PIJIP Research Paper no. 2012-03 Author: Mohammed El Said Abstract: Leaked diplomatic cables related to the United States’ foreign policy implementing and enforcing intellectual property in developing countries draw a bleak picture. U.S. interest groups and local agents collaborate to…
On February 22, EC Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht announced that the Commission has referred ACTA to the European Court of Justice. The court has been asked “to assess whether ACTA is incompatible – in any way – with the…
Dissatisfied with the exclusive right to set the price at which copies of their works are first sold, copyright holders have been trying, for over 150 years, to bolster the resale prices at which copies of their works are re-sold,…
There is a danger that, in Canada’s quest to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), Canada may cede whatever leadership it has gained in the field of progressive copyright provisions. Canada’s Bill C-11, the proposed “Copyright Modernization Act”, includes provisions…
Last week, more European government officials signaled that they would refuse or delay ratification of the Anticounterfeiting Trade Agreement. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a news conference that Poland would not move to ratify it, saying “The ACTA is…
Public interest advocates and analysts have long been critical of the “maximalist” intellectual property agenda of some wealthy countries. But there is also a counter-current in the public interest community that is advocating for new positive norms to promote precisely…
Germany has postponed its signing of the Anticounterfeiting Trade Agreement. Bloomberg reports that “Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger is at odds with lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats” over the agreement, and the BBC quotes a Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying…
Comments received by the U.S. Trade Representative for the 2012 Special 301 Report have been posted online at regulations.gov This year, USTR received 41 comments from groups or individuals. Of these, 28 came from businesses, trade organizations, or coalitions representing…
Trade officials from the EU and India are meeting today to continue negotiations of a free trade agreement, which they hope to complete by the end of the year. The European Union is seeking to include TRIPS-Plus patent and data…
The BBC reports that there are over 100 protests scheduled against the Anticounterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) this week, including coordinated actions on Saturday, February 11. To date, over 1.75 million people have signed a petition – ACTA: The New Threat…
On January 26, the European Union signed the Anticounterfeiting Trade Agreement, prompting protests both online and in the streets, as well as the resignation of the EU Special Rapporteur for ACTA, Kader Arif. On January 30, EC Commissioner for Trade…
On January 30 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, American University’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property and the non-profit advocacy organization Knowledge Ecology International sponsored an event discussing public interest concerns with the closed door…