Global Congress Week of Intellectual Property, the Public Interest and Covid-19

From October 5-9, the organizers of the Global Congress are hosting a week of online workshops, discussion tables, panels, global talks, strategic meetings, “fire debates”, and bootcamps on the intersection of IP, the public interest, and Covid-19. PIJIP will host three sessions: Sean Flynn will chair Copyright and COVID: What Should the World Intellectual Property Organization Do? Meredith Jacob will chair The Open COVID Patent Pledge and the Future of IP in the Public Interest and Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Emergency Online Education and Open Educational Resources. Click here for the full schedule for the week.Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty in Latin America: A Look at the Experiences of Four CC Community Members

[Brigitte Vézina and Scann] Four years ago today, the Marrakesh Treaty entered into force. The Treaty is truly special in the international copyright law universe: it has a clear humanitarian and social development dimension and it’s the first international treaty that focuses on the beneficiaries of limitations and exceptions, rather than on the rights of creators or holders of related rights. Adopted at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2013, the Marrakesh Treaty’s main goal is to create a set of mandatory limitations and exceptions for the benefit of the blind, visually impaired, and otherwise print disabled (VIPs). The Marrakesh Treaty is a huge step forward for VIPs around the world, as it facilitates access to works in adapted versions. However, making sure the treaty works on the ground in each country or institution is not necessarily plain sailing. Click here for more.

WTO TRIPS Council: India and South Africa Submit Draft Decision Text on a Waiver from Certain Provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the Prevention, Containment and Treatment of COVID-19

[Thiru Balasubramaniam] On Friday, 2 October 2020, the World Trade Organization (WTO) published a joint submission by India and South Africa on a draft decision text to the WTO TRIPS Council on a waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19. In their communication, IP/C/W/669, India and South Africa presented the following request: “In these exceptional circumstances, we request that the Council for TRIPS recommends, as early as possible, to the General Council a waiver from the implementation, application and enforcement of Sections 1, 4, 5, and 7 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to prevention, containment or treatment of COVID-19.” Click here for more on keionline.org.

The Copyright Tax

[Glynn  Lunney] Abstract: In 1841, Lord Babington described copyright “as a tax on readers for the purpose of giving a bounty to writers.” In this article, I take that description literally. Treating copyright as a tax-and-subsidy system, I use a novel data set to estimate the amount of the copyright tax and to demonstrate that the copyright tax has increased significantly for books and music with the transition from analog to digital distribution. I then explore who pays it. Finally, I use the rise-and-fall of the sound recording copyright as a natural experiment to explore what, if anything, taxpayers have received in return for paying their copyright taxes. Click here for more.

Supplementary Protection Certificates and Their Impact on Access to Medicines in Europe: Case Studies of Sofosbuvir, Trastuzumab and Imatinib

[Yuanqiong Hu, Dimitri Eynikel, Pascale Boulet & Gaelle Krikorian] In recent years, there has been increasing pressure on public health systems in high-income countries due to high medicines prices, one of the underlying causes of which are the market monopolies granted to pharmaceutical undertakings. These monopolies have been facilitated by expanded forms of intellectual property protections, including the extension of the exclusivity period after the expiration of the patent term concerning medicinal products. In the European Union such an approach lies in the Supplementary Protection Certificate. Click here for more.