Part 1 of our notes on the August 25, 2010 version of the ACTA consolidated text, covering pages 1-9 of the text, are available here. These notes cover the remainder of August 25, 2010 ACTA text, from pages 10 to 29.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has been given a high profile role in intellectual property policies in the Obama Administration. The Department is headed by Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. Locke is the best known as the former two term governor of the State of Washington. After leaving the government, he has also been a lawyer and consultant, including to Microsoft. Here are a few data points on that relationship.
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WIPO Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain (released May 2010)On 7 May 2010 the WIPO Secretariat published a paper entitled “WIPO Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain” prepared by Professor Séverine Dusollier (Professor, University of Namur, Belgium). This study was produced as an output of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property’s (CDIP) thematic project on intellectual property and the public domain which is predicated upon Recommendations 16 and 20 of the Development Agenda. WIPO Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain (released May 2010)In May 2010 the WIPO Secretariat published a paper entitled “WIPO Scoping Study on Copyright and Related Rights and the Public Domain” prepared by Professor Séverine Dusollier (Professor, University of Namur, Belgium). This study was produced as an output of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property’s (CDIP) thematic project on intellectual property and the public domain which is predicated upon Recommendations 16 and 20 of the Development Agenda. Part 1: Notes on the August 25, 2010 version of the ACTA consolidated textKEI has obtained a copy of the August 25, 2010 version of the ACTA consolidated negotiating text. This is Part 1 of our initial notes on the document. (Part 2 is available here.) (revised September 9, 2010) PreambleThe preamble in the August, 25, 2010 text includes 10 paragraphs, of which only 3 do not have brackets. Mexico President writes KEI, asks Minister of Economy to respond to ACTA questionsOn August 10, 2010, KEI sent a letter to the President of Mexico expressing our concerns in the position of the Mexican government in the ACTA negotiations. KEI noted that the proposed ACTA text, if adopted, would require the adoption of new legal provisions that would compromise the public interest of Mexico. KEI asked the Mexican government to change some positions it had taken earlier in the negotiation, and to support the inclusion in the ACTA text of of new flexibilities and protections of the fundamental rights of its citizens. Testinghttp://goo.gl/p6a15d https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ElI6rxLsq1SAlB69bsvti1_sK6A7W7pXP6Zmn7WM_lc/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000 Continue Reading Lunch with the ACTA negotiators, August 17, 2010On Tuesday, August 17, 2010, USTR organized a lunch between ACTA negotiators and civil society NGOs. There was not much notice. We received our invite to the lunch last Thursday. Representatives from KEI, Public Citizen, Oxfam, Public Knowledge and the American University program on intellectual property attended the event. Privacy challenges facing the European Union from ACTASince the early ‘70s, European countries have adopted a comprehensive legal framework on personal data protection that aims to balance the free flow of information for market purposes with an adequate level of protection for the right of privacy. Continue Reading U.S. Department of State cables regarding Brazil and pharmaceutical patents and prices – 1986-1987BackgroundBeginning in 1985, the United States government (USG) diplomatic and trade officials have engaged in wide ranging activities aimed at changing global norms for the protection of intellectual property rights, with a particular emphasis on the IPR protections for pharmaceutical products. This note reports on U.S. Department of State cables sent in 1986 and 1987, that discussed the U.S. government efforts to change policies in Brazil on the intellectual property protection for pharmaceutical products. The cables have been obtained by KEI with a FOIA request. |