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

Advocates Ask De Gucht to Leave Data Exclusivity Out of Trade Agreement with Moldova

Health advocates have asked the EU not to include data exclusivity requirements in the “Deeply Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement” that is being negotiated between the EU and Moldova. Article 9 of the agreement is rumored to contain an obligation for at least eight years of data exclusivity, as is standard in other European trade agreements. […]

Overview of Panamanian Reactions to Passage of Copyright Legislation (Bill no. 510)

On September 26, the plenary of the National Assembly approved on third debate the Bill No. 510 on Copyright and Related Rights. During the debate, Rep. Jose Blandon claimed that the text was not sufficiently disclosed or accessed. Despite the questions that the Bill in the Assembly, in the second debate the document received almost […]

Opposing Views on the Constitutionality of Colombian Ley Lleras 2.0

[Repost from the WCL IP Brief. Original post here. CC-BY] After the U.S. approved the FTA with Colombia, this South American nation sought to comply with the terms of the agreement by passing a new bill last April 10, 2012. Congress approved Law 1520 (a.k.a Ley Lleras 2.0) after only two weeks, with little debate. […]

Governor Brown Signs Legislation to Create Free Open Textbooks

On September 27, California Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills into law to provide open access textbooks to students in the University of California university system. SB 1052, establishes the California Open Education Resources Council, which will guide the development of textbooks for fifty core college courses. The second bill, SB 1053, creates the California […]

Infojustice Roundup – October 1, 2012

Panama Passes Copyright Bill – Reactions and Analysis Last week the Panamanian Congress passed Bill no. 510 on Copyright and Related Rights, meant to bring the country into compliance with its trade agreement with the U.S. The bill was fast-tracked, clearing three readings in the legislature in less than two months. A blog by PIJIP […]

Copyright in Latin America: New Enforcement Measures Pose Major Threats to Internet Users in Panama and Colombia

Co-authored by Carolina Rossini and Carolina Botero. Reposted from the EFF Deeplinks Blog. After years of being one of the most progressive regions in the world in terms of balanced copyright policy, Latin America is unfortunately sliding into copyright maximalism, enacting increasingly restrictive copyright enforcement measures into their federal laws. While Chile spent years drafting […]