Most of the time, the international politics of intellectual property law are pretty easy to follow: countries that are large exporters of intellectual property usually favor stronger international IP agreements that help exploit international markets. Countries that are large importers…
On July 11, 2011, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) presented the results of a study (prepared by Capital Trade, Inc.) on the value of fair use in the U.S. economy. The study—which was conducted using a methodology developed…
McKinnsey Global Institute has published “Internet matters: The Net’s sweeping impact on growth, jobs, and prosperity.” Among the report’s estimates: Internet activity represents 3.8% of total GDP in a sample of 13 countries that together represent 70% of world economic…
A “Review of Intellectual Property and Growth” by Cardiff University Professor Ian Hargreaves, commissioned by UK Prime Minster Cameron in November 2010, finds that “copyright law has started to act as a regulatory barrier to the creation of certain kinds…
Consumers International has published its third annual IP Watchlist, which “assesses the fairness of the world’s intellectual property laws and enforcement practices from an important yet under-represented perspective: that of an ordinary consumer.” The best-rated countries are Moldova, the U.S.,…
Yesterday the Broadband Breakfast Club hosted a panel discussion titled “The Costs of Global Intellectual Property Piracy: How Can the Phenomenon Be Empirically Quanitified?” The event featured speakers who have conducted studies for GAO and the IIPI, two representatives from…
A report written by the Property Rights Alliance’s Hernando de Soto Fellow Kyle Jackson, and supported seven contributors and 67 “partner” organizations ranks 129 countries on property rights. The rankings are broken into sub-rankings for physical property rights, intellectual property…
UNAIDS, UNDP, and the World Health Organization have released a policy brief describing the flexibilities in TRIPS available to increase access to medicines, including compulsory licenses, parallel imports and patentability criteria. It recommends that low and middle income countries “revise…
New York (March 7 2011)—Today, the Social Science Research Council released the first independent, large-scale study of music, film and software piracy in emerging economies, with a focus on Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa, Mexico and Bolivia. Based on three…
On February 8, the ‘IP Czar’ released the annual report to the President and Congress. The report describes efforts to enlist industry to voluntarily fight online infringement, to increase criminal enforcement, and to promote increased IP enforcement abroad through trade…
PIJIP’s Peter Jaszi and the Center for Social Media’s Pat Aufderheide, co-facilitated by UC Berkeley’s Jennifer Urban and Poetry Foundation’s Kate Coles, have just released a Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Poetry (PDF). The code is a…
OXFAM PRESS RELEASE, FEBRUARY 2, 2011: The proliferation of substandard, dangerous medicines in poor countries is being used by rich countries as an excuse to tighten intellectual property rules, boosting the profits of large pharmaceutical companies while making it harder…