Author: InfoJustice Eds.

Open Education Lightning Talks: Recordings and Slides

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Jan 15, 2021 | Open

[Cable Green] In December, the CC Open Education Platform hosted a series of open education “lightning talks” (7 minutes + Q&A) in which open education practitioners discussed their work and answered questions with a global audience. We are grateful to all 24 speakers for sharing their open education work. To maximize access, we recorded all of the talks with the permission of the speakers. Many of the speakers have also shared their slides and other resources.

European Digital Single Market Directive Implementaion Update: More Propsals to Protect User Rights

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Jan 10, 2021 | Limitations and Exceptions, Regional Fora, User Rights Network

[Communia Association] The implementation deadline for the Copyright in the Digital Single Market is a mere five months ahead of us. On the 7th of June, the EU Member States are expected to have implemented the 2019 update of the EU copyright rules. With less than half a year to go, it is looking increasingly unlikely that more than a small handful of Member States will manage to implement the new provisions by the deadline. In this post, we are taking stock of the implementation process focusing on what has changed since our update from a month ago.

Austrian Article 17 proposal: The high road towards implementation?

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Dec 21, 2020 | Domestic Legislation, Regional Fora, User Rights Network

[Paul Keller] So far there we have seen two different approaches to implementing Article 17 into national copyright legislation. On the one hand, we have countries like France, the Netherlands, or Croatia who have presented implementation proposals that stick as closely as possible to the language and the structure of Article 17 while implementing its provisions within the structure of their existing copyright acts. In doing so these implementations essentially kick the can down the road with regards to figuring out how the conflicting requirements to filter (17(4)) and requirements to ensure that legal uploads are not filtered out (17(7)) can be reconciled. In the end, none of these implementation proposals offer a convincing mechanism for ensuring that creators get remunerated and that users’ rights are not violated. On the other hand, we have the German approach that proposes to implement Article 17 via a separate “copyright-service-provider law” (“Urgeberrechts Diensteanbieter Gesetz”) that substantially departs from the language in an attempt to capture the structure and effet utile of the directive. Click here for more.

WIPO’s missed opportunity to produce guidance on copyright exceptions hits education during pandemic

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Dec 14, 2020 | Limitations and Exceptions, Multilateral Fora, User Rights Network, WIPO

[Education International] A legal instrument on copyright exceptions for the use of materials for teaching, learning, research, and the work of cultural heritage organisations is still not available. According to Education International, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) missed an opportunity at its recent Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) to show leadership on this issue.

Urgently waive intellectual property rules for vaccine

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Dec 12, 2020 | Access to Medicine, Coronavirus, Multilateral Fora

[Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch] Governments should stop blocking a temporary waiver of some global intellectual property rules that will help boost global access to COVID-19 vaccines, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today ahead of a key World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Geneva on December 10, 2020. If adopted, the waiver proposal would enable more governments to fulfil their obligations to respect the rights to life and health. The warning comes as vaccinations for COVID-19 begin in the United Kingdom, and are likely to begin in other countries in the near future.

Webinar – Guaranteeing Access to Medicines: Reforming Trade and Investment Treaties in the COVID-19 Era

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Dec 9, 2020 | Access to Medicine, Coronavirus, Events

[December 11, 2020 | 7am EST] Eight months into COVID-19, what is the status of the international investment regime and access to essential medicines? The GDP Center’s Working Group on Trade and Access to Medicines will host a panel discussion on trade, investment regime, and access to essential medicines. The event is co-sponsored with the South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing nations based in Switzerland.

Copyright and COVID-19: Has WIPO learned nothing from the pandemic?

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Dec 9, 2020 | Coronavirus, Limitations and Exceptions, Multilateral Fora, User Rights Network

[Teresa Nobre] In November, Communia participated in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) 40th session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the most important forum at the global level for copyright rulemaking… Communia and other civil society observers were expecting the Committee to consider the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on these public interest activities, and take appropriate action. However, WIPO member states had previously decided that, due to the format of the meeting, they would not engage in negotiations on any of the items on their agenda. Therefore, despite references to the problems caused by the pandemic in several Delegations’ statements, none put forward any proposal to deal with these issues. Click here for more.

Researchers, librarians, filmmakers and teachers are waiting for the copyright reforms the government has promised

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Dec 9, 2020 | Academic Resources, Domestic Legislation, Limitations and Exceptions

[Kylie Pappalardo] In August, the communications minister announced a series of changes to copyright laws to “better support the needs of Australians and public institutions to access material in an increasingly digital environment”. These changes are long overdue. But the year is ending, and we are yet to see the legislation. The most important change is to ensure access to so-called orphan works.

