Intellectual Property Law

Will Proposed Treaty Make Border Agents Copyright Cops? (Computerworld)

Posted on May 30, 2008
An Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) under quiet negotiation by several countries including the U.S and Canada is raising concern in some quarters after a leaked document, purportedly offering more details on the nascent agreement, was posted on the Internet...

Embattled ACTA Negotiations Next Week In Geneva; US Sees Signing This Year (IP-Watch)

Posted on May 30, 2008
Formal negotiations on an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) are expected to commence next week in Geneva, according to a European Commission official, even as a leaked United States trade office paper is drawing criticism of the proposed pact...

Acting Against ACTA by Professor Alan Story

Posted on May 30, 2008
?If it is a sin for the poor to steal from the rich, it must be a much bigger sin for the rich to steal from the poor. Don?t rich countries pirate poor countries? best scientists, engineers, doctors, nurses and programmers? When global corporations come to operate in the Philippines, don?t they pirate the best people from local firms? If it is bad for poor countries like ours to pirate the intellectual property of rich countries, isn?t it a lot worse for rich countries like the US to pirate our intellectuals?...

Former Canadian Conservative Party Member Admits Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty is Disgraceful and Vows to Fight Against It (Ottawa Citizen)

Posted on May 28, 2008
"As a former worker and member of a Riding Board of Directors for the Conservative Party, I feel have to apologize to all Canadians. The new secret copyright deal clearly shows that this government does not care about personal privacy or about Canadians' right to debate and input their own laws...

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Let’s stand up to Big Brother (Vancouver Province)

Posted on May 28, 2008
The government is secretly negotiating a global pact on copyright infringement that could force Internet service providers to hand over customer information without a court order. Called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, it could well prove a nightmare for ordinary Canadians -- turning border and other security guards into copyright cops who check laptops, iPods and even cellphones for "pirated" CDs and movies...

‘Fair use’ stipulation planned for intellectual property in Japan (asahi.com)

Posted on May 28, 2008
"The government will ease its stringent restrictions on using copyrighted works, a development that will affect activities ranging from posting personal pictures on websites to developing Internet search engines, sources said. The Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters, led by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, has decided to make a Japanese version of a U...

Govt Wants Into Your Laptop and iPod (Canada.com)

Posted on May 27, 2008
The federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws that could make the information on iPods, laptops and other devices illegal, according to a leaked government document. The deal could also force Internet service providers to hand over customer information without a court order...

Anti-Piracy Strategy Will Help Govt to Spy, Critic Says - Changes Could Lead to Policing of Legal Activities (Globe & Mail)

Posted on May 26, 2008
"This is an attempt here to create a very broad umbrella that strikes at the very heart of every day activities for millions of Canadians," said Michael Geist, law professor at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair of Internet and e-commerce law...

Copyright deal would toughen laptop, iPod laws (Calgary Herald)

Posted on May 24, 2008
The [Canadian] federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws, which could make the information on Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices illegal and greatly increase the difficulty of travelling with such devices...

Leaked US Govt. Discussion Paper on Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) from Wikileaks

Posted on May 22, 2008
Wikileaks today posted a leaked document from the US Government discussing the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA is a new multi-lateral trade agreement spearheaded by the US, European Union, Switzerland, Australia, and a select handful of other wealthy nations to create new international legal rules for the regulation of intellectual property rights...

US Congress Cites Free Expression as Reason ICANN Must Remain Controlled by US Govt.

Posted on May 15, 2008
US Congressmen are up to their old tricks of pretending to care about free expression publicly, while undermining it's practice with their policy decisions -- especially when it comes to free speech on the Internet. Congressman Edward Markey, the Chairman of the Congressional Sub-committee on Telecommunications and the Internet sent a letter urging the US Government to refuse to relinquish unilateral oversight of ICANN, the US Commerce Department created organization set up to manage the Internet's root server...

Statement at IGF Open Consultation of IGF Dynamic Coalition for Access to Knowledge and Free Expression (A2K@IGF)

Posted on May 13, 2008
"IPR protection has always been given to creators and inventors in exchange for some benefit to the public. These are usually included in IP law as exceptions and limitations that can provide a benefit to the public. For example, when copyright owners permit the copying of their materials for private and educational use, they contribute to the general pool of knowledge available on the Internet...

A2K@IGF Statement at IGF Open Consultation (Audio)

Posted on May 13, 2008
Statement at the IGF Open Consultation from the IGF Dynamic Coalition for Access to Knowledge and Free Expression (A2K@IGF) (Audio file - .mp3)

Crown copyright is overdue for retirement (Toronto Star)

Posted on May 12, 2008
"...Given the significant costs associated with a program that does more harm than good and that appears susceptible to political manipulation, any new copyright reform should eliminate Crown copyright and adopt in its place a presumption that government materials belong to the public domain to be freely used without prior permission or compensation...

