Day July 10, 2020

Digital Pirates: Policing Intellectual Property In Brazil

Digital technology has created an intellectual property standoff. One one side, the IP protectors (or "maximalists") fear piracy. One the other, the pirates rail against patent trolls, large corporations, and acquisitive mega-stars. Such battles about digital textuality manifest in different ways around the globe, igniting local debates about policing, expression, and imitation. This book offers the idea of "circulatory legitimacy" as a way to explain how both sides are talking past each other. Its aim is to open new spaces for policy, creativity, and governance.

Special Section 301: US Interference with the Design and Implementation of National Patent Laws

[Carlos Correa] ... This paper examines the patent-related claims made by the USTR in relation to the developing countries on the USTR Priority Watch List. It argues that the regulations and practices identified by the USTR show a legitimate use of the flexibilities provided for by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and that the ignorance of the public interests of the countries concerned (for instance, with regard to access to affordable medicines) has contributed to the discredit (and ineffectiveness) of the Special Section 301.

Covid-19 Trade Secrets and Information Access: An Overview

[David Levine] The unprecedented Covid-19 (Covid) virus has brought to the forefront many challenges associated with exclusive rights, information sharing, and innovation. How do we get effective diagnostics, treatments and vaccines quickly and safely to the public? More specifically, how do we ensure that sufficient quantities are produced, that health products are affordable, and that they are equitably distributed globally? Among many challenges on the road to this outcome is the difficult question of how to handle trade secrets, namely, information that is valuable because others do not know it... For the public at large, Covid trade secrets raise two primary issues: (a) When do you have a Covid trade secret, and (2) Should access to that trade secret extend to competitors, civil society groups, and/or the public? Both are challenging questions, and the below presents a general overview of the framework for addressing each question.