On June 18, 2009, The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) issued a 2,000 word resolution on the enforcement of copyright, trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights. The resolution is on the TACD web page here. A press release from the TACD IP-Working Group, with comments from several TACD members, is available on the web here.
The decision to restart the ACTA negotiations makes it important to understand the nature and consequence of proposed agreement. Following a complaint about transparency, this note focuses on damages and injunctions.
A google search using the term: “Text-to-Speech: Not enabled” site:www.amazon.com today gives 13,500 hits. On May 17, 2009, the same search gave 343 hits.
Group B Countries, including the United States, 17 members of the European Union, Canada, Switzerland, the Holy See, and others, argued last week that consideration of *any* instrument to set norms for access to works by persons who are blind or have reading disabilities was “premature.” Others suggest action is “overdue.” In fact, the debate is quite old.
These are the final conclusions of SCCR 18.
World Intellectual Property Organization
SCCR Eighteenth Session
Geneva, May 25 to 29, 2009
CONCLUSIONS OF THE SCCR
prepared by the Chair
Limitations and exceptions
These are the draft conclusions distributed by the chair regarding item 5 of the agenda (i.e. limitations and exceptions). The paper was distributed before the lunch break (1-3pm). The delegates are consulting on it and will come back at 3pm. The final text will be modified of course but this is a good start.
SCCR 18 DRAFT CONCLUSIONS OF THE SSCR prepared by the chair
Limitations and exceptions
Several people are reporting from the WIPO SCCR 18 meeting on Twitter. Some but not all use a hash tag #sccr18, for those familiar with the twitter search system. Below are the 60 tweets I posted so far.
On Monday, 25 May 2009, the governments of Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay submitted a proposal to the to the 18th Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) entitled, “Proposal by Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay, relating to Limitations and Exceptions: Treaty proposed by the World Blind Union (WBU)”. Continue Reading
On 13-14 May 2009, representatives from 10 Latin American and Caribbean governments, representatives from blind organizations and nongovernmental organizations met in Montevideo (Uruguay) to analyze the World Blind Union (WBU) proposal for a WIPO treaty for the blind, visually impaired and other reading disabled persons.
WIPO has published the program of the “Information Meeting on Developments in Broadcasting Provisional Program” (SCCR/18/INF/2 Prov.) which will take place on Monday, 25 May 2009.