IP Enforcement Roundup

Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest to Open August 25

The Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest will bring together scholars, policymakers, and policy advocates to discuss and deliberate about opportunities for constructing a positive policy and research agenda.  The opening session will begin at 1pm August 25 with a public discussion about the changing technological and policy landscape that affects creative and innovative activities. It will be in plenary session and will be open to the public and webcast live and on demand. Prior to the opening, international experts will hold a public press event to release two draft reports commissioned by the EU Parliamentary Greens on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and to analyze the public interest impact of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement. Click here for more.

Court Rules Against Parallel Trade of Textbooks Manufactured Outside of the U.S.

The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that “the first sale doctrine, which allows a person who buys a legally produced copyrighted work to sell or otherwise dispose of the work as he sees fit, does not apply to works manufactured outside of the United States.”  The court found Supap Kirtgaeng guilty of copyright infringement for selling Asian editions of Wiley & Sons textbooks that had been shipped to him by friends and family who purchased the books in Thailand.  The books had been manufactured under license by an Asian subsidiary of Wiley & Sons.  Click here for more.

Rep. Smith Promises to Introduce a House Version of the PROTECT-IP Act in September, CBO Scores the Senate Version

Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith has promised to introduce a House version of the PROTECT-IP Act in September.  According to a story in The Hill, details of the House version are still being ironed out, but “the bill may try to cut off payments made to U.S. companies that are generated by intellectual property theft in China and other countries. Smith said this bill can also be expected to increase funds for the Department of Justice for Internet-protocol enforcement.”  Click here for more.

Seven Members of Congress: No 12 Year Periods of Data Exclusivity in the TPP

Earlier this month, seven members of Congress wrote President Obama to “strongly recommend that the United States refrain from negotiating any provisions related to exclusivity for biosimilar medicines” in the Trans Pacific Partnership. The letter from Reps. Waxman, McDermott, Stark, DeLauro, Schakowsky, Welch and Grijalva quotes a recent OMB report: “12 year exclusivity is unnecessary to promote innovation by brand biologic drug manufacturers and can potentially harm consumers by directing scarce research and development funding toward developing low-risk clinical data for drug products with proven mechanisms of action rather than toward new products to address unmet medical needs.” Click here for more.

Events and Deadlines