Creative Commons Global Summit – Call for Sessions and Lectures
[Creative Commons Colombia] The Creative Commons Global Summit, to be held this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, has officially launched the Call for sessions and talks. “Those attending the summit will discuss strategies for strengthening Creative Commons and its worldwide community, learn about the latest developments in the global commons movement, and show local and international projects using Creative Commons licenses. It is an ideal place to meet and present their ideas to the wider community of Creative Commons. More importantly, this will be our first Summit in Spanish with a Spanish section in the program. Click here for more.
Access Copyright’s Desperate Declaration of War Against Fair Dealing
[Michael Geist.ca] Months after the Supreme Court of Canada delivered a stinging defeat to Access Copyright by ruling for an expansive approach to fair dealing and the government passed copyright reforms that further expanded the scope of fair dealing, the copyright collective responded yesterday with what amounts to a desperate declaration of war against fair dealing. In the aftermath of the court decisions and legislative reforms, a consensus emerged within the Canadian education community on the scope of fair dealing. The fair dealing policies used guidance from the Supreme Court to establish clear limits on copying and eliminate claims that the law was now a free-for-all. In developing those fair dealing policies, however, many institutions no longer saw much value in the Access Copyright licence. Click here for more.
The Novartis Decision: A Tale Of Developing Countries, IP, And The Role Of The Judiciary
[Ahmed Abdel Latif] Much – if not everything – has been said about the health innovation and access to medicines impact of the recent decision of the Indian Supreme Court (SC) in the Novartis case. But there are broader implications. The ruling is also a revealing tale about the changing role of developing countries in the global intellectual property landscape and the growing influence of the judiciary in these countries in the implementation of international intellectual property rules. Click here for more.
Community Right To Access Unpublished Works Trumps Moral Rights Of Heir, Argentine Court Says
[Maximiliano Marzetti for IP Watch (CC-BY-NC-ND)]In a recent decision, Ediciones de la Flor SA c. Fontanarrosa Franco s. Acción Mere Declarativa (File No. 1420/08), the Court of First Instance in Civil and Commercial Matters No. 12 of Rosario, the second largest city in Argentina, ruled that the rights of the community to access unpublished works of a deceased author are superior to the moral rights of one of his heirs to oppose such publication. Roberto Fontanarrosa, a famous cartoonist and writer whose characters are very popular in Argentina, died on 19 July 2007. After his death, his widow, Gabriela Mahy, and his son from a previous marriage, Franco Fontanarrosa, went to court to settle their rights. According to Argentine Civil Code, when a person dies and leaves assets behind, it is left to a judge to determine who the legal successors are and which assets belong to each of them. In the meantime, the widow was appointed interim manager by the court. Click here for the full story on IP Watch.
Statement from Malaysian Public Health Organizations Opposing the Trans Pacific Partnership
[19 Public Health Groups] Generic medicines save lives by preventing, curing and managing non-communicable and communicable diseases for all Malaysians, especially the lower-income and marginalised groups. The United States via the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is demanding strict provisions that will reduce access to these affordable medicines. We oppose the following provisions because deprivation of affordable medicines will result in increased burden of disease, increased morbidity, and indirectly, productivity and human resources losses that will affect the economy of the nation. This economic and social burden will lie on the government – when medicines are expensive, people will eventually run out of money and turn to government hospitals for treatment. Click here for more.
Attack on affordable medicines continues in EU-India trade negotiations
[Don’t Trade Our Lives Away blog] Thousands of people living with HIV, cancer patient groups & public health activists rallied on the streets of Delhi today calling on the Indian government to reject the EU’s demands in the European Union–India Free Trade Agreement (EU–India FTA) negotiations. The protests coincide with the visit of the the Hon’ble Prime Minister to Germany to meet German Chancellor, Dr. Angela Merkel with the FTA at the top of the agenda. On 14-15 April, the Hon’ble Commerce Minister will be in Brussels for ministerial level negotiations to finalise the FTA. Click here for more.
