Knowledge Ecology International

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is convening the 22nd session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore from 9 July 2012-13 July 2012. The 22nd session will deliberate over draft articles relating to the protection of traditional cultural expressions contained in document (WIPO/GRTKF/IC/22/4). These discussions are guided by the mandate of the Fortieth Session of the WIPO General Assembly which states:

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The vote to reject a delay of the final ACTA vote was 420 Vs 255, followed by the rejection of ACTA by a vote of 478 to 39.

KEI Director James Love statement:
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The below is a joint statement from EFF, Knowledge Ecology International, Public Knowledge, and Public Citizen.

Joint Statement of Civil Society Groups on U.S. TPP Copyright Proposal

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Deputy USPTO Director Teresa Stanek Rea has issued a retraction of her statement regarding Administration support for 12 years of exclusive rights in test data for biologic drugs, and moderated somewhat her statement on the India compulsory license for Nexavar. USTR also issued a statement on the issue of biologic test data in response to Rea’s earlier comments.

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[update: See: Leak of TPP text on copyright Limitations and Exceptions]

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On June 27, 2012, Teresa Stanek Rea, the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), testified at a hearing on: “International IP Enforcement: Protecting Patents, Trade Secrets and Market Access”, before the US House of Representatives, Judicary Committee, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Continue Reading →

Earlier this month, the European Parliament and the European Commission released a new compromise text on orphan works.

The Compromise Text is available here:
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/12/st10/st10953.en12.pdf

KEI sees the text as a step backwards for access to knowledge. The proposed directive makes far too many compromises, is too limited in terms of the beneficiaries and uses of works, and creates complicated, burdensome and costly procedures and record keeping requirements.

Background on earlier EU consultations

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The governments of Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Peru, Vietnam and the United States are negotiating a multilateral free trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). The negotiations are being conducted with considerable secrecy, even though they address many issues of great interest to the general public. The Agreement will cover many topics, including intellectual property rights, the pricing of pharmaceutical drugs, and the rights of investors to sue states over policies and actions that impact their investments. Continue Reading →

On 15 June 2012, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Australian Permanent Mission to the World Trade Organization signed an agreement and released a joint communiqué “detailing how an AUD$2 million Australian contribution would assist least-developed and developing countries improve their intellectual property systems”.

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