U.S. Trade Representative: 2015 Special 301 Report

  • Full Text of the Report, April 30, 2015. Link.
  • USTR Press Release. Link.
  • Statements:
    • Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Link.
    • Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orin Hatch. Link.
    • Sean Flynn, American University. Link.
    • James Love, Knowledge Ecology International. Link.
    • Jeremy Malcolm and Maira Sutton, Electronic Frontier Foundation. Link.
    • International Intellectual Property Association. Link.
    • Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association. Link.

Expand Public Domain and User Rights: COMMUNIA position paper on copyright reform

[Alek Tarkowski] We are publishing today our position paper on copyright reform in Europe (PDF), as a statement in the ongoing debate that focuses on the reform of the Information Society Directive. Our position is based on the 14 policy recommendations that are at the heart of our organisation, as well as on our previous policy documents. We start by defining three basic principles: 1) Exclusive rights should be limited, 2) The public domain should not be eroded by legal or technical means, 3) Limitations and exceptions to copyright should continue playing their role of adapting copyright to technological changes. Click here for more.

Increasing IP Barriers Impact on Generic Medicines ‘Made in India’

[Delhi Network of Positive People]  At a conference titled ‘IP as Frontline Tool for Make in India’, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and industry (FICCI) to mark World IP Week, the Delhi Network of Positive People and the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition held a protest before Mr. Amitabh Kant (Secretary DIPP), Mr. Rajeev Agarwal (Patent Controller General) and Mr. N.K. Sabarwal (Convenor, IP Thank Tank), highlighting the negative impact of IP barriers on generic medicines ‘Made in India.’  Click here for more.

Frequently Asked Questions on IP and TPP Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)

[Sean Flynn] … Why is an intellectual property academic worried about ISDS? In a recent development, ISDS provisions are being used to challenge the limitation of IP rights. Eli Lilly is challenge Canada’s invalidation of patent extensions for new uses of two medicines originally developed in the 1970s. Philip Morris is challenging Uruguay’s regulation of advertising on cigarette packages as an “expropriation” of their trademarks. The leak of the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) chapter proposed for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement shows that it would expand rights of private companies to challenge limitations and exceptions to copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights. Instead of combatting the ability to bring cases such as Eli Lilly’s, it invites them. Click here for more.

Busting a Copyright Myth-Buster

[Brandon Butler] In a recent listicle on Medium, the Canadian writer John Degen, executive director of the Writers’ Union of Canada, described what he characterized as “5 Seriously Dumb Myths About Copyright the Media Should Stop Repeating.” Of course, Degen’s post takes aim at the usual straw man, a mythical “free culture” movement that hates all copyrights and wants them abolished. As a result, he ignores the complexity of the debate over copyright’s genuine costs and the real contributions of scholars who have shown the harm that unrestrained copyright can do. Click here for more.

U.S. Copyright Office Publishes Index of Fair Use Decisions

[U.S. Copyright Office] Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante today announced the launch of the U.S. Copyright Office’s Fair Use Index, which is designed to provide the public with searchable summaries of major fair use decisions. The Index was undertaken in support of the 2013 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement prepared by the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator within the Executive Office of the President. Although not a substitute for legal advice, the Index is searchable by court and subject matter and provides a helpful starting point for those wishing to better understand how the federal courts have applied the fair use doctrine to particular categories of works or types of use, for example, music, internet/digitization, or parody. Click here for more.

Terms and Conditions: Neither Death Separates Us?

[Laura Andrea Mora Ardila] Many intermediaries have to intervene in order for us to surf the web. These intermediaries are the ones that allow us to search (such as Yahoo or Google), to surf (such as Mozilla, Internet Explorer), to connect to the Internet (such as Claro, Telefónica), and many more. They establish terms and conditions covering diverse subjects: intellectual property, their own data protection policies, and their responsibility in service delivery, among others. These policies usually appear on the companies’ websites and should be adjusted to the law, but even go further in defining details of their relationship with users and also how to protect them. Click here for more on DigitalRightsLAC.net.

Trans-Pacific Partnership: Curbing Access  to Medicines Now and in the Future

[amFAR: Foundation for AIDS Research] The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is currently being negotiated among 12 Pacific Rim countries… It is anticipated that the agreement will expand existing intellectual property (IP) protections on pharmaceutical products, which will ultimately impede access to affordable generic medicines for diseases  such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C. Click here for more.