Three PIJIP events this week will be webcast live and on-demand:

  • Nov 5: Medtronic v. Boston Scientific Corp., Post Argument Discussion (More)
  • Nov 7: Professor Bernt Hugenholtz Delivers 2nd Annual Peter Jaszi Distinguished Lecture on IP – “Flexing Authors’ Rights.” (More)
  • Nov 8: Patent + Policy – Current Initiatives to Amend Patent Law. (More)

Irish Copyright Review Committee Report: Modernising Copyright

[Irish Copyright Review Committee, Excerpt from report summary] The centerpiece recommendations relate to the establishment of a Copyright Council of Ireland and specialist intellectual property tracks in the District and Circuit Courts, and to the introduction of tightly-drawn exceptions for innovation, fair use, and very small snippets of text in the context of online links. Click here for more.

First Arabic Language CC Licenses Launched

[Creative Commons] Following a multi-year process and the dedication of several Creative Commons Arab regional teams and communities, Creative Commons is very proud to announce that its 3.0 license suite is now available in Arabic. The Egypt 3.0 licenses were completed by our CC Egypt team, hosted by the Access To Knowledge initiative at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria. The porting effort was led by copyright expert Hala Essalmawi, with the support of Hani Sawiress.  Click here for more.

Senate Finance Committee Hearing on U.S.-EU Trade Agreement: IP, Medicines, and Investor-State Dispute Settlement

[Mike Palmedo]  Last week the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).  Testimony was delivered by Michael L. Ducker (FedEx), Ryan McCormick (Montana Grain Growers Association), Dave Ricks (Eli Lilly), and William Roenigk (National Chicken Council).  All strongly supported the trade agreement and all voiced their support for the passage of trade promotion authority legislation… During the opening statements, Minority Leader Orrin Hatch said that in order for him to support the final text of the agreement “it is absolutely essential that TTIP reflect the highest standard of intellectual property rights protection of any prior agreement.” Click here for more.

European Parliament Draft Report on Private Copy Levies – Serious or Satire?

[European Digital Rights Initiative. Link, (CC-BY)] French Socialist MEP Françoise Castex published her draft report on private copying levies on 9 October. The biggest question that the document raises is… are you serious, Ms. Castex? The policy issue being addressed is that “creators” are meant to be “compensated” for private copies that are made of legally acquired content, such as music or printed material. In some EU countries, there are no levies, in some EU countries there are low levels of levies. In France, Ms Castex’ country, the levies are by far the highest in Europe, generating a well-funded copyright industry that is very effective at lobbying to protect its own interests. Click here for more.

Digital Copyright and the Parody Exception in Hong Kong: Accommodating the Needs and Interests of Internet Users

[Peter Yu]  On 11 July 2013, the Hong Kong government released a consultation document on the treatment of parody under the copyright regime. Building on two earlier consultations on digital copyright reform launched in December 2006 and April 2008, this latest consultation identified three legislative options: (1) clarifying the existing general provisions for criminal sanctions; (2) introducing a specific criminal exemption for parody; and (3) introducing a fair dealing exception for parody. In addition to parodies, these options may cover satires, caricatures, pastiches and other forms of imitations… this position paper asserts that none of the three identified options alone can adequately address the needs, interests and concerns of internet users. Each option has its strengths and weaknesses, and each serves its own purpose. Because these options are mutually nonexclusive, this paper recommends the adoption of all three options in combination with a fourth unidentified option – an exception for predominantly noncommercial user-generated content (UGC). The last option is badly needed because even a broad, unlimited copyright exception for parody, satire, caricature or pastiche would not cover most of the derivative creations generated by internet users. Click here for the full abstract and paper on SSRN.