Sony complains fundraiser: “smells a little bit like a Disney play regarding corp. tax reform”

This from the Wikileaks Sony Archive:

An email from Keith Weaver, the “Executive Vice President, Worldwide Government Affairs at Sony Pictures Entertainment, provide an illustration the practical art of doing “Government Affairs,” meeting “goals” for fundraisers, trying to avoid making “personal” contributions, and wondering if the donations were to much focused on another company’s purchase of policy” “smells a little bit like a Disney play regarding corp. tax reform”.

Jamie

From: Weaver, Keith
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2014 5:23 PM
To: Weil, Leah
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Sony referred to “WIPO treaty for blind as “stalking horse” to “denigrate the rights of copyright owners”

In the new Wikileaks archives of leaked Sony documents (Link here), there is a memo (https://wikileaks.org/sony/docs/05/docs/DECE/DECE%20CP1%20-%20ss.doc.pdf), which describes Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) concern over the proposed WIPO treaty for copyright exceptions for persons who are blind or have other disabilities. The memo, undated in the Wikileaks archives, but probably written in 2009, included the following passages:

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TRIPS Council (October 2014): India calls for de-linkage and innovation inducement prizes at WTO discussions on IP & innovation

In advance of the World Trade Organization’s October 2014 session of the TRIPS Council, the European Union, Switzerland and the United States made a written request to the TRIPS Council to discuss “Intellectual Property and Innovation: Promoting Awareness; Case Studies” under agenda item 12. This marked the 7th time that the United States tabled an item to the TRIPS Council relating to intellectual property or innovation.

In the context of these October 2014 discussions of Intellectual Property and Innovation, the Government of India delivered the following intervention asserting that,

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Twenty groups write Congress, no fast track without public access to trade agreement negotiating texts

Twenty groups, including KEI, have written Congress, asking the Congress to provide public access to draft trade agreement texts and U.S. proposals throughout negotiations, and to specific that only agreements developed through such processes should obtain any expedited congressional consideration.

Among other things, the groups said:

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HRC28: Statement of the European Union- Cultural Rights (Response to SR Report on Copyright and Right to Science and Culture)

On Wednesday, 11 March 2015, Oliver Hall-Allen, First Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Office in Geneva delivered the following statement in response to the presentation of the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights (Farida Shaheed) on her Report on Copyright policy and the right to science and culture (A/HRC/28/57).

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Oliver Hall-Allen (blue tie, white shirt), First Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Office in Geneva

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HRC28: Statement by Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur, on Copyright policy and the right to science and culture

On Wednesday, 11 March 2015, Farida Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights presented her seminal report on Copyright policy and the right to science and culture (A/HRC/28/57) at the 28th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Highlights from the report’s recommendations include the following:

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WTO at 20: Symposium on the TRIPS Agreement for TRIPS Council Members and Observers (26 February 2015)

As part of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) technical assistance and capacity building program, on Thursday, 26 February 2015, the WTO Secretariat convened a Symposium on the TRIPS Agreement for TRIPS Council Members and Observers which brought together negotiators from the 1986–94 Uruguay Round to discuss how the Round introduced intellectual property norms into the architecture of the multilateral trading system. In addition, other experts were brought in to discuss what has happened since the introduction of the TRIPS Agreement, and what augurs for the future.

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The Uruguay Round- The Glory Years, Source: World Trade Organization

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