LDC Watch and OWINFS on the TRIPS Council Chair to Stop the Ongoing Unfair Informal Negotiations on the LDC TRIPS Waiver Extension

 Posted by on May 21, 2013  No Responses »
May 212013
 

two-logosFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Arjun Karki, akarki@ldcwatch.org , +977 9851023254
Prerna Bomzan, prerna@ldcwatch.org , +977 9841209336
Deborah James, djames@cepr.net , +1 (202) 441 6917

On 20 May, global civil society networks LDC Watch and the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) wrote an open letter of protest to the Ambassador of Panama, Alfredo Suescum who is the current Chair of the Council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The ongoing informal negotiations between the least developed countries (LDCs) and the developed countries, on the extension period of TRIPS waiver granted to LDCs which expires by the end of June, is marred by unjust and unethical treatment by the United States, European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, in particular, including the Council Chair. Continue reading »

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Open Letter to the Chair of the TRIPS Council, Alfredo Suescum, Ambassador of Panama to the WTO

 Posted by on May 20, 2013  No Responses »
May 202013
 

two-logosOur World Is Not for Sale (OWINFS) Network and LDC Watch.

Dear Ambassador Suescum,

We are outraged with the manner in which informal consultations are being conducted on the issue of extension of the LDC’s transition period. We find the current process to be unfair and prejudicial to the interests of the LDCs, the poorest and most vulnerable segment of the international community.

The LDC’s request has obtained extensive support from the developing world but the supporters of the LDC’s request have not been invited to participate in the current on-going consultations. Instead, the consultations have been limited to developed countries (that are opposed to the LDCs request) and to the LDC Group. It is outrageous that developing countries that have supported the LDC request (which together with the LDCs form the vast majority of actual members of the WTO), are being prevented from participating in the consultations. As a result you are depriving LDCs of their allies, while attempting to overwhelm the negotiating capacity of the poorest members of the WTO by placing them in an unfair position where they have to face the united might of the developed countries. Clearly the consultations have been designed so that the outcome will fail the LDCs. Continue reading »

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Copyright policymaking and the digital public domain: a bitter-sweet wishful thinking from France

 Posted by on May 17, 2013  No Responses »
May 172013
 

communia[Posted to the  Communia blog by , (CC0 1.0)]

The mission on culture at the digital era commissioned by the French government and supervised by Pierre Lescure, rather pompously entitled ‘Acte II de l’exception culturelle’, released its report this week in Paris: ‘Rapport sur la politique culturelle à l’ère des contenus numériques’, downloadable in two volumes on the website of the Ministry of Culture (in French). Continue reading »

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Copyright in France: Wishful Thinking and Real Dangers

 Posted by on May 14, 2013  No Responses »
May 142013
 

la quad2[La Quadrature du Net, Link (CC-BY-SA)]  Pierre Lescure has handed in his report [fr] on culture at the digital era to French President François Hollande1. La Quadrature du Net denounces a flawed political process revealing the harmful influence of industrial groups at all levels of policy-making. How will the French government react to Lescure’s proposal to expand the scope of competence of the audiovisual media regulator (CSA) to the Internet? Will it to pursue former President Sarkozy’s anti-sharing policies and even supplement them with new ACTA-like measures encouraging online intermediaries to become private copyright police? Continue reading »

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Open A.I.R. Conference on Innovation and Intellectual Property in Africa; and 3rd Global Congress on IP & the Public Interest

 Posted by on May 13, 2013  No Responses »
May 132013
 
Photo of Cape Town by Hilton 1949, CC-BY-SA

Arial view of Cape Town by Hilton1949 (CC-BY-SA)

9-13 December 2013, Cape Town, South Africa

In December 2013, delegates from national and international governmental entities, the private sector, civil society, and academia will gather for five days of interconnected events in Cape Town. Participants will engage with diverse perspectives and future scenarios for intellectual property (IP), innovation and development during the Open A.I.R. Conference on Innovation and IP in Africa (9-11 December) and the 3rd Global Congress on IP and the Public Interest (11-13 December). Continue reading »

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Obama Administration Releases Historic Open Data Rules to Enhance Government Efficiency and Fuel Economic Growth

 Posted by on May 9, 2013  No Responses »
May 092013
 

PresidentialSeal[White House press release, May 9, 2013]  The Obama Administration today took groundbreaking new steps to make information generated and stored by the Federal Government more open and accessible to innovators and the public, to fuel entrepreneurship and economic growth while increasing government transparency and efficiency.

