[Cross posted from IP-Watch, Link (CC-BY-NC-SA] The supposedly impossible happened: The Marrakesh Treaty entered into force on 30 September, three months after reaching the necessary minimum of 20 ratifications. By then, 22 countries had done so – two more did…
EIFL joins celebrations at the inaugural Assembly of the Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities; calls for an international treaty to support libraries’ public service mission Electronic Information for Libraries, Link (CC-BY) EIFL marked the inaugural Assembly of the…
Reports from the WTO Public Forum held last week highlights a notable shift in the World Trade Organization toward an E-Commerce Agenda. The issue appears likely to be addressed substantively in the 2017 Ministerial Conference. Through then, the organization is likely…
A workshop hosted by Electronic Frontier Foundation discussed the opportunity to use any WTO engagement with E-Commerce rules to expand transparency and participation processes for internet companies and users, academics and the greater public. My intervention at that panel discussed…
[Tim Vollmer, Creative Commons, Link (CC-BY)] Last month the United Nations released a report with recommendations on how to improve innovation and access to health technologies. The panel’s charge called for it to “recommend solutions for remedying the policy incoherence…
Originally posted on EFF Deeplinks blog, Link (CC-BY) This week, EFF has been at the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s annual Public Forum. Best known to the general public as the locus of anti-globalization protests at its 1999 Ministerial Conference, it’s…
Teresa Hackett, Electronic Information for Libraries, Link (CC-BY) On 30th September 2016, the Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities enters into force. The treaty is a game-changer for people who are blind or partially sighted, as well as for…
Joint statement by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations, Link (CC-BY) As we enter the final days of the countdown to the entry into force of the 2013…
Executive Summary and Recommendations are below, Click here for the full report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In September 2015, 193 Member States of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda). This agenda includes Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)…
International Federation of Library Associations, Link (CC-BY) The signing of the Treaty of Marrakesh in 2013 was a first step towards providing access to knowledge for some of the most vulnerable in society. It offers a response to the book…
[Marcus Low, Business Day, Link] It is often argued that weakening patent monopolies on pharmaceuticals will lead to fewer new medicines being discovered. Whether this is indeed the case, and to what extent, is one of the key questions that must be…
China joins the ranks of the world’s 25 most-innovative economies, while Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Finland and Singapore lead the 2016 rankings in the Global Innovation Index, released today by Cornell University, INSEAD and the…