I am representing IP Justice, an international advocacy organization on internet regulation and digital governance. I urge the delegates to reject the WIPO Broadcast Treaty and adopt Limitations and Exceptions provisions. Imagine when big broadcasting companies own the learning materials in school, and that broadcaster will own the contents created by artists. The Broadcast Treaty [...]
Summary The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Broadcast Treaty had a long journey of two decades of negotiation on the WIPO table. U.S. delegates proposed a most recent draft at the Standing Committee of Copyright (SCCR 38) in 2019, and the last SCCR 41 Agenda asks for comments on possible next steps for the Broadcast [...]
IP Justice and 11 other nonprofit organizations urged the US White House to apply a TRIPS-waiver relating to Covid-19 to all intellectual property rights, and not only patents. Many tools related to making vaccines and other critical medical equipment needed to fight Covid are hindered by restrictive intellectual property laws, including copyright, stated the organizations [...]
June 25, 2021 Ambassador Katherine Tai United States Trade Representative 600 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20508 Re: Supporting LDCs’ Request for Transition Period Dear Ambassador Tai: We urge the United States to support the request of Least Developed Countries (“LDCs”) to the TRIPS Council of the World Trade Organization (IP/C/W/668) for a transition period [...]
What follows are a few 'big picture' thoughts on the Netmundial meeting in Brazil this week and its final outcome document, adopted by its high level committee. Overall, there are some truly amazing and forward-looking principles supported in the "Netmundial Multi-Stakeholder Statement" that we as civil society should be proud of, and especially our civil [...]
"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. The practice of remixing, re-using, editing, and combining of audio-video and text to comment on culture and create transformative works depends upon a system of robust exceptions and limitations to exclusive rights. This coalition supports innovation and the creation of wealth through IPR incentivization, but we also seek to support alternative models for creating knowledge goods, including free and open source software, or open scholarly and scientific journals, and on-line access to scholarly research, publicly funded research, and essential documents such as legal information. The A2K@IGF coalition welcomes a discussion in Hyderabd that explores best practices for promoting sharing of knowledge and access to information and that explores a variety of business models designed to encourage creativity and innovation. We welcome participation from all stakeholders in this ongoing discussion to build an open and inclusive Internet to promote human development and individual empowerment...."
Statement at the IGF Open Consultation from the IGF Dynamic Coalition for Access to Knowledge and Free Expression (A2K@IGF) (Audio file - .mp3)
The Information Society Project (ISP) at Yale Law School will host the third Access to Knowledge Conference (A2K3) September 8-10, 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland. It will be held at the Geneva International Conference Centre and will bring together hundreds of decision-makers and experts on global knowledge to discuss the urgent need for policy reforms.
Links to Audio, Video, and Photos of IGF-Rio. Where 2007 IGF Excelled: High Quality of Independently Organized Workshops, World-Class Technical Capabilities, Offline Interactions & Networking Opportunities; But: Human Rights & Controversy Avoided, Glaring Lack of Gender Balance & Youth Voices, Last' Year's Speakers ...