Category Bilateral Trade Pressures

US-China Intellectual Property Trade Wars

[Peter Yu] Abstract: More than two decades ago, the literature on the Chinese intellectual property system was filled with commentaries on the trade threats exchanged between the United States and China in relation to the inadequate protection and enforcement of  intellectual  property rights in the latter. At that time, China has not yet joined the World Trade Organization. In the past few years, we once again have been confronted with multiple rounds of trade threats—this time as part of a trade war, which has thus far involved tariffs on close to $750 billion worth of goods. Although the current U.S.-China trade war implicates many items ranging from agricultural produce to electronic goods to financial services, inadequate protection and enforcement of  intellectual property rights in China remains one of the few oft-cited justifications.

New Book – Intellectual Property Law and Access to Medicines: TRIPS Agreement, Health and Pharmaceuticals

[Srividhya Ragavan] Amaka Vanni and I are pleased to share our new book, Intellectual Property Law and Access to Medicines: TRIPS Agreement, Health, and Pharmaceuticals. The book maps 25 years of TRIPS from the perspective of access to medication discourse by looking at  three generations of access to medication debate.

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.

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.

An Open Letter to the Government of South Africa on the Need to Protect Human Rights in Copyright

[Cory Doctorow] Five years ago, South Africa embarked upon a long-overdue overhaul of its copyright system, and, as part of that process, the country incorporated some of the best elements of both U.S. and European copyright. From the U.S.A., South Africa imported the flexible idea of fair use -- a set of tests for when it's okay to use others' copyrighted work without permission. From the E.U., South Africa imported the idea of specific, enumerated exemptions for libraries, galleries, archives, museums, and researchers. Both systems are important for preserving core human rights, including free expression, privacy, education, and access to knowledge; as well as important cultural and economic priorities such as the ability to build U.S.- and European-style industries that rely on flexibilities in copyright.

Ambivalence to Fair Use in U.S. Trade Policy

On June 16, 2020, President Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa referred the Copyright Amendment Bill (“CAB”), which had been awaiting his signature for more than 18 months, back to the Parliament. This action appears motivated at least in part by the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”)’s concerns about the CAB’s inclusion of a fair use right. This is the most recent example of apparent ambivalence towards the “exportation” of fair use in U.S. trade policy over the past 25 years—notwithstanding that the Supreme Court has twice held that fair use is a built-in accommodation between the Copyright Act and the First Amendment.

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.

Top Trade Officials from US and South Africa to Meet Over Copyright Amendments Bill Dispute

The Daily Maverick reports that South African Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will soon meet to discuss a dispute over South Africa's proposed Copyright Amendments Bill. The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has launched a formal review of South Africa's trade benefits through the General System of Preferences (GSP), to investigate whether the Amendments violate the GSP's eligibility criterion that beneficiary countries provide" provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights." It is doing so at the request of the International Intellectual Property Alliance, a US-based trade group representing publishers.

Computer & Communications Industry Association Letter to President of South Africa

[Ed Black] ... Contrary to the suggestions of the U.S. companies opposing fair use in South Africa, there is nothing inappropriate about the Copyright Amendment Bill’s inclusion of fair use. South African users and creators should be allowed to benefit from fair use, just as American users and creators are able to, along with the millions of citizens of the other jurisdictions that have adopted fair use.