intellectual Property Rights.”  Another expresses the sense of the Senate that “Russia needs to strengthen its protection of intellectual property rights – including significantly increasing its enforcement efforts against on-line piracy.”  The third reauthorizes trade and enforcement functions of US enforcement agencies, including DHS, CBP and ICE.  Click here for more.

Argentina Passes Law Declaring the Production of Medicines to Be in the Public Interest

The Argentine Senate unanimously approved the Public Production of Medicines Law, which allows public laboratories to produce drugs, vaccines, medical products, and medical raw materials for the use in the public sector.  The law applies to medicines on the WHO Essential Drugs List and those used to treat orphan diseases.  Universidad de Buenos Aires professor Claudio Capuano estimates that publicly produced medicines will be four times less expensive than those sold in the private sector. Click here for more.

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