Academic Comments: South African Copyright Amendment Bill, 2015
[South African and U.S. Academics] We write in response to your request for public comments on South Africa’s planned copyright legislation reform. We are grateful for the chance to make a contribution in support of this extraordinary effort on the part of the Department of Trade and Industry to modernize South African copyright law and – in so doing – to make South Africa an international leader in the field at a critical moment in its history. For more, see the announcement | Joint Academic Comment | Accompanying Table.
See also: Comments by African Union for the Blind. Link
EU Commission ISDS Proposal a Threat to Democracy and Civil Rights
[Ante Wessels] … The commission proposal contains a broad definition of investment which includes intellectual property rights (patents, copyright, etc; page 1 and 2 (x2, g)). Page 5, article 5 includes indirect expropriation… This would give supranational (for-profit) investment adjudicators discretion to interpret and decide on compliance with the TRIPS agreement (while the WTO has its own (state-state) dispute settlement mechanism). This changes the dynamic, as private parties have less constraint than states in starting cases. And there is a difference between seeing intellectual property rights as innovation stimulants and seeing them as assets. Click here for more.
A Right to Read Campaign Established in Nepal
[Electronic Information for Libraries] On 3-4 September 2015, EIFL co-organized the first seminar in Nepal dedicated to library copyright issues, in cooperation with our partners, the Nepal Library and Information Consortium (NeLIC). The sub-regional seminar provided an introduction to copyright and the copyright system, as well as library provisions in the copyright law of Nepal and other countries. It focused on three important areas: the Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities, the development of open educational resources (OERs), and long-term preservation of knowledge. Click here for more.
EU Calls for Indefinite Extension of WTO TRIPS Waiver on Pharma Products for LDCs
[ICTSD] The European Commission announced this week that it will support the least developed countries’ (LDCs) request for easier access to cheaper medicines through an indefinite exemption from WTO intellectual property rules for pharmaceuticals. “Although patents stimulate innovation in developed and emerging economies, intellectual property rules should be a non-issue when the world’s poorest are in need of treatment,” declared EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. The exemption “will give the least developed countries the necessary legal certainty to procure or to produce generic medicines,” she said. Click here for more on ictds.org.
See also: Catherine Saez for IP Watch. Health Advocates Press United States On WTO LDC IP Waiver. Link.
Congressional Leaders Ask U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue to Address Intellectual Property
[Mike Palmedo] This week Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will meet their Indian counterparts for the first meeting of the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue (S&CD). The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee have written Kerry and Pritzker asking for continued U.S. pressure on intellectual property issues. Click here for more.
The Experiences of Trips-Compliant Patent Law Reforms in Brazil, India, and South Africa and Lessons for Bangladesh
[M. Monirul Azam] Abstract: This study analyzes the policy options used by Brazil, India, and South Africa in their transition to a TRIPS-compliant patent law and the introduction of pharmaceutical patents. This comparative review can be used to explore possible policy options that could also be utilized by Least Developed Countries, including Bangladesh. Click here for more.
