InfoJustice Eds.

InfoJustice Eds.

  • Joined: July 15, 2019
  • Articles: 284

A closer look at the final Commission guidance on the application of Article 17

[Communia Assocaition] Today, on the verge of the implementation deadline for the CDSM directive, the European Commission has published its long awaited guidance on the application of Article 17 of the Directive, in the form of a Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. The structure of the final guidance largely follows the outline of the Commission’s targeted consultation on the guidance from July 2020, but there are significant changes to the substance of the final document. The final version of the guidance makes it clear that the European Commission has completely undermined the position it held before the CJEU, that Article 17 is compatible with fundamental rights as long as only manifestly infringing content can be blocked.

Letter from 141 Scholars to USTR, re: United States Facilitation of the TRIPS Waiver

Dear Ambassador Tai: As members of the academy, we welcome your new leadership as an opportunity to both restore the standing of the United States as a global leader as well as to build global confidence in the United States as a reliable ally. The leadership of the United States as well as the confidence over the policies supported by the United States is important at this time when the globe seems to be reeling in a crisis caused from a pandemic. The pandemic has highlighted that a public health crisis in one part of the world can affect not just global trade but also affects issues that the United States as well as the WTO stands for, in unimaginable ways. Thus, the pandemic makes it imperative for countries to find solutions to promote global collaborations during the current crisis.

Joint Academic Opinion on South Africa’s COpyright Amendment Bill (B-13B of 2017)

[Malebakeng Forere, Klaus D. Beiter, Sean M. Fiil-Flynn, Jonathan Klaaren, Caroline Ncube, Enyinna Nwauche, Andrew Rens, Sanya Samtani and Tobias Schonwetter] We offer the enclosed Joint Opinion on the President’s referral of the Copyright Amendment Bill back to Parliament. We address the President's reservations about the Bill’s constitutionality, as well his expressed concerns about the Bill’s domestic application of international law. We analyse each of, and only, the specific clauses in the CAB that are mentioned in the President’s letter. The question we ask and answer is whether Parliament should take action to bolster the constitutionality of any of the provisions identified in the President’s letter.

DSM Directive implementation update: With one month to go it is clear that the Commission has failed to deliver

[Communia Association] Today it is exactly one month until the 7th of June, the day on which the EU member states have to have implemented the provisions of the 2019 copyright in the digital single market directive in their national laws. And while the 27 Member States have had more than 2 years to complete their national implementations so far only two of them have managed to fully implement the directive: the Netherlands adopted its implementation law in December of last year and on the 28th of April the Hungarian parliament adopted its implementation law.

Joint Appeal by 388 Members of the European Parliament and of European National Parliaments Urging the EU and its Member States to Support a TRIPS Waiver

One year after the adoption of the first lockdown measures in Europe, it is clear that we must urgently and exponentially increase manufacturing and availability of vaccines, tests, medicines and protective materials, and that requires wider sharing of proprietary technology and knowhow, data and resources, especially with low- and middle-income countries. We stand with the Director-General of the World Health Organization, over 100 national governments, hundreds of civil society organizations, and trade unions, and join them in urging the European Commission and EU member states to discuss at the highest levels and support the temporary waiver of certain obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Click here for the full statement and endorsers.

Communia Analysis of the Croatian proposal to implement the new education exception

[Timotej Kotnik Jesih and Maja Bogataj Jančič] In the last months, a few governments shared their proposals to adapt their national laws to the requirements of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive, including to Article 5 of the Directive, which sets new minimum standards for the digital and cross-border use of copyright materials in education. Similarly to what we did with the Dutch, the German and the Hungarian proposals, we will keep tracking how these countries are proposing to implement this mandatory exception to copyright for educational purposes. Today, we provide an overview of the Croatian proposal.

The Government of Canada Launches Consultation on a Modern Copyright Framework for Online Intermediaries

[Government of Canada] The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring the Copyright Act remains consistent with modern realities and that revenues of web giants are shared fairly with Canadian creators. Building on the stakeholder engagement and committee reports from the 2019 Parliamentary Review of the Copyright Act and other research, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage, and the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, are launching a public consultation today on Canada’s copyright framework for online intermediaries to make sure it reflects the evolving digital world.

Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Law – Position Statement of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition of 9 April 2021 on the Current Debate

[Josef Drexl, Reto Hilty Luc Desaunettes-Barbero, Jure Globocnik, Begoña Gonzalez Otero, Jörg Hoffmann, Daria Kim, Shraddha Kulhari, Heiko Richter, Stefan Scheuerer, Peter R. Slowinski, and Klaus Wiedemann] Abstract: This Position Statement presents a broad overview of issues arising at the intersection of AI and IP law based on the work of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition research group on Regulation of the Digital Economy. While the analysis is approached mainly from a perspective de lege lata, it also identifies questions which require further reflection de lege ferenda supported by in-depth interdisciplinary research. The scope is confined to substantive European IP law, in particular, as regards copyright, patents, designs, databases and trade secrets.

175 Former Heads of State and Nobel Laureates Call on President Biden To Waive Intellectual Property Rules for COVID Vaccines

We the undersigned former Heads of State and Government and Nobel Laureates are gravely concerned by the very slow progress in scaling up global COVID-19 vaccine access and inoculation in low- and middle-income countries... But we are encouraged by news that your Administration is considering a temporary waiver of World Trade Organization (WTO) intellectual property rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, as proposed by South Africa and India, and supported by more than 100 WTO member states and numerous health experts worldwide. A WTO waiver is a vital and necessary step to bringing an end to this pandemic. It must be combined with ensuring vaccine know-how and technology is shared openly. This can be achieved through the World Health Organization COVID-19 Technology Access Pool, as your Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has called for. This will save lives and advance us towards global herd immunity.

IFLA submits comments on Canada, Singapore copyright reforms

[International Federation of Library Assocaitions] IFLA has contributed to consultations on reforms to copyright laws in Canada and Singapore, making recommendations designed to give the best possible opportunities for libraries and their users to access and use information. In addition to its work at the World Intellectual Property Organization, IFLA has a strong focus on supporting copyright reforms at the national level that libraries to fulfil their missions. Through sharing good practices from other countries, we aim to increase the possibilities for libraries to carry out key activities in support of preservation, research, education and cultural participation.

More Talk, No Action: Australia’s Approach to Trade Rules Restraining Vaccine Production

[Deborah Gleeson] ...Australia has gifted 8,000 doses to Papua New Guinea, and vowed to help the nation of almost 9 million secure 1 million more. Earlier this month Australia agreed to work with the US, India and Japan to provide 1 billion vaccines to poorer countries in the Asia-Pacific. It is also supporting COVAX, the global program aiming to buy and distribute 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to developing nations by the end of 2021. But all this could be negated through Australia’s potential spoiling role (with a handful of other countries) against a proposal supported by 118 countries to ramp up vaccine production by relaxing the trade rules governing intellectual property.