A Path to Progress at WIPO: Tackling Confusion, Complexity, and a Can’t-Do Attitude

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Nov 25, 2020 | User Rights Network, WIPO

[IFLA] The 40th meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights was far from what was expected when IFLA and others last left Geneva in October 2019, at the end of the 39th meeting. The dates had changed (the meeting had been planned for July), the WIPO Director General had changed (Daren Tang took over on 1 October), and of course the format had changed, with all but a handful of those involved doing so via an online platform. Despite all that was different, the meeting nonetheless brought clarity around the long-standing challenges that the SCCR will need to overcome if it is to prove its relevance as a forum for delivering on fundamental rights and the Sustainable Development Goals.

15 Years and a Pandemic Later: Are We THere Yet?

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Nov 19, 2020 | Coronavirus, Limitations and Exceptions, Multilateral Fora, User Rights Network, WIPO

[Teresa Nobre] In our capacity of permanent observers of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), we are attending the 40th session of the Committee, which is taking place in a hybrid format of in-person and online participation from 16 to 20 November 2020. The following is the statement made on behalf of Communia on limitations and exceptions for educational and research institutions and for persons with other disabilities.

Over 100 civil society organisations call on the European Parliament to support COVID-19 WTO waiver proposal

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Nov 19, 2020 | Coronavirus, Limitations and Exceptions, Multilateral Fora

[Médecins Sans Frontières] On 19 November 2020, more than 100 civil society organisations, including MSF Access Campaign, sent an open letter to European Parliament calling for support for India, South Africa, Eswatini and Kenya´s landmark proposal for a temporary waiver from certain intellectual property (IP) provisions under the Agreements on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for COVID-19 medical technologies.

Open Education and Artificial Scarcity in Hard Times

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Oct 23, 2020 | Blog

[Rory Mir] The sudden move to remote education by universities this year has forced the inevitable: the move to an online education. While most universities won’t be fully remote, having course materials online was already becoming the norm before the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year it has become mandatory for millions of educators and students. As academia recovers from this crisis, and hopefully prepares for the next one, the choices we make will send us down one of two paths. We can move towards a future of online education which replicates the artificial scarcity of traditional publishing, or take a path which fosters an abundance of free materials by embracing the principles of open access and open education.

Access to medical supplies and devices — the lesser known story of COVID-19 and medical monopoly

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Oct 19, 2020 | Access to Medicine, Coronavirus

[Salimah Valiani] Discussions around access to potential vaccines for COVID-19 are widespread, particularly in the global South. Much less discussed is the lack of access to already existing medical technology crucial to stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus and assisting its most severely affected victims. The latter is the outcome of the monopoly control of medical technology — a phenomenon stretching at least as long as the monopoly of Big PHARMA — though much less understood.

UNAIDS supports a temporary WTO waiver from certain obligations of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Oct 16, 2020 | Access to Medicine, Coronavirus, Multilateral Fora, News

[UNAIDS Press Statement] Today, the World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council meets to consider a proposal presented by the Governments of South Africa and India for a temporary waiver of certain TRIPS obligations in order to facilitate an appropriate response to COVID-19. The aim is to create certainty and clarity, guaranteeing freedom to operate, innovate, procure and scale up manufacturing capacities in essential health technologies at the required scale. The waiver would reduce transaction costs and eliminate key barriers across the research and development cycle and the supply chain for the access and delivery of health technologies to prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19.

Civil Society ORganizations call for strong support for TRIPS waiver to combat COVID-19

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Oct 16, 2020 | Access to Medicine, Coronavirus

[Kanaga Raja] Nearly 380 civil society organizations have urged Members of the World Trade Organization to strongly support the adoption of a draft decision proposed by India and South Africa for a waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement to combat the worsening COVID-19 pandemic. India and South Africa have submitted a proposal (IP/C/W/669) to the WTO TRIPS Council on a “Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19”.

Education Groups Drop Their Lawsuit Against Public.Resource.Org, Give Up Their Quest to Paywall the Law

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Oct 15, 2020 | News

[Mitch Stoltz] This week, open and equitable access to the law got a bit closer. For many years, EFF, along with co-counsel at Fenwick & West and attorney David Halperin, has defended Public.Resource.Org in its quest to improve public access to the law — including standards, like the National Electrical Code, that legislators and agencies have made into binding regulations. In two companion lawsuits, six standards development organizations sued Public Resource in 2013 for posting standards online. They accused Public Resource of copyright infringement and demanded the right to keep the law behind paywalls.

