Advocating for a world where intellectual
property law serves the public interest.

The Pelham Chronicles: Sampling, Copyright and Fundamental Rights

[Bernd Justin Jütte and João Quintais] Abstract: On 29 July 2019 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU or Court) rendered its long-awaited judgment in Pelham. This judgement was published together, but not jointly, with those on Spiegel Online and Funke Medien. A bit less than a year later, on 30 April 2020, the German Federal Court of

WIPO Negotiations for an International Legal Instrument on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources

[Nirmalya Syam] Abstract: Over the past few years, Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have engaged in negotiations for concluding an international legal instrument on intellectual property and genetic resources. While developing countries have a major interest in securing through this instrument a mandatory requirement for applicants of IP rights over innovations that utilize genetic resources or

Comment to USTR for the Special 301 Review

[Sean Flynn] The Biden Administration has called for every agency to identify “[w]hether new policies, regulations, or guidance documents may be necessary to advance equity in agency actions and programs.” [1] USTR could promote the equity directive by adopting the following policy in relation the operation of the Special 301 Program

THE CASE FOR INTEGRATING COPYRIGHT LAW WITH THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO EDUCATION IN NIGERIA AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

[Samuel W. Ugwumba] Abstract: The commitment to ensure access to education, particularly in developing countries, is a developmental imperative. Lack of education is life-threatening and, if there was any doubt, this is clear from the numerous studies that show a positive correlation between education and other development components. The sad reality, however, is that available data shows a growing crisis

Countries’ Policy Space to Implement Tobacco Packaging Measures in the Light of Their International Investment Obligations: Revisiting the Philip Morris v. Uruguay Case

[Alebe Linhares Mesquita and Vivian Daniele Rocha Gabriel] This Policy Brief aims to provide a concise analysis of the international investment dispute involving Philip Morris subsidiaries and the Republic of Uruguay. It depicts the main legal and political background that preceded the case, analyzes the decision reached by the arbitral tribunal, and assesses the award’s major regulatory and policy implications.

COMMUNIA salon on the role of ex-ante user rights safeguards in implementing Article 17

[Communia Association] On the 26th of January at 1530 (CET) we are hosting the first COMMUNIA salon of 2021. This edition will focus on the most controversial question of the discussions surrounding the implementation of Article 17: the need to introduce ex-ante user rights safeguards in national implementations of the directive, to ensure that legitimate uses of third party works