Comments Filed with USTR for the GSP Review of South Africa

On November 19, 2019, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced a review of South Africa’s eligibility for Generalized System of Preferences benefits. USTR was acting on a petition filed by the International Intellectual Property Alliance, which has concerns over South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill. USTR’s deadline for written comments was January 17, and there will be a public hearing on the matter on January 30. All comments will be posted on regulations.gov [search Docket ID: USTR-2019-0021], though they are not posted as of this writing. Comments include those submitted by

WIPO: Request for Comments on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on IP

[World Intellectual Property Organization] WIPO is seeking to develop, through an open process, a list of issues concerning the impact of artificial intelligence (Al) on intellectual property (IP) policy that might form the basis of future structured discussions. Member states and all other interested parties are invited to provide comments and suggestions on the draft issues paper. Comments are welcome on any aspect of the IP system that is impacted by AI. Click here for more.

New Business Models for Research and Development with Affordability Requirements Are Needed to Achieve Fair Pricing of Medicines

[Fatima Suleman, Marcus Low, and Suerie Moon, and Steven G Morgan] For research and development to systematically deliver fairly priced medicines, new approaches to financing and organisation are needed, and affordability must be integrated into push, pull, and pooling mechanisms. Click here for the full article on BMJ.com.

Note: this article is part of a 7-part BMJ series Achieving Fair Pricing of Medicines

Article 17: Both French and Dutch Implementation Proposals Lack Key User Rights Safeguards

[Communia Association] As of January 2020 there are two Member States that have published legislative proposals for the implementation of Article 17 CDSM… These first implementation proposals are coming from a main proponent of Article 17 (France) and one of the most vocal opponents (Netherlands), and allow us to get a first impression of how Member States across the EU are likely going to deal with this controversial article. Irrespective of the different positions by France and the Netherlands during the directive negotiations, the implementation proposed by both Member States do not diverge much from each other. Click here for more.

U.S. Appellate Court Enforces CC’s Interpretation of Noncommercial

[Diane Peters] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reaffirmed Creative Commons’ interpretation of activities that are permissible under the NonCommercial (NC) licenses, which allow bona fide noncommercial reusers to hire out the making of copies of NC-licensed content, even to profit-making businesses such as Office Depot and FedEx Office. Click here for more.

The Machine As Author

[Daniel Gervais] Abstract: The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) machines using deep learning neural networks to create material that facially looks like it should be protected by copyright is growing exponentially. From articles in national news media to music, film, poetry and painting, AI machines create material that has economic value and that competes with productions of human authors. The Article reviews both normative and doctrinal arguments for and against the protection by copyright of literary and artistic productions made by AI machines. Click here for more.

Big Pharma Looks to Stem Losses After Trade Deal Defeat

[Peter Sullivan] The powerful pharmaceutical industry is trying to cope with a rare loss in the North American trade deal now moving through the Senate. Drug companies are protesting the elimination of a provision that would have given them 10 years of market exclusivity for an innovative type of drug called biologics. That measure was dropped from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) …the industry is working to get senators on record in support of including the protections it lost in this deal in future trade agreements with other countries but that drug companies are also not trying to get GOP senators to vote against the USMCA, a likely impossible task. Instead, the industry, worried about the precedent this deal sets, is trying to stem its losses and build support for including the intellectual property protections in future trade deals with countries like China. Click here for the full story on TheHill.com.