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

Model Statute for Implementation of the WIPO Marrakesh Treaty

[by Jonathan Band and Peter Jaszi] The Marrakesh Treaty, adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization this past summer, provides Contracting Parties with great flexibility concerning the implementation of its obligations. Article 4(2) sets forth one way a Contracting Party may meet its obligation under Article 4(1) to permit the making and distribution of accessible format […]

Brazilian Patent Law Report

The Brazilian Center for Strategic Studies and Debates has just released the English version of its major report – Brazil’s Patent Reform: Innovation Towards National Competitiveness. This 363-page report comprehensively addresses the need for patent law reform in Brazil. The report addresses TRIPS compliance, TRIPS flexibilities, public health, and industrial policy rationales. Scholars, experts, policy […]

Access to Culture and Copyright in Uruguay: #noal218, a Civil Society Victory

[Jorge Gemetto, Digital Rights-LAC, Link (CC-BY-SA)] In early July, the Uruguayan government had included an article in the Accountability Bill (one omnibus bill that mostly deals with administrative issues), which extended the term of copyright from 50 to 70 years after the author’s death. Article 218 (that was its number in the bill) was included at the […]

Solving the Orphan Works Problem for the United States

Authors: David Hansen, Kathryn Hashimoto, Gwen Hinze, Pamela Samuelson and Jennifer Urban Abstract: Over the last decade, the problem of orphan works — i.e., copyrighted works whose owners cannot be located by a reasonably diligent search — has come sharply into focus as libraries, archives, and other large repositories of copyrighted works have sought to […]

Threat of Pharmaceutical-Related IP Investment Rights in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: An Eli Lilly v. Canada Case Study

After losing two patent cases before the appellate courts of a Western democracy, should a disgruntled foreign multinational pharmaceutical company be free take that country to private arbitration claiming that its expectations of monopoly profits had been thwarted by the courts’ decisions? Should governments continue to negotiate trade agreements where expansive Intellectual Property-related investor rights […]

Conference to Explore Law and Economics of Copyright Users’ Rights

Economists and legal experts will join in a public discussion of the social and economic benefits of copyright users’ rights on September 26 from 2pm at American University Washington College of Law. The event will bring together top scholars in economics and law to discuss needs for empirical research on copyright users rights to inform […]