July 1, 2015 day 3
This morning, the SCCR continued with the discussion regarding two important definitions–definition of beneficiaries: who are they? How do you define a broadcaster? And also of course what is the definition of the act of broadcasting.
Anne Leer is the WIPO Deputy Director General for Culture and Creative Industries Sector, where she leads WIPO’s activities in the field of copyright and related rights. Not a familiar figure at WIPO, she joined the organisation in December 2014, coming from the commercial side of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). In addition to the BBC, she had previously worked for Paramount, Oxford University Press, and Financial Times/Pearson and Prentice Hall. Continue Reading
Day 1 of SCCR 30 Information Session
Find a few Juicy bits from the long “Information Session on Broadcasting” that started this morning and was continued way passed the planned time of 4pm. It was also the least balanced panel I have ever seen at a WIPO SCCR. A handful of broadcasters, one media analyst, one journalist at the BBC, the WIPO Secretariat represented by Ann Leer (who worked for Paramount, Oxford University Press, BBC, and Financial Times/Pearson and the BBC).
Basically there was no one remotely critical of the proposed treaty nor any public interest representative.
Today we are in endless “informational” session, chaired by John Simpson from the BBC, and featuring big broadcasters from India (Zee Network), and Brazil (TV Globo), ABN Holdings Ltd (ABN) (A company headquartered England, about) and the Caribbean Communications Network Limited. Continue Reading
We just received a reply from a September 17, 2013 FOIA request KEI filed with USTR, asking for correspondence involving General Electric’s efforts to block the WIPO Treaty for the Blind. USTR provided 24 pages of documents, available here:
On Wednesday, 10 June 2015, Norway – a high-income member of the WTO with a GDP per capita of 100,898 USD- (Source: World Bank, 2013) delivered this powerful intervention supporting the LDC Group request for an extension of the transition period for pharmaceutical products. On the LDC Group’s specific request on extension until graduation, Norway said,
Attached below is a May 20, 2015 letter from Duke researchers to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, setting our problems in the TPP IP Chapter. The letter is signed by Jason Cross, the Director of the Innovation & Technology Policy Lab (ITPLab) at the Sanford School of Public Policy & Duke Law School, at Duke University.
The whole letter (available in PDF format here) is worth reading. Here are a few sections from the letter:
Attached is a 2 page summary of the main provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) that will lead to higher prices for drugs and other medical technologies.
A pdf version of the note is available here: /wp-content/uploads/KEI-TPP-Briefing-2015-2-A2M.pdf
KEI TPP Briefing note 2015:2
June 10, 2015
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Today, on Wednesday, 10 June 2015, the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS Council discussed the LDC Group’s Request for an Extension of the Transitional Period Under Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement for Least Developed Country Members with Respect to Pharmaceutical Products and for Waivers from the Obligation of Articles 70.8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement (Source: IP/C/W/605). Continue Reading
On 2 June 2015 and 4 June 2015, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is conducting a trade policy review of India. All members of the WTO are subject to review under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). The TPRM takes place in the “Trade Policy Review Body which is actually the WTO General Council — comprising the WTO’s full membership — operating under special rules and procedures” (Source: WTO, Trade Policy Reviews: Brief Introduction).