Knowledge Ecology International

Fernando Schmidt, Subsecretario de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile (Vice-Minister of External Relations, Chile), delivered the following general statement on 1 October 2012. Chile acknowledged that while a favorable environment in WIPO proved conducive to the successful passage of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, major challenges remained. Of great import was the convening of a diplomatic conference in 2013 to conclude a Treaty for the Blind which would be a milestone in the multilateral intellectual property system. Continue Reading →

The general statement of the Development Agenda Group (DAG) was delivered by H.E. Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo (Brazil) on 1 October 2012.

On the pressing issue of a treaty for copyright exceptions for the blind, the Development Agenda Group noted that,

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The following statement was delivered by Shri Saurabh Chandra, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi on Monday, 1 October 2012 at the WIPO General Assembly.

In her statement, India stressed that intellectual property norms must not create “monopoly situations which may hinder competition and access to technology”.

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This is an elaboration on the 3-step test in multilateral agreements. The 1996 WCT Copyright treaty has bad language on the 3-step test, but the WCT is not now part of the TRIPS agreement, and is only subject to dispute resolution via trade agreements outside of the WTO, like the TPPA.

If the WCT is referenced under the general provisions to the TPPA, you also get the 3-step test in the TPPA, subject, however, to the agreed upon statement regarding Article 10, which is helpful.

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The fiftieth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is meeting on Geneva from 1 October 2012 to 9 October 2012. Agenda item 26 is the “Report on the Work of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR)” which according to the provisional agenda, is scheduled for discussion on Thursday, 4 October 2012. Continue Reading →

Today Krista and I attended a “stakeholder consultation stakeholder consultation regarding the implementation of the World Health Organization’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework.” The meeting was chaired by Jonathan Margolis, the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Science, Space and Health in the Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

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KEI has recently learned that 6 of 9 countries ignored a UN Special Rapporteur request to respond to the March 22, 2011 complaint regarding the TPP. We are also disappointed in the comments from the three that did respond. The UN process for dealing with such complaints is somewhat bureaucratic and secretive. Among the three countries that did respond, Australia, Chile and New Zealand, all defended the secrecy of the TPP negotiating text and asserted that the TPP would not violate the right to health. Continue Reading →

In Washington, DC there is a large and growing influence industry. One element of this industry is the thousands of people who register as lobbyists with the Congress. Because of the way disclosure rules are written, this is only a fraction of the persons who are actually employed to influence the Congress or the Executive Branch. Continue Reading →

In August, KEI provided comments to USTR regarding the entry of Mexico and Canada into the TPP negotiations. (https://www.keionline.org/node/1542). Today is the public hearing. Right now there are about 35 people in the audience, and a panel of 9 persons from various agencies hearing the testimonies. There are only 10 witnesses in today’s hearing, and only three, KEI, PhRMA and IIPA, are speaking on IPR issues.

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In April 2012, the WHO released the Report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG). One of its primary recommendations called upon member states to began formal negotiations on a binding global convention on R&D. Continue Reading →