US NAFTA Negotiating Objectives For IP? Go Big On Digital IP Protection, Fend Off GIs 20/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a set of negotiating objectives for renegotiating the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that include its hopes for elevating intellectual property in the trade deal. Included in the list: force Canada and Mexico to ratify international treaties, accept US law on IP protection and create conditions for “strong” IP enforcement especially online, and ensure ample protection for products with generic names. Perhaps oddly, there is only one mention of trade, which includes respect for a 2001 text at the World Trade Organization on IP and public health.
TPP Texts Show Suspended IP Provisions 16/11/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Trade ministers negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement have released the list of provisions they have suspended, including a range of articles related to intellectual property rights, such as patentable subject matter, test data protection, biologics, copyright terms of protection, and technological protection measures.
Infojustice – US, Canadian & Mexican Law Professors, Academics And Policy Experts: NAFTA Must Include Fair Use, Safe Harbors 15/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment WASHINGTON – Today, over seventy international copyright law experts called for NAFTA and other trade negotiators to support a set of balanced copyright principles. The experts urge trade negotiators to support policies like fair use, safe harbor provisions, and other exceptions and limitations that permit and encourage access to knowledge, flourishing creativity, and innovation. Signatories include preeminent intellectual property professors and experts from law schools, think tanks, and public interest organizations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as Argentina, Australia, China, Ireland, and Switzerland.
‘Damaging’ Provisions On IP Dropped From TPP Agreement, MSF Says 15/11/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Trade ministers negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the United States have dropped many problematic provisions related to intellectual property and health, Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) reported today. Also removed from the agreement appears to be the investor-state dispute settlement provisions, according to a source.
Mechanism To Assess Trade Agreements Needed, UN Forum On Access To Medicines Hears 10/10/2017 by Peter Kenny for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A mechanism to systematically assess trade agreements from a public health perspective, including accession agreements of the World Trade Organization and European Patent Office’s validation agreements is needed, says Ellen ´t Hoen, senior researcher at the Global Health Unit of the University Medical Centre, Groningen, The Netherlands. who publishes the Medicines Law and Policy website.
Section 301: US Investigates Allegations Of Forced Technology Transfers To China 08/10/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments On 18 August 2017, the Trump administration invoked Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to launch an investigation into alleged Chinese violations of intellectual property rights (IPR). In response, China stated that the United States ‘disregards the rules of the WTO’ and that it will ‘take all proper measures to safeguard its legitimate rights’. Alongside investigations into steel and aluminium imports, the new Section 301 case holds the potential to escalate US–China trade tensions, write Zhiyao (Lucy) Lu and Gary Clyde Hufbauer.
G7 ICT Ministers: Free Data Flows, More Access To Data, But IP Protection Nevertheless 26/09/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Openness, security and the support for innovation through the empowerment of small and medium companies are the three core points of the joint statement of the G7 ICT Ministers after their two-day meeting in Turin, Italy ending today. While the host, Italian Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda, heavily underlined the need to avoid in digitalisation policies the mistakes made in globalisation, many topics of the final statement point to highly familiar commitments, with better protection of intellectual property being one.
Infojustice: Ottawa NAFTA Round Turns To Copyright 26/09/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Infojustice writes: It was being reported among various observers of NAFTA over the weekend that the talks in the IP chapter are progressing toward Copyright. The US appears poised to table the first set of its demands for that portion of the IP chapter. But it is also rumored that that the US demand may exclude the issue of copyright balance.
USTR Launches Review Of IP In Thailand After Reported Improvements On Enforcement 16/09/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today announced an “out-of-cycle” review of Thailand’s intellectual property policies after what USTR said were reports of improvement on several IP issues including trademarks and enforcement. Another area of the review will be pharmaceuticals.
New Study Looks At IP And The Rise Of Mega-Regional Agreements 11/09/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A substantive new study with contributions from a range of leading thinkers in the field of intellectual property rights delves into the history and future of mega-regional trade agreements and the evolution of IP rights.