infoJustice

Finally! The Text of Poland’s Legal Challenge of Copyright Directive Was Published

[Natalia Mileszyk] Earlier this year, Poland initiated a legal challenge against Article 17 of the Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) [C-401/19]. The CJEU has finally published the application for this legal challenge... In our opinion, referring the Directive to the Court of Justice is a good step that can help clear controversies concerning Article 17. An independent court will assess issues that in the policy debate are usually dismissed by representatives of rightsholders as fear-mongering or disinformation.

SPARC Urges Department of Justice to Block Merger Between Cengage and McGraw-Hill

[SPARC press release] Today, SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) submitted a detailed filing to the U.S. Department of Justice urging federal antitrust enforcers to block the proposed merger between college textbook publishing giants Cengage and McGraw-Hill Education. The merger would create the largest publisher of college course materials in the United States and the world’s second largest education publisher overall.

Decolonising Copyright, Building our Creative & Information Economy

Recreate ZA, in partnership with Wits Library, Wiser, UCT IP Unit and the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property will be hosting a series of panel discussions on the 7th and 8th of August, at Wits and UCT respectivel... At this event, a number of development scholars and experts, including Ruth Okediji, Adam Habib, Justice Zak Yacoob, Tshilidzi Marwala and many others will be engaging on how the signing and implementation Copyright Amendment Bill could positively affect the economy, and how it could lead to growth emanating from South Africa’s creative, research and education sectors, as well as reductions in costs for students and learning institutions.

Global Innovation Index 2019: India Makes Major Gains as Switzerland, Sweden, US, Netherlands, U.K. Top Ranking; Trade Protectionism Poses Risks for Future Innovation

[World Intellectual Property Organization] Now in its 12th edition, the GII is a global benchmark that helps policy makers better understand how to stimulate and measure innovative activity, a main driver of economic and social development. The GII 2019 ranks 129 economies based on 80 indicators, from traditional measurements like research and development investments and international patent and trademark applications to newer indicators including mobile-phone app creation and high-tech exports.

Liability for User-Generated Content Online: Principles for Lawmakers

[Joint statement endorsed by 28 civil society groups and 53 individuals] Policymakers have expressed concern about both harmful online speech and the content moderation practices of tech companies. Section 230, enacted as part of the bipartisan Communications Decency Act of 1996, says that Internet services, or “intermediaries,” are not liable for illegal third-party content except with respect to intellectual property, federal criminal prosecutions, communications privacy (ECPA), and sex trafficking (FOSTA). Of course, Internet services remain responsible for content they themselves create.

Letter from 104 Members of Congress to USTR, re: Data Protection for Biologics in NAFTA 2.0

We write to express our strong opposition to provisions that limit access to medicines in the revised NAFTA agreement, also known as United States-Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA).... The USMCA would keep drug prices out of reach for patients by increasing and locking in 10 years of marketing exclusivity for brand biologics, expanding the scope of brand biologics eligible for protection, and making it easier for brand-name drug companies to extend their monopolies through additional patents, patent extensions and other forms of patent "evergreening."