IP Enforcement Roundup

Changes to Weekly “Roundup” Email

Starting next week, this email will be renamed the “Infojustice Roundup.”  The scope will be widened to include more current, positive developments of IP policy (while still including updates on efforts to strengthen IP enforcement), to include more content from others, and to make the email less US-centric.  If you would like to suggest content, please email infojustice.roundup@gmail.com.

US Trade Representative Tables IP Text and Releases White Paper on Trade and Access to Medicines at the Chicago TPP Negotiating Round

Last week the U.S. tabled additional text on intellectual property at the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiating round in Chicago.  The text is confidential, but trade officials told reporters that it includes TRIPS-Plus measures affecting access to medicines such as “stronger patent linkage, patent term extension and data exclusivity provisions.” The inclusion of these provisions amounts to a retreat from the 2007 “May 10” trade policy meant to protect access to generic medicines in developing countries.  USTR released a white paper on trade and access to medicines, which did not describe in detail the American proposals on IP.  It does indicate that TRIPS-Plus IP protection will be conditional on the entry of new products into foreign markets within a “window” of time.  The negotiating round included a stakeholder forum where negotiators heard from civil society groups.  Click here for more.

UK Culture Secretary Indicates Government May Seek Legislation to Combat Online Infrigement

In a speech to the Royal Television Society, UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has suggested that the British government may “look at legislative solutions” to crack down on infringing content online. His specific suggestions: “A cross-industry body, perhaps modeled on the Internet Watch Foundation, to be charged with identifying infringing websites against which action could be taken; A streamlined legal process to make it possible for the courts to act quickly; A responsibility on search engines and ISPs to take reasonable steps to make it harder to access sites that a court has deemed contain unlawful content or promote unlawful distribution of content; A responsibility on advertisers to take reasonable steps to remove their advertisements from these sites; And finally a responsibility on credit card companies and banks to remove their services from these sites.”  Click here for more.

German Court Enforces Creative Commons License’s Requirements for Attribution

Mike Linksvayer has written in Creative Commons’ blog that a German court has enforced the terms of a Creative Commons Attrubute-ShareAlike 3.0 license.  The photograph that was the subject of the lawsuit was used “without providing attribution to the photographer and without providing notice of the license used, both core requirements of all CC licenses.” Click here for the posting on Creative Commons’ blog.

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