WEBINAR: Martin Senftleben – Protecting Creator Remuneration Through Copyright – Lessons from Germany and the Netherlands for South Africa
[Nov 13 | 10:00am EST] The copyright system is intended to provide an incentive for authors to invest more time and effort in the creation of literary and artistic works (utilitarian argument), recognize the acquisition of a property right as a result of creative labor (natural law argument), and enhance authors’ freedom of expression by offering a source of income that is independent of patronage and sponsorship (free expression argument). The basis of all these lines of reasoning is the individual creator. There is thus substantial reason to explore legislative measures seeking to ensure that copyright law generates not only a sufficient return on investment for the creative industries but also a decent income for individual creators. Click here for more.
WEBINAR: Jean-Frédéric Morin: Presentation of the TRIPS+ PTA Dataset
[Nov 15 | 4:00pm EST] The TRIPS+ PTA dataset is a new and publicly available dataset of intellectual property (IP) provisions included in trade agreements. It documents the existence of 90 types of IP provisions in 126 agreements signed between 1991 and 2016. The dataset reveals that, even for like-minded countries, significant variations exist in their reliance on TRIPs-plus provisions, their degree of consistency across trade agreements, and their preferences for some IP rights. Click here for more.
The Odyssey of the Prohibition on General Monitoring Obligations on the Way to the Digital Services Act: Between Article 15 of the E-Commerce Directive and Article 17 of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market
[Martin Senftleben and Christina Angelopoulos] Abstract: EU law provides explicitly that intermediaries may not be obliged to monitor their service in a general manner in order to detect and prevent the illegal activity of their users. However, a misunderstanding of the difference between monitoring specific content and monitoring FOR specific content is a recurrent theme in the debate on intermediary liability and a central driver of the controversy surrounding it. Click here for more.
Copyright Law and the Creative Industries – QUT Faculty of Law
[Matthe Rimmer] This event focused upon copyright law and the creative industries. It brought together legal scholars, policy-makers, and practitioners; creative artists from an array of disciplines; as well as theorists of new media and digital technologies. The event considered the origins of copyright law, policy, and practice. Speakers explored their recent historical work about the foundation and evolution of copyright law and policy. Click here for more.
Battle-Lines Being Drawn Over Upcoming Discussion on TRIPS Waiver
[D. Ravi Kanth] In the battle for a proposed waiver from implementing the provisions of the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, the lines are being drawn at the upcoming WTO’s TRIPS Council meeting between the United States and its allies on the one side, and a large majority of developing and least-developed countries on the other, said people familiar with the development. The TRIPS Council is expected to convene a meeting later this month to resume the inconclusive discussions on the joint proposal submitted by South Africa, India, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Kenya to suspend temporarily several provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here for more on TWN.my.
Unscrewing the Future: The Right to Repair and Circumvention of Software TPMs in the EU
[Anthony Rosborough] Abstract: This analysis examines the impact of software technological protection measures (“TPMs”) in the European Union which inhibit the repair and maintenance of products. Using John Deere tractors as a case study, this analysis addresses the growing number of products which incorporate computerization and TPM-protected software into their design and function. In utilizing software integration and TPMs, many product designs now allow manufacturers to retain considerable control over the manner of repair and choice of technician. In response, consumers and lawmakers are calling for legal reforms to make self-repair and servicing easier. Both the competition law and moral implications of this residual control held by manufacturers are examined in this analysis. Click here for more.