Today’s actions—including an Executive Order signed by the President and an Open Data Policy released by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy—declare that information is a valuable national asset whose value is multiplied when it is made easily accessible to the public.  The Executive Order requires that, going forward, data generated by the government be made available in open, machine-readable formats, while appropriately safeguarding privacy, confidentiality, and security. Continue reading »

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Incoming WTO Director General Urged to Make Access to Medicines a Priority

 Posted by on May 8, 2013  No Responses »
May 082013
 

msf logo2Least-developed countries fighting for TRIPS exemption extension

[MSF Press Release]  On the appointment of Roberto Azevedo as Director General of the World Trade Organization, international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned the WTO and incoming DG that access to medicines must become a priority. This includes allowing least-developed countries to remain exempt from introducing intellectual property rules, and maintaining the right of countries to use all flexibilities at their disposal to ensure access to affordable generic medicines. Continue reading »

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South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry Reneges on IP Policy Commitments

 Posted by on May 2, 2013  No Responses »
May 022013
 

fix-the-patent-laws[Posted on FixthePatentLaws.org (Link)]  On 24 April 2013, Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies stated that South Africa’s new intellectual property (IP) policy would not be released for public comment any time soon. This starkly contrasts with a number of promises in the past two years, by both the Minister and officials in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), that the release of the DTI-drafted policy is imminent.

South Africa’s patent laws do not include a number of provisions allowed for under international law that can facilitate access to medicines. In this regard we lag behind other developing countries, such as Brazil and India, in using legal safeguards in the interest of public health. According to earlier comments from the DTI, the department was developing a national IP policy that would lay the foundation for legal reform, and write such public health provisions into South African national law. Continue reading »

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Statutory Damages: A Rarity in Copyright Laws Internationally, But for How Long?

 Posted by on April 30, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 302013
 

samuelson faculty photoAuthors: Pamela Samuelson, Phil Hill, and Tara Wheatland

Publisher: Journal of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.(Forthcoming)

Abstract:  American copyright professionals may be so accustomed to the current domestic regime of statutory damages that it may come as a surprise to learn that very few countries in the world have anything comparable. Our survey of 177 World Intellectual Property Organization member states reveals that the United States is one of only 24 nations that has a statutory damage regime. Of these 24 countries, the vast majority have developing or emerging economies and are not known for having strong copyright industries. Continue reading »

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Op-ed on Publisher Lawsuit Against Delhi University: Why Students Need the Right to Copy

 Posted by on April 28, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 282013
 

hindu[Shamnad Basheer]  Late last year, leading publishing houses including Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press brought a copyright action against Delhi University and a tiny photocopy shop licensed by it, seeking to restrain them from supplying educational course packs to students. This lawsuit sent shock waves across the academic community, leading more than 300 authors and academics including famed Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen to protest this copyright aggression in an open letter to publishers. Tellingly, 33 of the authors of various books mentioned specifically in the lawsuit (as having been copied in the course packs) signed this protest letter making it clear that they were dissociating themselves from this unfortunate lawsuit.

Click here for the full op-ed on thehindu.com.

 

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Campaign for a Progressive Copyright Law in Uzbekistan

 Posted by on April 26, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 262013
 

eifl[EIFL press release (CC-BY)]  On the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day with the theme “Creativity: the next generation”, EIFL is pleased to publish the fourth in a series of case studies with the results of advocacy campaigns in support of copyright law reform in EIFL partner countries. Continue reading »

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EP Trade Committee Rejects Meaningful TTIP Amendments

 Posted by on April 25, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 252013
 

ffii[Ante Wessells, posted to FFII.org (link) (CC-BY-SA)]  Today the European Parliament International Trade committee voted on a draft resolution on the EU – US trade agreement (TTIP / TAFTA). La Quadrature du Net summarizes it: EU Parliament Opens The Door to Copyright Repression in TAFTA.

The INTA committee could have voted meaningful amendments into the draft resolution, but declined to do that. Continue reading »

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