Mike Palmedo

Mike Palmedo is the admin for infojustice.org, and he manages interdisciplinary research on copyright exceptions at American University College of Law's Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property. He has Masters degrees Economics and in International Affairs, and is an economics PhD candidate.
  • Joined: January 13, 2011
  • Articles: 783

Sen. Tillis Asks USTR to “Prioritize Strong Intellectual Property Protections” in Agreement with India

Thom Tillis, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, has written U.S Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer asking him to "prioritize strong intellectual property protections" in a trade agreement currently under negotiation with India. His letter states that "India has an unusually restrictive market when it comes to biopharmaceutical innovations," and notes that it is regularly included in the Special 301 Report.

Analysis of Special 301 Listings, 2009-2020

Since its inception, the Special 301 Report has been an instrument used by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to pressure foreign nations to change their laws at the behest of American business interests. Policies that allow countries to access lower-priced generic medicines feature prominently in USTR’s allegations of inadequate, ineffective protection of intellectual property. This working paper reviews trends in Special 301 listings over the past 12 years.

Webinar: Presentation of the MedsPaL Database by AMINA MAILLARD, Medicines Patent Pool

[Webinar - Sep 15, 2020; 10:00am] MedsPaL is the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP)’s patents and licenses database, a free resource provides information on the intellectual property status of selected patent essential medicines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The database includes patent and licensing data covering over 8,500 national patent applications on 110 priority medicines (220 formulations) in more than 130 LMICs. In March 2020, it was expanded to provide patent information on treatments currently being tested for COVID-19. The database is available at www.medspal.org.

European Commission Trade Policy Review Includes a Request for Comments on The Digital Transition and Technological Development

Thanks to Ante Wessels for calling to my attention to an EU Trade Policy Review, which aims "to build a consensus around a fresh medium-term direction for EU trade policy, responding to a variety of new global challenges and taking into account the lessons learned from the coronavirus crisis." The review includes a request for comments from the public, with submissions due September 15.

Survey Data from Canada, Mexico and Taiwan added to User Rights Database

In 2017, PIJIP released the User Rights Database, a novel, survey-based dataset, which measures changes to countries’ laws on copyright exceptions over time. Last spring we have added three additional countries to the dataset – Canada, Mexico and Taiwan. This post introduces the new data and discusses how it compares to the data from the original set of countries.

MEP Pospíšil Asks Why the European Commission Intervened in the South African Copyright Amendment Bill

Last March, the European Commission sent a letter to the South African government warning that its proposed Copyright Amendments Bill carried a "significant legal uncertainty, with negative effects on the South African creative community in general and on foreign investment, including European investment." In May, MEP Jiří POSPÍŠIL asked who from the Commission sent the letter and why they did so. He noted that the Bill "was the result of a consultation involving representatives of all sectors of South African society, and it concluded that it was the best option available and that it was expected to bring positive effects for South African society." He also asked which multinational companies the Commission had communicated with about the Bill.

WEBINAR: The Global Health Impact – Extending Access to Essential Medicines

[Presentation and Discussion with Professor Nicole Hassoun, Binghamton University - July 15, 2020 | 5:00-6:00 pm EST] In Global Health Impact - Extending Access to Essential Medicines, Professor Nicole Hassoun proposes a novel approach to evaluate the impact of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical companies. The approach: Addresses questions and relies on methodology that is interdisciplinary in nature, covering fields of study including economics, political science, public policy, sociology, geography, and philosophy; Emphasizes empirical evidence as critical to assessing the capabilities and capacities of agents and institutions and valuing how facts inform political theory, and; Considers the obligations of pharmaceutical companies and the case for a new kind of ethical investment and consumption to promote global health from the perspective of bioethicists and business ethicists.

South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill Returned to Parliament for Further Consideration

Last week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa returned the Copyright Amendment Bill and the Performers' Protection Amendment Bill back to Parliament for further consideration. The legislation had been passed by the National Assembly and sent to the President to be signed into law, but it had generated strong opposition from rightholder groups, including those in the U.S. such as the IIPA.

USTR Should Seek Language in the Upcoming US-Kenya Trade Agreement That Protects the Right to Research

... U.S. negotiating objectives should be interpreted to include protection of the right to research, as it is a protection granted under U.S. law. The U.S. should negotiate language in the intellectual property chapter of the US-Kenya Trade Agreement that protects the right to research. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for researchers to access to the latest scientific knowledge, as well as access the underlying data. In recent months, publishers have temporarily opened access to a range of scientific publications in order to provide researchers around the world with the information they need to search for treatments and vaccines for this one grave disease. But researchers’ need for access to previous scientific works is not new, and it is not temporary. When the current pandemic has run its course, researchers everywhere will still need access to the world’s stock of scientific knowledge in order to meet other challenges.

Supreme Court Rules Annotated State Legal Codes Cannot Be Copyrighted

The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that copyright protection does not apply to annotations in state's annotated legal code. The ruling in Georgia v. Public Resource.Org affects 23 states, two territories and Washington, D.C. PIJIP Professor Peter Jaszi commented that “This is the beginning of the end of a long journey toward opening all judicial and legislative materials to the public – the modern stage of which began more than thirty-five years ago in the West Publishing cases. The struggle to open governmental information at every level of the administrative state continues.”

Online Learning and Copyright Exceptions for Education

[Mike Palmedo and Margarita Gorospe] As schools have closed in response to the Coronavirus 19 pandemic, interest in online learning has increased dramatically. Online learning often involves distributing copyrighted works online, so its governed by copyright limitations that vary widely from one country to the next. Some countries allow teachers, parents, and/or students to share works or parts of works online for educational purposes. Other countries do not, or place different types of conditions on the limitation.