Global Congress Week of Intellectual Property, the Public Interest and Covid-19
On October 5-9, 2020, Fundación Karisma will host a week of online panels and workshops on the intersection of IP, the public interest, and Covid-19. The week is organized around the topics of Traditional and Diverse Knowledge; Digital Rights; Copyright; Access to Medicines; and Trade Agreements. Click here for the full schedule for the week.
EIFL-KLISC Fact Sheet on US-Kenya Trade Talks
[Electronic Information for Libraries] EIFL and our partner library consortium in Kenya, the Kenya Libraries and Information Services Consortium (KLISC), have issued a fact sheet on the proposed US-Kenya Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement that aims to strengthen economic ties between the US and Kenya… At least 20 priority areas for negotiation have been identified, including intellectual property (IP). However, any requirement to apply a standard of IP protection similar to that found in US law to Kenya, as a developing country, raises significant concerns among libraries and other civil society stakeholders. Click here for more.
A New Trend in Trade Agreements – Ensuring Access to Cancer Drugs
[Maria Fabiana Jorge] Abstract: …While competition is critical to ensure lower drug prices, we have seen a number of strategies, including through trade agreements, to prevent competition and extend monopolies over these drugs and their very high drug prices. It is no accident that the exclusivity granted to biologic drugs has been one of the most conflictive provisions in recent trade agreements such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Nevertheless a new trend in trade agreements started in 2007 when U.S. Members of Congress pushed back against the interests of powerful economic groups seeking longer monopolies for drugs. Click here for more.
Digital Piracy and the Perception of Price Fairness: Evidence from a Field Experiment
[Anna Kukla-Gryz, Joanna Tyrowicz and Michał Krawczyk] Abstract: We study a relationship between perceived price fairness and digital piracy. In a large-scale field experiment on customers of a leading ebook store, we employ the Bayesian truth serum to elicit the information on acquiring books from unauthorized sources (often referred to as digital piracy). We provide empirical evidence in support of the conjecture that willingness to “pirate” is associated with having experienced subjective overpricing. We propose and verify the relevance of two mechanisms behind this link: reactance theory and moral cleansing/licensing. The results indicate that pricing policy perceived as fair may reduce the scope for digital piracy. Click here for more.
Is the Right to Exclusivity a Hamlet Question?
[Justice Prabha Sridevan] Today the judicial authority may be faced with balancing patent rights and patients’ rights or right to life. It shall use all the tools at its command and innovate if necessary, but shall rule in favour of life. Click here for more.
The New Related Right for Press Publishers: What Way Forward?
[Silvia Scalzini] Abstract: Following the entry into force of Directive 2019/790/EU, a new related right has been added to the EU catalogue (Article 15). Indeed, a new right has been introduced in favour of press publishers for the reproduction and making available to the public of press publications in respect of online uses by information society service providers. The main aim of the EU reform is to support the sustainability of the press by creating a level playing field between digital services and press publishers, where the latter may find a way to recoup a return on their investments. This objective is clearly reflected in the construction of the right, which is inherently unbalanced regarding opposing rights and interests, thus risking to (further) fragmenting the consistency of EU copyright and related rights system. Click here for more.
