TPP Draft Investor-State Dispute Settlement Chapter Leaked

  • Wikileaks Press Release, including full text.
  • Sean Flynn. Leaked TPP ISDS Chapter Threatens Intellectual Property Limitations and Exceptions. Statement | Technical Note.
  • Public Citizen. TPP Leak Reveals Extraordinary New Powers for Thousands of Foreign Firms to Challenge U.S. Policies and Demand Taxpayer Compensation.
  • Ante Wessels.  TPP ISDS is rigged to advantage U.S.

India Posts Model Bilateral Investment Treaty Text for Review

[Leena Menghaney] India, like South Africa, is concerned about the Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) it has signed in the past. India has put out a draft its New Model text for BITs negotiations, Now posted online here. The last date for submission of comments is 10th April.

UNITAID Urges Support for ‘Pharmaceuticals Exemption’ for Least Developed Countries

[UNITAID]]   UNITAID is concerned about the expiry of the ‘pharmaceuticals exemption’ for least-developed countries (LDCs) which originates from the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.  Due to this exemption, least developed countries (LDCs) are not obliged to grant or enforce patents and data protection for pharmaceuticals. Click here for more.

Is Fair Use a “Dangerous Exception”?

[Brandon Butler] In a recent white paper, Geoffrey Manne and Julian Morris argue that fair use is a “dangerous exception” that should not be “exported” to our trade partners through trade agreements the way other aspects of US copyright law (such as our lengthy term and protection for digital rights management) have been spread for years. Their salvo, grounded in a “law and economics” framework, is just the latest in what will surely be an ongoing series of attacks on fair use and similar flexible exceptions, a response to the growing appetite for balance in the global IP system. (Indeed, the industry-sponsored advocacy group Copyright Alliance posted its own ambivalent warning about “exporting fair use” just the other day.) Click here for more.

EU Trade Secrets Directive Threat to Health, Environment, Free Speech and Worker Mobility

[Civil society statement signed by 50 groups] We strongly oppose the hasty push by the European Commission and Council for a new European Union (EU) directive on trade secrets because it contains: An unreasonably broad definition of “trade secrets” that enables almost anything within a company to be deemed as such; Far-reaching legal remedies for companies whose “trade secrets” have been “unlawfully acquired, used or disclosed”, including provisional and precautionary measures, damages and secrecy rights throughout the judicial process; and Inadequate safeguards that will not ensure that EU consumers, journalists, whistleblowers, researchers and workers have reliable access to important data that is in the public interest. The proposal must be amended to ensure that only information acquired, disclosed or used by third parties with intention of commercial gain is protected under the directive. Click here for more.

Lisbon Council Report Examines the Relationship Between Copyright Exceptions and Economic Growth

[Mike Palmedo] Last week, the Lisbon Council and Innovation Economics published The 2015 Intellectual Property and Economic Growth Index:  Measuring the Impact of Exceptions and Limitations in Copyright on Growth, Jobs and Prosperity.  The report by Benjamin Gibert examines limitations and exceptions to copyright in eight OECD countries, and then describes economic growth at the overall and industry level in those countries. The key findings: “countries that employ a broadly ‘flexible’ regime of exceptions in copyright” have higher rates of growth of their overall economy, information technology & service sectors, and even traditional media sectors.  Workers in these economies also fared better, enjoying higher wages overall, in the communications sector, and technology sector. Click here for more.

Naciones Unidas Reconoce el Derecho a Compartir

[Paula Jaramillo] El  último informe presentado por la relatora especial sobre derechos culturales de la ONU aporta una perspectiva de derechos humanos a la discusión sobre derecho de autor: No es un ningún secreto que las leyes sobre copyright suelen velar por intereses que no necesariamente corresponden con la persona del autor, sino más bien con las empresas titulares de los derechos de sus obras. Así lo reconoció también la Organización de Naciones Unidas, en su informe anual sobre derechos culturales, a cargo de la Relatora Especial Farida Shaheed, recientemente presentado en Ginebra. Click here for more.