Sign On to Letter on Colombian Copyright Act

[Sean Flynn] Peter Jaszi and I are asking for other Copyright experts and academics to support a letter to Colombian officials on their pending Copyright reform. We ask for expressions of support by Thursday July 18 so that we can release the letter at meetings in Colombia next week. This letter follows the expression of concern many of us voiced last year when Colombia sought to implement its U.S. Free Trade Agreement IP chapter through a rushed process with a bill that implemented only proprietor rights increases with no correlative updating of the country’s limitations and exceptions. Subsequently, that bill was blocked by a Constitutional Court ruling that demanded that a fuller public process be followed. Click here for more.

Civil Society Statement in Support of Brazilian Patent Law Reform

[Brook Baker] Activists and progressive health forces in Brazil have succeeded in catalyzing a proposal to reform Brazilian patent law to take advantage of key TRIPS flexibilities in order to increase access to affordable medicines. In August 2013, Brazil will issue a major report and proposed legislative reforms that will: eliminate patent term extensions and data exclusivity, restrict patents on new forms and new uses and tighten the the inventive step requirement (following the India example), adopt government use procedures, and clarify the role that ANVISA, its drug regulatory agency, plays in the patent examination system. We hope to gain sign-ons from hundreds of civil society/activist organizations.  Click here for more.

The End of Chinese Cultural Exceptionalism?

[Joe Karaganis] Dan Harris at China Law Blog invited me to write a post about the launch of the Chinese translation of Media Piracy in Emerging Economies.  There is no China chapter in the report, but of course there are numerous China connections and parallels.  Here’s an attempt to explore those connections, in three parts.

Conference: Human Rights in the Digital Era

[Karisma Fundacion] The conference on Human Rights in the Digital Age aims to examine the Colombian situation as regard human rights in digital environments, in dialogue with Latin American and international experiences. In this sense, challenges and opportunities for human rights protection in the digital environment will be assessed. This effort is conducted to open a bridge for dialogue on how the society can anticipate and respond to human rights issues related to new regulations affecting Internet. It is also anticipated to take a look at current debates in the public arena. Particular emphasis will be given to the implications of free trade agreements in the fields of copyright in the region and, therefore, new opportunities to build a strong legal guarantee framework. Click here for the full announcement.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Talks Begin As Documents Leak

[Mike Palmedo] Last week, USTR hosted the first round of TTIP negotiations in Washington D.C… Also last week, leaked TTIP documents began circulating. La Quadrature du Net posted a leaked a document from the EU indicating they are considering the negotiation of ISP liability. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy had already released “Initial Position Papers” from the EU, including one on pharmaceuticals [which] indicated that the EU wants TTIP to include language on the approval of biopharmaceuticals, which would likely involve a term of data exclusivity. Also of interest, MEP Marietje Schaake has posted a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership F.A.Q. that gives upcoming dates relevant to the negotiations.  Click here for more.

1709 Blog on French 3-Strikes Copyright Law: 3rd Strike Struck Out

[FrenchKat, The 1709 Blog] By decree dated July 8th and published in today’s Official Journal, the French government has severely limited the three-strikes graduated response scheme put in place to combat P2P piracy. Article 2 of the decree repeals the provision of the Intellectual Property Code that allowed a court to suspend a person’s internet access for up to one month where such person had been shown to be negligent in securing his internet access (so-called “négligence caractérisée“). Click here for more.

Eighteenth Round of TPP Negotiations Begin in Malaysia

The 18th round of TPP negotiations kicks off today in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.  Stakeholders presentations will be held on the 20th, and 180 civil society groups have registered.  For more information, see:

What are the best examples of laws on technological protection measures with exceptions for lawful uses?

[Mike Palmedo] Last month, PIJIP asked people to recommend examples of domestic legal provisions regarding technological protection measures (TPMs) that include good protections of users engaged in lawful uses of copyrighted content. People suggested we look at the copyright laws of India, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Hong Kong, as well as proposed laws in Canada and Brazil.  The provisions from each appear below (there is an English-language description of the Brazilian proposal with a link to the original in Portuguese). We have also created an open google doc anyone can edit in case people would like to add other examples, or comment on any of the existing ones. Click here for more.