U.S., Canadian & Mexican Law Professors, Academics and Policy Experts: NAFTA Must Include Fair Use, Safe Harbors

[PIJIP] Today, over seventy international copyright law experts called for NAFTA and other trade negotiators to support a set of balanced copyright principles. The experts urge trade  negotiators to support policies like fair use, safe harbor provisions, and other exceptions and limitations that permit and encourage access to knowledge, flourishing creativity, and innovation. Signatories include preeminent intellectual property professors and experts from law schools, think tanks, and public interest organizations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as Argentina, Australia, China, Ireland, and Switzerland. Click here for more.

Note: The statement of principles for copyright balance in trade agreements is available in both English and French

PIJIP Releases New Research on the Impact of Copyright Balance at the 35th WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights

[Mike Palmedo] On November 14, PIJIP released new research on the impact of copyright balance. The release was announced at the World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. The research finds that balanced copyright policies in other countries have had positive effects on net income, total sales, and value-added by foreign affiliates of U.S. firms. More generally, it finds that increases in PIJIP’s “openness score” are associated with higher revenues in the information sector, without harming traditional copyright-intensive industries. Click here for more.

WIPO Broadcast Treaty Turns to Limitations and Exceptions

[Sean Flynn] At the latest meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, there was new movement on copyright limitations and exceptions. Argentina and Brazil tabled language that adds more specificity to the limitations and exceptions that may be offered to the new exclusive rights of broadcasters that the proposed Broadcast Treaty would require. But the proposal fails to follow the most recent best practices in international law by requiring exceptions, protecting fair use and safeguarding the digital environment. Click here for more.

TPP Texts Show Suspended IP Provisions

[William New] Trade ministers negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement have released the list of provisions they have suspended, including a range of articles related to intellectual property rights, such as patentable subject matter, test data protection, biologics, copyright terms of protection, and technological protection measures. Click here for more.

See also:

  • Médecins Sans Frontières. MSF Welcomes the Suspension of Harmful Intellectual Property Measures in New TPP Trade Deal.
  • Michael Geist. Bursting the IP Trade Bubble: Canada’s Position on IP Rules Takes Shape With Suspended TPP Provisions.

Estonian Presidency Makes One More Step Towards Licensing Educational

[Alek Tarkowski] Do you remember the idea of educational fair use? The idea that education can benefit from a broad, flexible exception for a wide range of uses of copyrighted content while teaching and learning? The question is worth asking, as this progressive approach to copyright and education has not been mentioned even once in the ongoing European copyright reform process. It is a sign of how far away we are from right copyright for education. Instead, we are being pulled ever deeper into an opposite model, in which licensing is seen as the best copyright solution for educators and educational institutions. The Council of the European Union has just made one more step in that direction. Click here for more.