White House refuses FOIA request for documents on country positions on transparency of ACTA negotiations
On June 2, 2010, KEI submitted a FOIA request to the White House Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The request covered:
Video Interviews, statements, blogs, and news reports from the December 17-18, 2012 WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly
KEI collection of various interviews, statements and news clips from the December 17-18, 2012 WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly that approved a June 2013 diplomatic conference to negotiate a treaty on copyright exceptions for persons with certain disabilities.
Video Interviews
Video interviews from the WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly, after reaching a landmark decision to:
KEI Statement on WIPO decision to hold June 2013 diplomatic conference for treaty on copyright exceptions for disabilities
Geneva, Tuesday, 18 December.2012
At the end of the two day WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly, Member States today agreed “to negotiate and adopt a treaty on limitations and exceptions for visually impaired persons/persons with print disabilities.”
WBU, WIPO issue press releases on WIPO decision to hold diplomatic conference for WIPO treaty for blind people
Here is a link to the WIPO press release: WIPO Advances Toward Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Persons with Print Disabilities, Morocco Offers to Host Diplomatic Conference Geneva, December 18, 2012,PR/2012/727
Here is the WBU press release:
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WORLD BLIND UNION (WBU) press release 18 December 2012
Press Release – WIPO Negotiations Treaty for Blind people
WIPO member states call for treaty for blind people to be finished in 2013
Proposed Extraordinary WIPO General Assembly Decision Text: 9:20 PM-17 December 2012
After a tense day of negotiation with all sorts of threats to block progress, it seems as though World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is poised to approve a diplomatic conference “to negotiate and adopt a treaty on limitations and exceptions for visually impaired persons/persons with print disabilities.” The USA had come into the meeting trying to downgrade the agreement from a treaty to an agreement of ambiguous non-treaty status, and both the US and the EU wanted today’s decision to be subject to a later approval — dubbed either the kill switch or the safety Continue Reading
Draft WIPO EGA decision, around 430pm
WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly: Statement of Venezuela (references European Union’s Nobel Peace Prize)
Venezuela delivered the following statement on 17 December 2012 at the WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly.
VENEZUELA: Thank you, Chairman.Likewise, we, too, wish to extend thanks to the Director General and the Secretariat and the ambassador of Zambia for his successful leading work in the SCCR. We support the holding of a Diplomatic Conference on this subject. It will be a very significant political signal if we were to convene this conference which has very major human rights over tones.
WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly: Statement of Egypt on behalf of the Africa Group in favor of Treaty for the Blind
This was the statement delivered today (17 December 2012) by Egypt on behalf of the African Group at the Forty-Second (22nd Extraordinary) Session of the WIPO General Assembly.
African Group. The African Group would like to welcome the significant progress achieved on advancing the draft text of WIPO Treaty on limitations and exceptions for visually impaired persons, person with print disabilities, which was adopted in November 2012 by the Standing Committee to Copyright and Related Rights, in its 25th session.
WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly: Morocco announces its candidacy to host a Diplomatic Conference on the Treaty for the Blind
Morocco delivered this statement today (17 December 2012) announcing its formal candidacy to host a Diplomatic Conference in June 2013.
USA statement at WIPO Extraordinary General Assembly, wants later “final review” of negotiating text, treaty status uncertain
Right before noon at the December 17, 2012 Extraordinary General Assembly, the US read the statement below. Here are a couple of quick comments.
1. The US Statement supports a diplomatic conference, but aligns itself with the EU, calling for a later “final review” of “many outstanding issues,” so only a tentative decision would be made now, and if the EU or USA is not satisfied with concessions from developing countries, they want to be able to revoke the approval for the meeting.