infojustice

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

The Patent Case that Threatens the Internet

[K. William Watson, Cato Institute, Link (CC-BY-NC-SA)] The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments today in a case about dental retainers that could threaten the free flow of information over the Internet. The question is whether the U.S. International Trade Commission has the authority to bar the “importation” of digital transmissions. […]

Conference Looks At Public Interest In South Africa’s Draft Copyright Bill

[Linda Daniels, IP Watch, Link (CC-BY-NC-SA)] A conference here this week elicited a robust debate amongst intellectual property stakeholders in South Africa about the objectives of the far-reaching draft Copyright Amendment Bill. The Internet Rights, Cultural Development and Balancing Features in South African Copyright Reform conference was held on 11 August in Pretoria. Author REPOST

Don’t Trade Away Our Health – Pharma Attempts to Undermine South African Patent Law Reform & Access to Affordable Medicines

[Marcus Low, Borrie LaGrange, Umunyana Rugege, Link (CC-BY-SA)] A submission to the United States Government shows South Africa is facing pressure from the pharmaceutical industry to backtrack on intellectual property (IP) law reform that aims to improve access to medicines in exchange for eligibility for ongoing inclusion in the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity […]

Current Copyright Policy Tendencies in 2015: Further Weakening of Limits and Exceptions and the Ever Reducing Public Domain

Authors: Rodrigo Cetina Presuel and Loreto Corredoira y Alfonso Abstract: In 2015, Spain’s new copyright law entered into effect including many new provisions including one that requires Universities to pay Collecting Societies for using manuals and textbooks made available online in virtual campuses. This license cannot be waived and means that Universities have to pay […]

An Open Letter to the Sponsors of the Revised Defend Trade Secrets Act

[with Sharon K. Sandeen from the Hamline University School of Law] We write to express our continued concerns about the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) and our willingness to assist you in determining how best to improve enforcement of legitimate trade secret rights. In August 2014, 31 academics signed a letter raising many concerns with […]

Ecuador Seeks to Increase Penalties for Copyright and Trademark Infringement

The Ecuadorian Commission on Justice and Structure of the State has initiated a plan to socialize potential reforms to the criminal code. This includes changing penalties for copyright and trademark piracy. This reform is intended to bring the country into compliance with its TRIPS requirements. It seeks to punish commercial scale piracy with fines to […]