Analysis at the intersection of intellectual
property law and the public interest.
In the midst of the controversy surrounding the release of a Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) negotiating text on intellectual property by Wikileaks yesterday, over 80 law professors of intellectual property law and related disciplines have written to President Obama, Members of Congress and the United States Trade Representative calling for the creation of a […]
The draft Trans Pacific Partnership chapter on intellectual property, as it stood on August 30, 2013, has been posted at http://wikileaks.org/tpp/. Comments on and analysis of the leak have been made by Knowledge Ecology International, Public Citizen, and Derechos Digitales. Despite repeated calls for greater transparency (see, for instance, yesterday’s yesterday’s letter from House Democrats to […]
[Christine Farley. Excerpt from blog published by the National Constitution Center (Link)] … Since 1905 federal trademark law has banned the registration of scandalous or immoral marks. In 1947, marks that may disparage, bring into contempt or disrepute persons, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols were also banned. U.S. trademark law is not unique in prohibiting […]
Dear Mr. President: The organizations below are, like you, dedicated to ensuring the sustainability of public programs that provide access to affordable health care. But we write today to express our deep concern that provisions being advanced by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement will undermine this goal by […]
For immediate release: 11 November 2013 ‘Every ounce of political pressure will come on the negotiators during a special round of talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) that are scheduled for Salt Lake City from 19 to 24 November’, according to Professor Jane Kelsey from the University of Auckland. The meeting comes two weeks […]
There has been much debate about the relationship between international trade, and intellectual property, the environment, biodiversity protection, and climate change. The Obama Administration has pushed such issues into sharp relief, with its advocacy for sweeping international trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. There has been much public concern about the impact of the […]