Legal Academics’ Expert Letter on LDCs’ TRIPS Extension Request
[Brook Baker] Several of IP justice academics are soliciting signatures from legal and other academics around the world who focus on human rights, intellectual property, trade, and development and who are in favor of the request by WTO least developed country Members that they be granted an extension of the time period within which they must become compliant with the TRIPS Agreement. … This request has received support from 350 civil society organizations, from some industry groups, from several multilateral organizations, and from many developing country members of the WTO. Click here for more.
Libraries in Estonia Take to the National Airwaves with Copyright
[Karmen Linask] In January 2013, libraries in Estonia took to the national airwaves with “Digital Memory”, a capacity-filled seminar where libraries presented their newly developed position on copyright as part of a national debate on the copyright law. Members of the Expert Group on the Codification of the Intellectual Property Law (IPC Working Group), government officials, libraries and other memory institutions, authors, publishers, and lawyers were among the 300 attendees at the public event that, in a first for libraries, featured on the Estonian National Television main evening news and on Vikerraadio, the national radio station. Click here for more.
WIPO Talks on the Treaty for the Blind Disappoint Countries and Advocates Alike
[Mike Palmedo] On April 20, WIPO held a meeting to prepare a text for the final deliberations on the treaty on copyright exceptions for Visually Impaired People. At the end, many of the delegates seemed worried that there were too many areas left undecided, or even sliding “backward.” Fred Schroeder, (World Blind Union) said in a press release that “some of the negotiators have focused their efforts almost exclusively on crafting language around copyright protections that have nothing to do with the ability of authorized entities to produce books for the blind and visually impaired.” James Love (Knowledge Ecology International) wrote that “the US government is taking a harder line in the WIPO negotiations for a treaty on copyright exceptions for the blind.” Click here for more.
A la demande générale, nous avons traduit en français le manuel sur l’usage loyal et l’utilisation equitable (By popular demand, we have created a French version of the Fair Use/Fair Dealing Handbook)
[Jon Band] Plus de 40 pays, qui comptent plus du tiers de la population mondiale, ont inscrit des dispositions d’usage loyal ou d’utilisation équitable dans leur législation sur le droit d’auteur. Ils sont dans toutes les régions du monde et à tous les niveaux de développement. La vaste diffusion de l’usage loyal et de l’utilisation équitable fait qu’il n’existe pas de fondement pour bloquer l’adoption encore plus généralisée de ces doctrines, avec les avantages que leur flexibilité représente pour les auteurs, les éditeurs, les consommateurs, les sociétés de technologie, les bibliothèques, les musées, les établissements d’enseignement et les gouvernements. Click here for more.
Launch of the Digital Public Library
[Dan Cohen, (Announcement on DPLA site)] It’s not very often you get to build a new library. Together, that’s what we will begin to do today. Starting with over two million items, each with its own special story and significance, the Digital Public Library of America will now begin to assemble the riches of our country’s libraries, archives, and museums, and connect them with the public. Today also begins my tenure as the founding Executive Director of the DPLA, after twelve years at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. My friend Roy always wanted “to use digital media and computer technology to democratize history” and the access to it; it is simply a joy and an honor to be able to extend that worthy mission with a library of this scale and openness. Click here for more.
Ministers’ Statement Indicates Japan Will Soon Join TPP Negotiations; Peru Opens Registration for 17th TPP Round
[Mike Palmedo] Trade Ministers of the eleven countries negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership held a side meeting at the APEC summit in Indonesia last week. They issued a statement in which they agreed to keep working on outstanding issues (including IP), and indicated that Japan is closer to joining the negotiations. Also last week, the Peruvian Ministry of Commerce opened press and stakeholder registration for the 17th round of TPP negotiations. They round will be held May 15-24 in Lima at the JW Marriot. There will be a stakeholder forum and briefing on the 19th, and a reception on the 20th. Click here for more.
Paper: Comparative Approaches to Fair Use: An Important Impulse for Reforms in EU Copyright Law
Fair use provisions in the field of copyright limitations, such as the U.S. fair use doctrine, offer several starting points for a comparative analysis of laws. Fair use may be compared with fair dealing. With the evolution of fair use systems outside the U.S., fair use can also be compared across different countries. The analysis may also concern fair use concepts in different domains of intellectual property. Instead of making any of these direct comparisons, the present analysis deals with another aspect of comparative analyses: the study of foreign fair use provisions as a basis for the improvement of domestic legislation. More specifically, the analysis will show that important impulses for necessary reforms in the EU system of copyright exceptions can be derived from a comparison with the flexible approach taken in the U.S. Click here for the full paper on SSRN.
