IP Enforcement Roundup

Progressive IP Experts From Around the World Meet in a Global Congress, Prepare a Declaration to Establish Priorities for Promoting the Public Interest in IP Law and Policy

Seeking to ensure that public policy initiatives concerning intellectual property serve the public interest, more than 170 scholars, policymakers, and policy advocates from approximately 35 countries traveled to American University Washington College of Law (WCL) for the first Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest, August 25-27, 2011.  The attendees at the three-day deliberation aimed to build a positive agenda for intellectual property policy in the next decade – one composed of proposals that maximize both technological and cultural innovation and enable activities that serve the broader, global public interest.  Click here for more.

EU Green Party Seeks Comments on Draft Reports on the Public Interest Impact of ACTA

The EU Green Party has released two draft reports on ACTA, which are available for comment 30 days through an online forum.  A study on ACTA and Fundamental Rights, by Douwe Korff and Ian Brown, examines argues that ACTA is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, so adoption and implementation of the Agreement would be illegal under EU law. A study on ACTA and Access to Medicines, by Sean Flynn argues that the ACTA process and substance is counter to two sets of specific instructions contained in European Parliament resolutions and supported by international human rights law. Click here for more.

U.S. Urges Chile to Strengthen Data Exclusivity and Patent Linkage for Pharmaceuticals

Inside U.S. Trade reports that the US government has urged Chile “to strengthen the system by which patent owners can challenge the approval of allegedly infringing generic pharmaceuticals to be sold in that market, and its protection of test data used to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of drugs against use by generic companies.”   This took place at a meeting of the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Commission, a body established by the US-Chile FTA which has since been a forum for disputes over IP and medicines.  Industry sources cited in the article thought the current Presidential administration may be open to making these changes – as evidenced by the creation of an interagency committee on IPRs last year – but that it may have trouble getting the opposition-controlled legislature to pass such measures.  Click here for more.

Canadian Universities Clash with Access Copyright Over Licensing Fees

The Canadian copyright clearinghouse Access Copyright, which allows universities to reprint and upload copyrighted course materials for students in exchange for a licensing fee, has raised the fee from $18 to $45 per student. In response, over a dozen universities have announced they will not renew their contracts with Access Copyright, preferring to clear copyrights themselves on a case-by-case basis. Click here for more.

Events and Deadlines