Why We Need a Universal Mandatory Exception for Text and Data Mining

[Sergey Filippov and Paul Hofheinz] On 09 December 2015, the European Commission proposed a mandatory exception for research in EU copyright legislation for “public interest research organisations to carry out text and data mining of content they have lawful access to, with full legal certainty, for scientific research purposes.” The initiative was welcomed by many if not most in the research community, though some expressed concern about the language used, not least the term “public interest research organisation,” which is disputable and therefore likely to be a target for legal challenge. The second part of the text – “for scientific research purposes” – is also open to misinterpretation. Click here for more.

Civil Society Joint Statement on the Occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Visit to US

[Joint Statement by 11 NGOs] We understand that intellectual property rights (IPRs) would be a priority topic of discussion during Prime Minister’s forthcoming visit to the United States of America (USA). During the past two decades or so, the issue of IPRs has become a key tool for managing competition in the name of promoting innovation and a knowledge economy. The Policy sees the generation of IPRs as an end itself. However, in reality, promotion of IPRs has not only limited the ability of developing countries obtain critical technologies for their economic and social development, but has also seriously impacted their peoples’ lives by making essential goods such as medicines, seeds, and textbooks unaffordable. Click here for more.

See also: Médecins Sans Frontières . Ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s Visit, Doctors Without Borders Urges India to Put People’s Health Before Pharmaceutical Profits. Link.

Submission in Response to the Productivity Commission Draft Report Intellectual Property Arrangements

[COAG Education Council Copyright Advisory Group] Executive summary: Australia’s copyright laws operate as a serious roadblock to preparing children to be the creators and innovators of the future. Government policy and community expectations require schools to take an increasing role in STEM education, industry collaboration, and equipping students with the digital skills they need to be successful in the workforce of the future. However, Australia’s copyright laws – designed in the age of classroom-based “chalk and talk” teaching – are simply not appropriate for today’s world of flipped classrooms, digital learning, and collaboration. Laws designed for photocopiers are ill-equipped to cope with interactive whiteboards, tablets and robotics. Click here for more.

Google Wins Another Fair Use Case

[Krista Cox] On May 26, 2016, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Google in its battle against Oracle.  Oracle brought suit claiming that Google infringed  by using Java application programming interface (API) in Android’s mobile operating system.  Google argued that its use of the code in the Android system, which relies partly on Java (an open source code that was acquired by Oracle in 2010), was fair use. After three days of deliberation, the ten jurors unanimously returned a verdict in favor of Google, answering “yes” to the question of whether the use of Java API’s was fair use. Click here for more.

¿Licenciamiento abierto en aprietos?

[Paula Jaramillo] Un proyecto de ley en Chile busca extender el derecho a cobrar regalías a los actores en obras artísticas audiovisuales, para hacerlo aplicable a los directores y guionistas de esas mismas obras. Han surgido dudas si ello afectaría, hasta el punto de impedir, que estos derechos puedan ser licenciados libremente por esos artistas. Click here for more.

Re-Mixing Protected By Freedom Of Arts Fundamental Right, German Court Rules

[IP Watch] The German Constitutional Court today ruled in favour of the “freedom to sample” – or freedom to remix – in a case between the singer/songwriter Sabrina Setlur and the band Kraftwerk. The latter had filed complaints against the sampling of two seconds of rhythm from its 1977 song “Metall auf Metall” in Setlur’s 1997 “Nur mir”. The Federal High Court and several lower courts ruled in favour of Kraftwerk, pointing to German copyright legislation underlining the difference between re-using snippets from the original recording medium to re-performing them. Click here for more.

Is India Holding the Line Against Another TPP?

[Kyla Tienhaara and Belinda Townsend] On 2 May 2016, US President Barack Obama published an op-ed in the Washington Post in an attempt to bolster support for the highly controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP has become a political football in the US election primaries, with all of the leading candidates for President expressing their opposition to it. Obama was alluding to the latest round of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), recently held in Perth. This agreement includes China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, India and the 10 countries that make up ASEAN. Obama seems to be concerned that RCEP won’t mirror the TPP’s stance on issues like intellectual property protection. Click here for more.