WIPO SCCR Progresses Limitations Agenda Amid Controversy

[Sean Flynn] The 39th Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) concluded with measured progress on the agenda to discuss international instruments on limitations and exceptions amid increasing controversy over the management of the Committee. Click here for more.See also:

  • Unofficial transcript of WIPO DDG for Copyright Silvie Forbin’s remarks at the Closing of WIPO’s international conference on limitations and exceptions held October 18-19 in Geneva, Switzerland. Link.
  • Civil Society Letter to WIPO Delegates Attending the 39th SCCR. Link.
  • Delia Browne.Civil Society Groups Voice Concerns with WIPO’s Proposed Broadcasting Treaty Ahead of the 39th SCCR. Link.

Uganda Tells ARIPO: No More Patents for Pharmaceuticals

[Ellen ‘t Hoen] Uganda has notified the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) that pharmaceutical inventions are not eligible for patentability in the country, Managing IP reported. With this notification, Uganda is exercising one of the TRIPS flexibilities specific for least developed country members of the World Trade Organization that allows them not to grant or enforce pharmaceutical patents and protection of undisclosed data. Click here for more.

Who Is In Charge Here? The Internet of Things, Governance and the Global Intellectual Property Regime

[Andrew Rens] Abstract: No one entity is in charge of the Internet, yet it works. The functioning of the Internet is maintained by an amalgamation of technological architectures, standards (and standards bodies) and task specific institutions, that are referred to as the Internet governance regime. But this mode of organization faces new challenges. Increasingly everyday objects, from cat feeders to traffic lights, are being fitted with sensors and controls and then connected to the Internet. The resulting Internet of Things is beset with problems of security, safety and privacy which demand public policy solutions. Yet the range of potential solutions is constrained by the global intellectual property regime. Click here for more.

Libraries and Archives File Amicus Brief Promoting Digital Preservation

[Jonathan Band] Organizations representing libraries and archives filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Allen v. Cooper, a case concerning the constitutionality of a statute that seeks to limit the sovereign immunity of state governments against claims for copyright infringement. The amicus brief focuses on the negative impact the elimination of sovereign immunity would have on digital preservation. Click here for more.

How Will Recent Trade Agreements that Extend Market Protections for Brand-Name Prescription Pharmaceuticals Impact Expenditures and Generic Access in Canada?

[R.F. Beall, L. Hardcastle, F. Clement and A. Hollis] Abstract: Canada recently entered into two multinational trade agreements (i.e., the Canada, United States, and Mexico Trade Agreement; and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union). The resulting federal policy changes will prolong periods of market protection afforded to eligible brand-name prescription drugs by extending competition-blocking patent and data exclusivity terms. While previous studies have analysed these two policy changes in isolation, it remains unknown what the total combined impact will be in a typical year. Click here for more.

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Model Law on Copyright and Related Rights

[Chijioke Okorie] Last week, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) published the ARIPO Model Law on Copyright and Related Rights (the Model Law). The ARIPO member states are expected to adopt and/or adapt the Model Law for their respective national purposes. Click here for more.

Article 17 Stakeholder Dialogue (Day 1): Same Old, Same Old

[Communia Association] Article 17(10) of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market directive requires the Commission to “organise stakeholder dialogues to discuss best practices for cooperation between online content-sharing service providers and rightholders”. Last week Tuesday we took part in the first meeting of the stakeholder dialogue. The dialogue (which will consist of a series of meetings) is supposed to provide the Commission with input for producing guidelines can “balance fundamental rights and the use of exceptions and limitations” with the upload filtering obligations introduced by Article 17 of the directive. Click here for more.

Harvard Professor Ruth Okediji Calls for New Public Interest Copyright System

[Sean Flynn] Professor Ruth Okediji Delivered the 8th Annual Peter A. Jaszi Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Property. Her lecture addressed The Unfinished Business of Copyright Limitations and Exceptions. Professor Okediji called for a new paradigm of thinking about the relationship between copyright and the public interest. “The excesses of the copyright system cannot be remedied by limitations and exceptions alone,” she exclaimed. Click here for more. Click here for more.

The US Just Announced a Review of South Africa’s Place In Its Biggest Preferential Trade Scheme – Because Its Movie and Music Companies Don’t Like the Controversial Copyright Bill

[Phillip de Wet] The Office of the United States Trade Representative has announced a review of South Africa’s eligibility to participate in the Generalized System of Preferences, a duty-free trade scheme. The review is based on a complaint by US movie, music, software, and book publishing companies that SA is not doing enough to protect intellectual property. Those companies, via their umbrella organisation the International Intellectual Property Alliance, says South African plans to update copyright legislation are bad news. Click here for more on businessinsider.co.za.