Second Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest

The second Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest was hosted by the Center for Technology and Society at Fundação Getulio Vargas on December 15-17 in Rio de Janeiro. The meeting opened with a day-long public plenary, followed by sessions and workshops where participants planned work public interest IPR advocacy for the coming year.  The next Global Congress has been scheduled for December 9-13, 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa.  For more info

Lessons from Peru: A Tough Start to Regulating ISP Liability

[by Miguel Morachimo] Last month, the Peruvian Government made public its intention to hold Internet Service Providers (ISPs) responsible for copyright infringement by their users. Peru committed to doing so — imposing intermediary liability — in a Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. in 2006. However, many have criticized the legislative process thus far as lacking transparency. The outcome of this process will affect Peru’s position on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), a trade agreement being negotiated among Pacific Rim governments. It also displays the worst practices in multi-stakeholder decision-making, a key component of internet governance. Click here for more.

USTR Requests Comments for 2013 Special 301 Report, Announces Hearing on February 20

On New Year’s Eve, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a Federal Register Notice announcing 2013′s Special 301 Review. This is the annual process in which an interagency committee led by USTR conducts a review “to identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection.” The process ends with the publication of the Special 301 Report, which includes various countries on the “Watch List,” the “Priority Watch List,” or as “Priority Foreign Countries.” Click here for more.

OER Law Passes in São Paulo, Awaits Governor’s Signature

On December 20, the state of São Paulo approved PL 989/2011, which establishes a policy of Open Educational Resources.  Article one holds that educational resources developed by the government “should be made available in these institutions or [on the government’s] electronic sites… and licensed for free use, comprising copying, distribution, downloading and redistribution,” on the conditions attribution and noncommercial use.  Resources covered by the law include “textbooks, instructional materials, multimedia content, educational games, scientific articles, research, theses, dissertations, and other academic pieces.”  Click here for more.

EU Parliament Adopts Digital Freedom Strategy for Foreign Policy

Yesterday the EU Parliament adopted a resolution on a Digital Freedom Strategy in EU Foreign Policy, which focuses on human rights and access to the internet.  The resolution and accompanying report was crafted by MEP Marietje Schaake, who guided the process through a civil society consultation process. Paragraph 59 asks the Commission to revisit its policies on IP enforcement in trade agreements.  Specifically, it “calls on the Commission to propose a new regulatory framework for crossborder online trade, an evaluation and revision of the Information Society Directive 2001/29/EC to ensure predictability and flexibility in the EU copyright regime, and a revision of the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED), which would balance the need for relevant copyright reform and protection with the need to protect fundamental rights online and preserve the open internet, and would serve as a basis for IPR provisions and commitments in future FTAs.” Click here for more.

Final Blow to ACTA in the EU: European Court of Justice No Longer to Rule on Its Legality

The European Commission has withdrawn its request for the European Court of Justice to rule on the legality of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.  Though the parliament rejected the agreement by 478-39 on July 4, the trade commission had requested that the court determine whether or not it was compliant with European treaties, especially the Charter of Fundamental rights. With this ruling, ACTA is completely dead in the EU. The agreement could still be ratified by other countries. ACTA Article 40 says it enters into force after the “sixth instrument of ratification, acceptance, or approval” by Member countries. However, only Japan has signed the agreement, and there is strong opposition to the agreement in many of the remaining countries (like the U.S. and Mexico). Click here for more.