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

Not the African Copyright Pirate Is Perverse, But the Situation in Which (S)he Lives-Textbooks for Education, Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations, and Constitutionalization “From Below” in IP Law

[Klaus Beiter] Abstract: ...This Article will demonstrate the significance of extraterritorial state obligations (ETOs) for IP law. It focuses on the issue of how the right to education under international huan rights law prescribes requirements that international copyright law must comply with to facilitate access to textbooks in schools and universities. Drawing on the expert Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations

Ensuring Text and Data Mining: Remaining Issues With the EU Copyright Exceptions and Possible Ways Out

[Rossana Ducato and Alain Strowel] Abstract... The importance of TDM has been understood by the European legislator, which has introduced two specifically tailored exceptions in the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive. After a critical analysis of the new provisions, the paper argues that they still present several flaws that risk to stifle AI developments in Europe. Thus, the

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PLEDGES FOR COVID-19: A SCORECARD

[Jorge Contreras] Broad public concern over the availability of equipment, diagnostics and therapies needed to address COVID-19 has led numerous companies and institutions to pledge their intellectual property (IP) to this cause on a compensation-free basis (some background on IP pledging can be found here and here). The following table and discussion, adapted from a longer paper forthcoming in the

World trade organization’s export-oriented compulsory licensing mechanism: Foreseen policy concern for Africa to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic

[Muhammad Z Abbas] Abstract: Africa has a history of grappling with outbreaks and high prevalence of disease. It currently confronts COVID-19 which is escalating because of local community transmission of the disease. Poorly resourced health systems in Africa are ill-prepared for the surging number of COVID-19 cases. This paper emphasizes that in the current battle against COVID-19, policymakers should not

Making International] Intellectual Property and Trade Regimes Work to Address the Health Response to COVID-19

[Brook Baker] The world was unprepared for COVID-19 despite other recent coronavirus outbreaks and despite multiple warnings from the World Health Organization (WHO) and others. Although there was an initial sharing of research among scientists and an unleashing of significant public, charitable, and private funding to develop, test, and expand manufacturing capacity of new COVID-19-related medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics, the

New Paper Shows Data Exclusivity Linked to Higher Prices of Pharmaceutical Imports

[Mike Palmedo] Some studies that estimating the impact that trade agreements have had on medicine prices have found it to be small, as the effects take a long time to become fully apparent. Studies that have instead studied the effect of TRIPS-Plus rules required by trade agreements – such as patent term extensions, rules on the protection of test data