Live from the Trans Pacific Partnership: IP Chapter Shows No Sign of Resolution, End of Negotiation in 2013 Highly Unlikely

[Sean Flynn] There is a strong sense in the halls of the current TPP negotiation that the end is not in sight. And one of the primary reasons for the blocked progress is a lack of consensus on intellectual property and pharmaceuticals issues. Officially, the Chief Negotiators have backed off the prior commitment to end the TPP negotiation by October, but are still clinging to a goal to end the negotiation by the “end of the year.” But privately, none of the negotiators or stakeholders at this round would express any confidence that the intellectual property issues could be resolved by then. The issues still under contention are massive. Click here for more.

More on the TPP Negotiations:

  • Petition supported by Peruvian civil society organizations: http://www.nonegociable.pe
  • Brook Baker.  Investor-State Arbitration of IP Monopolies on Medicines – Eli Lilly and the TPP (Link)
  • Susan Chalmers. New  Zealand-Born Fair Deal Coalition Gets Global Makeover. (Link)
  • Médecins Sans Frontières. The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Threat to Affordable Medicines for Millions. (Link)
  • Mike Palmedo. Trans Pacific Partnership Negotiations and the Controversial Issue of Pharmaceutical Test Data Protection (Link)
  • Sean Flynn. Latin American Generics Association ALIFAR Announces Engagement in Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Advocacy Against TRIPS-plus IP Policies (Link)

New Colombian Copyright Legislation Introduced – How Does It Compare to Ley Lleras 2.0?

[Andres Izquierdo] Last May 17th a new copyright bill was resubmitted in the Colombian Congress as part of the implementation of the FTA with the United States. The new Bill is introduced as a replacement to the 1520 Act of 2012 (Ley Lleras 2.0), law that was struck down last January by the Constitutional Court (Case C11-13) on procedural grounds. The bill was submitted in Congress by the Ministry of Interior, Fernando Carrillo, and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Sergio Diaz Granados. The new bill retains most of the previous articles of Ley Lleras 2.0, and also modifies, corrects and increases more the scope for enforcement of copyright and neighboring rights in Colombia. Click here for more.

Colombian Government Presents Again Bill 1520 Without Citizen Participation

[Carolina Botero] Last Friday, while celebrating Internet Day, the government introduced to the Congress a Bill which essentially reproduces the text of the former Law 1520 (Ley Lleras 2). This happened despite several  claims it would open a civil dialogue when implementing the US FTA obligations before taking them to parliament, and after 3 failed attempts to reform the Copyright system during the last 2 years (Ley Lleras 1 on ISP liability was filed;  Law 1520 or Ley Lleras 2 that was implementing other copyright provisions was declared unconstitutional; and Bill 001, that developed some basic exceptions but in a very restrictive way, and was finally retired this past week).  Click here for more.

Open Letter to the Chair of the TRIPS Council, Alfredo Suescum, Ambassador of Panama to the WTO

[Our World Is Not for Sale (OWINFS) Network and LDC Watch.] We are outraged with the manner in which informal consultations are being conducted on the issue of extension of the LDC’s transition period. We find the current process to be unfair and prejudicial to the interests of the LDCs, the poorest and most vulnerable segment of the international community. The LDC’s request has obtained extensive support from the developing world but the supporters of the LDC’s request have not been invited to participate in the current on-going consultations. Instead, the consultations have been limited to developed countries (that are opposed to the LDCs request) and to the LDC Group. It is outrageous that developing countries that have supported the LDC request (which together with the LDCs form the vast majority of actual members of the WTO), are being prevented from participating in the consultations. As a result you are depriving LDCs of their allies, while attempting to overwhelm the negotiating capacity of the poorest members of the WTO by placing them in an unfair position where they have to face the united might of the developed countries. Clearly the consultations have been designed so that the outcome will fail the LDCs. Click here for more.

WIPO Treaty for the Visually Impaired Flounders

[Sara Bannerman] Negotiators at WIPO are preparing for a June 17-22 diplomatic conference in Marrakesh to create a new international instrument/treaty for the benefit of the visually impaired.  The treaty is intended, by its proponents, to make copyright works more accessible to the visually impaired.  It is currently estimated that only 5% of works are available in an accessible format.  Stevie Wonder and other key activists have been proponents of the treaty. However, negotiations have hit stumbling blocks that could foil the agreement. Click here for more.

  • See Also: Brook Baker. Challenges Facing a Proposed WIPO Treaty for Persons Who are Blind or Print Disabled. (Link on keionline.org)

Copyright policymaking and the digital public domain: a bitter-sweet wishful thinking from France

[Anne-Catherine Lorrain] The mission on culture at the digital era commissioned by the French government and supervised by Pierre Lescure, rather pompously entitled ‘Acte II de l’exception culturelle’, released its report this week in Paris… The Lescure Report is a new step in the policymaking on creative content in the digital society in France. Following the presidential elections last year, the new government wanted to induce reflection about the future of the HADOPI system adopted by the former government, and more generally on the protection of national culture on the Internet. The ambition heralded by this mission was big, so were the expectations about the resulting report.  Click here for more.

WIPO Development Committee Ends On Positive Note With Modest Results

[Catherine Saez] After a week which many World Intellectual Property Organization delegates working on development issues found difficult, a degree of consensus appeared in the last hour late on 17 May. Developing countries’ requests were substantially scaled down as discussions on several areas threatened to be bogged down indefinitely. A number of discussions on areas which could not meet consensus during the course of the 11th session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP), from 13-17 May, were pushed to the last day to find solutions. Click here for the full story on IP Watch.

The Economics of Collective Copyright Management

[Book chapter by Christian Handke] This chapter introduces the basic economics of collective administration of copyrights, summarizes the economic literature to date and puts various contributions into perspective. Markets for copyrights are changing with the diffusion of digital information and communication technology. It is contentious how the system of collective administration should adapt. The organization of collective administration in national monopolies (or very rarely duopolies) has also come under more intensive scrutiny lately. There seems ample scope to apply economic theory to inform these debates. Click here for the full text on SSRN.