A Growing Number of Individual Legal Rights Issues Intersect with the Internet, including Freedom of Expression, Access to Knowledge (A2K), Copyrights, Trademarks, Patents, Privacy, Anonymity, Surveillance, Cyber-Security, Anti-Circumvention Measures, File-Sharing, Contributory Liability, Fair Use, Fair Dealing, Intermediary Protections, Notice and Take-Down, Public Domain, Trade Secrets, Due Process, Hyperlinking, Database Rights, Enforcement of Intellectual Property, Internet Censorship
San Francisco Civil Liberties Groups Comment on SF Entertainment Commission Proposal to Create Surveillance State in Local Arts Establishments
IP Justice signed comments from a number of San Francisco civil liberties organizations concerned about the draconian new proposal to turn local SF arts organizations into surveillance mechanisms for law enforcement. This proposal harms civil liberties like free expression and privacy and it will harm the local arts communities who will be forced to spy on their patrons if enacted. The comments are from PrivacyActivism, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, IP Justice, Patient Privacy Rights, the Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights, Chip Pitts of Stanford Law School, Beat the Chip, and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee
IP Justice Statement on ICANN’s Responsibility to Respect Human Rights
IP Justice submitted a statement today in response to the U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding its relationship with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). In its submission, IP Justice argued that ICANN needs a better legal framework that will obligate the [...]
Support Multi-Stakeholderism at ICANN & Sign the Petition for No Govt. Veto on Domain Names
The Internet Governance Project has published a very important petition against a governmental power-grab over of the Internet's Domain Name System. Governments are pushing ICANN for a "veto" right to prevent any top-level domain "for any reason". Sign the petition to support multi-stakeholder bottom-up consensus policy at ICANN instead.
IP Justice Comments on ICANN Plans for New Top-Level Domains: Keep the Core Neutral – ICANN Should Avoid Expanding Scope of Mission to Include Enforcing “Morality” and Fighting “Terrorism”
IP Justice submitted brief comments today to ICANN regarding its plan for introducing new Top-Level Domains (TLDs). Specifically, IP Justice raised concerns about policy proposals that threaten freedom of expression on the Internet and seek to expand ICANN's mission to include ensuring "Morality and Public Order" (MAPO) and preventing "terrorism" through personal background checks. IP Justice believes both of these ICANN proposals are mis-guided and will harm the healthy development of the Internet and the global public interest.
Updated Consolidated Text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
The full consolidated text of the ACTA agreement, dated July 1st 2010 from the Luzern round of negotiations, including the name of the negotiating parties along with their positions. Sourced from the civil liberties committee (LIBE) of the European Parliament.
Urgent Communique: International Experts Find that Pending Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Threatens Public Interests
A gathering of over 90 legal academics, practitioners, and public interest organizations from 6 continents met at American University Washington College of Law last week to draft an Urgent Communique concerning the public interest aspects of the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The international experts found that ACTA is a deeply flawed proposal created by a deeply flawed process that threatens to undermine fundamental freedoms at the global level. IP Justice participated in the meeting and endorsed the Urgent Communique, which was signed by ......
Sign the International Civil Society Declaration on the Public Interest Concerns of the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
Please consider endorsing the International Civil Society Declaration, which was the result of a meeting in Washington, DC (16-18 June 2010) of over 90 academics from 5 continents, public interest organizations and other legal experts concerned with the public interest aspects of ACTA. ACTA is a dangerous proposal to radically expand intellectual property rights at the global level. The draft agreement has been negotiated in secret, without inclusion of developing nation perspectives, and without any participation from civil society or regard for the global public interest. ACTA specifically targets the Internet and regulates the flow of information in a digital environment. ACTA would create significant negative consequences for fundamental freedoms, access to medicines, innovation, the balance of public/private interests, access to knowledge and culture, to name a few of its problems. ACTA represents a "wish list" from Hollywood and Big Pharma which will be imposed unilaterally on developing countries through trade pressure from the US, Europe and other wealthy states....
IP Justice Statement to ICANN on Need to Respect Decision of Independent Review Panel on .XXX Domain
IP Justice supports the swift adoption of the decision of the Independent Review Panel (IRP) by ICANN and the inclusion of the applied for .xxx domain name into the root. This IRP decision should not be, and cannot be, a referendum on pornography as some comments urge. This decision is only about ICANN's accountability mechanism - its means of correcting its past mistakes, and in particular its mishandling of the .xxx domain name application...
Copyright for Creativity – A Declaration for Europe
The Copyright for Creativity Declaration embodies a new approach to European copyright - an approach where everyone benefits, innovation is fostered, creativity is incentivised and rewarded and access to the fruits of the European creative spirit is improved for all Europeans. IP Justice is proud to be among the original signatories to the Declaration and encourages others to consider signing the Declaration.
2010 USTR Special Section 301 Report
United States Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 Report: Who's been naughty and who's been nice to US intellectual property interests (according to the USTR)? 2010 Country "Watch" Lists.
Draft Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) Finally Revealed
After 2 years of secret negotiations and numerous complaints about the lack of transparency in the treaty drafting process, on 21 April 2010 the US Trade Representative Office (USTR) finally released a draft of the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Most early fears about the draft treaty have been confirmed in the release...
Lack of Transparency Surrounding Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) Negotiations Causes Concern For Many Public Interest Groups
The proposed global treaty to address intellectual property rights in a digital environment spurs letters, petitions to US Obama Administration to open the process to public view. The public interest and the concerns of developing countries and small business have been left out of international treaty negotiation process to date providing a skewed proposal, a new leak has confirmed.
IP Justice and Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure File Amicus Brief to US Supreme Court on Software Patents
Two international intellectual property policy groups IP Justice and the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) filed an Amicus Curiae Brief in the United States Supreme Court in the Bilski v. Kappos case dealing with software patents. The US Supreme Court's decision in this case is expected to be a landmark decision on the limits of patentability on abstract ideas....
IP Justice in Financial Times on ICANN Being Driven by Commercial Interests
"Icann is full of people who work for corporations and think that Icann should be run like one. When I try to remind people that it is a not-for-profit public benefit organisation, they look at me like I am mad. Icann is dominated by commercial stakeholder groups" said Robin Gross, a cyberspace rights lawyer, and executive director of IP Justice, an international civil liberties organisation. "In Iran the protesters were able to communicate with the outside world because of proxy servers that allowed them to remain anonymous. But there are working groups within Icann working to prevent anonymous proxy servers because they might interfere with trademarks."
IP Justice Comments on ICANN Proposal to Expand Trademarks Rights in Domain Names
IP Justice submitted comments today in opposition to the proposals contained in the "IRT Report" a proposal from ICANN's Intellectual Property Constituency to create new trademark rights to domain names that do not exist in law. ICANN's Noncommercial Users Constituency (NCUC) also filed comments with ICANN discussing thesubstantive problems with the proposal and also the procedural concerns, which led to the creation of a one-sided report....