Taming the upload filters: Pre-flagging vs. match and flag

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Oct 15, 2020 | Domestic Legislation, Regional Fora

[Paul Keller] One of the most important elements of any implementation of Article 17 will be how platforms can reconcile the use of automated content filtering with the requirement not to prevent the availability of legitimate uploads. While most implementation proposals that we have seen so far are silent on this crucial question, both the German discussion proposal and the Commission’s consultation proposal contain specific mechanisms that are intended to ensure that automated content filters do not block legitimate uploads, and that uploads are subject to human review if they are not obviously/likely infringing.

Letter to President Ramaphosa on the Proposed Covid-19 Waiver, by 43 South Africa and India at the WTO, From South Africa-Affiliated Academics, Researchers and Teachers

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Oct 12, 2020 | Access to Medicine, Coronavirus, Multilateral Fora

South Africa, along with India, has adopted a ground-breaking position at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with the tabling of the proposal for a “Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19”. The proposal will be on the agenda of the WTO TRIPS Council on 15-16 October 2020. As a group of academics, researchers and teachers affiliated to various South African institutions, we declare our strong support for this proposal.

Implementation update: French Parliament gives carte blanche, while the Netherlands correct course

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Oct 10, 2020 | Regional Fora, User Rights Network

[Communia Association] Back in January of this year, we noted how both the Netherlands and France (at that point the only Member States that had presented proposals to implement Article 17) had proposed selective implementations of Article 17 that ignored crucial user rights safeguards. A lot has happened since January, but yesterday both Member States took further steps in their national implementations. And this time the two Member States are moving in opposite directions: While the Dutch government has reacted to criticism from civil society and members of Parliament by fixing some of the most obvious shortcomings of its implementation law, the 2nd chamber of the French Parliament has adopted a law that gives the French government the power to implement Article 17 (and the rest of the provisions of the DSM directive) however it sees fit.

Action at the WTO is needed to accelerate research, development, manufacturing and supply of medical products to combat Covid-19: Proposal from India and South Africa

Posted by InfoJustice Eds. | Oct 7, 2020 | Coronavirus, Multilateral Fora

[Viviana Munoz Tellez] India and South Africa are calling for the WTO Members to agree to waive some of the obligations on protection and enforcement of patents and other intellectual property rights during the Covid-19 pandemic. The South Centre encourages all WTO Members to support the proposal in the upcoming TRIPS Council meeting on 10-11 October 2020 to forward a request to the General Council for the adoption of the decision text.

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Author: InfoJustice Eds.

Open Education Lightning Talks: Recordings and Slides

European Digital Single Market Directive Implementaion Update: More Propsals to Protect User Rights

Austrian Article 17 proposal: The high road towards implementation?

WIPO’s missed opportunity to produce guidance on copyright exceptions hits education during pandemic

Urgently waive intellectual property rules for vaccine

Webinar – Guaranteeing Access to Medicines: Reforming Trade and Investment Treaties in the COVID-19 Era

Copyright and COVID-19: Has WIPO learned nothing from the pandemic?

Researchers, librarians, filmmakers and teachers are waiting for the copyright reforms the government has promised

A Path to Progress at WIPO: Tackling Confusion, Complexity, and a Can’t-Do Attitude

15 Years and a Pandemic Later: Are We THere Yet?

Over 100 civil society organisations call on the European Parliament to support COVID-19 WTO waiver proposal

Open Education and Artificial Scarcity in Hard Times

Access to medical supplies and devices — the lesser known story of COVID-19 and medical monopoly

UNAIDS supports a temporary WTO waiver from certain obligations of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19

Civil Society ORganizations call for strong support for TRIPS waiver to combat COVID-19

Education Groups Drop Their Lawsuit Against Public.Resource.Org, Give Up Their Quest to Paywall the Law

Taming the upload filters: Pre-flagging vs. match and flag

Letter to President Ramaphosa on the Proposed Covid-19 Waiver, by 43 South Africa and India at the WTO, From South Africa-Affiliated Academics, Researchers and Teachers

Implementation update: French Parliament gives carte blanche, while the Netherlands correct course

Action at the WTO is needed to accelerate research, development, manufacturing and supply of medical products to combat Covid-19: Proposal from India and South Africa

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