10 Sep, 2008: Public-Interest NGO’s Express Concerns with Proposed Senate Bill on Intellectual Property Enforcement
Twelve Public Interest Organizations Send US Senate Judiciary Joint Letter on Concerns Regarding S.3325, the "Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008": "The undersigned groups write to express our concerns with S. 3325, the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008, soon to be marked up in the Committee on the Judiciary. While enforcing IP rights is necessary to ...

14 Jul, 2008: WIPO Enriched by In-Depth Discussion of Public Domain (KEI)
"With respect to the public domain, Richard Owens (WIPO Secretariat) noted that there is a fundamental question of definition that frames the policy debate on this issue. The classical definition of the public domain (in the copyright context) is “what is not protected by copyright, i.e. rights that have expired, works that have not been deemed worthy of protection, and ...

12 Jul, 2008: WIPO Development Committee Ends First Year On Mostly Agreeable Note (IP-Watch)
"While the 7 to 11 July meeting of the Committee on Development and IP (CDIP) did not make any profound changes in the operations of WIPO yet, discussions revealed some of the areas where change may be coming. And while there were moments of tension, the overall spirit of the meeting appeared more agreeable than meetings of the past years. ...

10 Jul, 2008: The fight Against Counterfeiting and Piracy in the Bilateral Trade Agreements of the EU (EU Parliament Briefing Paper)
By Duncan Matthews (Queens Mary University of London)

9 Jul, 2008: EFF Statement at WIPO Development Agenda Meeting in Geneva
"We support the call for WIPO to initiate discussions on how to facilitate access to knowledge and technology for developing countries and LDCs to foster creativity and innovation, and to facilitate IP-related aspects of ICT for growth and economic, social and cultural development. It is essential that national and international copyright and patent laws provide an environment that is ...

9 Jul, 2008: G8 Governments Want ACTA Finalised This Year, SPLT Talks Accelerated (IP-Watch)
Despite issues like the current food, energy and climate crises having taken centre stage at this week’s Group of 8 summit in Japan, governments did not lose sight of earlier plans to promote and more strictly protect intellectual property rights. ...

16 Jun, 2008: Civil Society & Organized Labour Seoul Declaration (OECD Ministerial in Korea)
Framework for the Future of the Internet Economy. Freedom of Expression. Protection of Privacy and Transparency. Consumer Protection. Promotion of Access to Knowledge. Internet Governance. Promotion of Open Standards. Balanced Intellectual Property Policies. Internet Governance. ...

3 Jun, 2008: William Patry: An ACTA Call to Arms: No More Secret Govt.
Last week I posted about the proposed Ant-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The issue is getting coverage in the blogosphere, but none in the mainstream press at least in the U.S., which is regrettable, since the issues raised are of great public interest. Since my last blog, I have received information from Geneva and national capitals that requires updating the blog, and ...

28 May, 2008: ‘Fair use’ stipulation planned for intellectual property in Japan (asahi.com)
"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.S. copyright law stipulation that allows for the ...

12 May, 2008: Crown copyright is overdue for retirement (Toronto Star)
"...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."

1 May, 2008: Canadian Law Prof Michael Geist Submission on ACTA to Canadian Govt
"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 ...

25 Apr, 2008: Uninvited to the Public Policy Forum Symposium (Howard Knopf)
"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. The presentation ...

25 Apr, 2008: USTR Press Release on 2008 Special 301 List
Report Highlights US Industry Desire for More Restrictive Intellectual Property Protection, Acknowledges Compliance by Some US Trading Partners....

25 Apr, 2008: 2008 USTR Special 301 Report (full report)
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). The 2008 Special 301 review process examined IPR protection and enforcement in 78 countries. ...

25 Apr, 2008: Canada Remains in Good Company in USTR Special 301 Report (Micheal Geist)
"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, ...