Mandate of Advisory Group of Internet Governance Forum Extended

Posted on May 02, 2008
The mandate of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the Internet Governance Forum has been extended. The Special Adviser for Internet Governance to the Secretary-General, Nitin Desai, has been asked to continue as the Chairman of the Advisory Group, which will meet again on 13 to 15 May in Geneva before handing over to a renewed group to prepare the next Internet Governance Forum meeting in Hyderabad, India, on 3 to 6 December...

Canadian Law Prof Michael Geist Submission on ACTA to Canadian Govt

Posted on May 01, 2008
"I begin by noting that it is difficult to provide meaningful feedback on a treaty that no one has publicly seen. However, with some public documents indicating that lobby groups hope to use the treaty to increase intermediary liability, force cross-border disclosure of Internet service provider subscriber information, and further advance the cause of anti-circumvention legislation, there is reason for concern...

CIPPIC Submission on ACTA to Canadian Government

Posted on April 30, 2008
The content of ACTA could have significant implications for Canada. Counterfeiting activity harms Canadian consumers and Canadian trade. All Canadians endorse the dedication of appropriate law-enforcement resources to addressing trade-debilitating commercial infringement...

“The Problem with the Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty (and What To Do About It)” by Aaron Shaw (KEI Studies)

Posted on April 30, 2008
In mid-February 2008, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued a request for public comments on the proposed ?Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement? (ACTA). However, with the exception of a handful of press releases, information about the proposal itself remains scarce...

Uninvited to the Public Policy Forum Symposium (Howard Knopf)

Posted on April 25, 2008
"I have now been uninvited to the Public Policy Forum (?PPF?) IP program entitled INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REFORM: INNOVATION AND THE ECONOMY on April 28, 2008, which will now proceed without me on the program. It seems that strong pressure was brought to bear on PPF to have me removed from the program and that PPF capitulated...

2008 USTR Special 301 Report (full report)

Posted on April 25, 2008
The ?Special 301? Report is an annual review of the global state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement, conducted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) pursuant to Special 301 provisions of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act)...

Canada Remains in Good Company in USTR Special 301 Report (Micheal Geist)

Posted on April 25, 2008
"The U.S. Trade Representative has released its annual Special 301 report, in which it criticizes dozens of countries over their intellectual property laws while ignoring its own shortcomings. Despite demands from the copyright lobby that Canada be placed on the "Priority Watch List," Canada is again on the lower level Watch List along with 35 other countries including Norway, Greece, Italy, Spain, and South Korea...

USTR’s 2008 Special Section 301 Report (William Paltry)

Posted on April 25, 2008
On Friday, April 25th, the Office of the United States Trade Representative issued its 2008 Special 301 report. Nine countries were placed on the naughtiest of the naughty list, the Priority Watch List: China, Russia, Argentina, Chile, India, Israel, Pakistan, Thailand, and Venezuela...

Internet Bill of Rights Coalition on “Search Engine” (CBC Radio)

Posted on April 18, 2008
Radio interview (.mp3) of Robin Gross and Robert Guerra discuss the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Dynamic Coalition for an Internet Bill of Rights on CBC's "Search Engine" with host Jesse Brown.

Draft Programme Outline for the Third Meeting of the IGF in Hyderabad in Dec. 2008

Posted on April 08, 2008

“Reflections from Fordham 2008 ” from Howard Knopf

Posted on April 03, 2008
The annual Fordham International Intellectual Property Law and Policy Conference has just taken place, as always The First Thursday and Friday After Easter.? The following is a very limited and personal take on a very complex and comprehensive conference.

IP Justice White Paper on the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

Posted on March 25, 2008
Anti-Consumer and Anti-Public Interest Treaty Proposed by Intellectual Property Industry, US, Europe, Switzerland, and Japan

Provisions for ACTA - According to Office of US Trade Representative

Posted on March 25, 2008
According to Oct. 2007 USTR "Fact Sheet", the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) would contain the following provisions: International Cooperation, Enforcement Practices & New Legal Framework....

IP Justice White Paper on the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

Posted on March 25, 2008
In 2007 a select handful of the wealthiest countries began a treaty-making process to create a new global standard for intellectual property rights enforcement, the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA is spearheaded by the United States, the European Commission, Japan, and Switzerland -- those countries with the largest intellectual property industries...

ACTA?s Misguided Effort to Increase Govt Spying and Ratchet-Up IPR Enforcement at Public Expense

Posted on March 21, 2008
IP Justice Comments to the U.S.T.R. on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). IP Justice firmly believes that ACTA?s costs to the public far outweigh any public benefit it might provide. The financial expense to tax-payers to fund ACTA would be enormous and steal scarce resources away from programs that deal with genuine public needs like providing education and eliminating hunger...

Essential Action Comments to USTR on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

Posted on March 20, 2008
The comments argue that background information on the treaty conflate the concepts of counterfeiting, "piracy" and infringement. "An agreement based on, or reflecting, such a conflation of distinct concepts is likely to be overly broad, proscribing behavior that cannot correctly be identified as counterfeiting and that is not necessarily detrimental to the public interest...

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