The Liability of Internet Service Providers for Copyright Infringement in Sri Lanka: A Comparative Analysis
By Ruwan Fernando
The exclusive rights enjoyed by a copyright owner to reproduce his protected work in any material form, including any permanent or temporary storage in electronic form will have a direct impact on the lawful activities of an internet service provider (ISP). Any transmission of temporary copies of material protected by copyright law by their subscribers or third parties using the networks provided by an ISP may amount to unauthorised reproduction of such protected material. The exclusive rights granted to a copyright owner may, thus, place an ISP in a difficult position that may seriously affect the legitimate services and facilities provided by an ISP such as transmitting, routing and storing of information on their networks. It would be impracticable however, to equate the position of a person who engages in traditional copyright infringement with that of an ISP who may merely provide access to the internet and various services to its subscribers facilitated by its networks.
The making of temporary copies exception was developed in the copyright law to safeguard the legitimate interests of an ISP, which may under certain conditions, exempt an ISP from liability for copyright infringement on the internet initiated by its subscribers or third parties by using the system provided by an ISP. There are laws in force in many countries to limit the liability of an ISP for the infringement of copyright that takes place on its networks. An ISP in Sri Lanka may not enjoy the same privilege for the infringement of unauthorised material initiated by its users or third parties on their networks. The current law is unlikely to provide adequate protection for the legitimate activities of ISPs in an attempt to minimize the vulnerability against copyright infringement claims.
TRIPS Flexibilities and TRIPS-plus Provisions in the RCEP Chapter on Intellectual Property: How Much Policy Space is Retained?
By Vitor Henrique Pinto Ido
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed on 15 November 2020 by 15 Asian-Pacific countries (ASEAN—Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—, and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand), comprising about one third of the world’s population and economy. India was a crucial party to the negotiations but opted out of the agreement. Ratification of the agreement is still pending, subject to more Parties ratifying it at the national level. This paper provides a broad overview of the RCEP agreement and discusses the details of the intellectual property (IP) Chapter. Significantly, it does not contain substantive TRIPS-plus provisions that undermine public health in developing countries—although it does contain such provisions in other areas such as copyrights, trademarks, and IP enforcement.
Expanding the production of COVID-19 vaccines to reach developing countries
Lift the barriers to fight the pandemic in the Global South
By Carlos M. Correa
The unfolding of COVID-19 has shown that the international system has been unable to ensure equal access to the vaccines and other products necessary to fight the pandemic. While the need for a strong response remains obvious, proposals for scaling up the production of COVID-19 vaccines across the globe are still blocked in the World Trade Organization.
American University Washington College of Law Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property
The American Network on the Right to Research in International Copyright is calling for papers relevant to the development of global norms on copyright policy in its application to research. Text and data mining research, for example, is contributing insights to respond to urgent social problems, from combatting COVID to monitoring hate speech and disinformation on social media. Other technologies make it possible to access the materials of libraries, archives and museums from afar – an especially necessary activity during the COVID pandemic. But these and other research activities may require reproduction and sharing of copyright protected works, including across borders. There is a lack of global norms for such activities, which may contribute to uncertainty and apprehension, inhibiting research projects and collaborations. The problem of access to copyrighted works through libraries and educational institutions is especially serious in the South.
Intellectual Property in the EU–MERCOSUR FTA: A Brief Review of the Negotiating Outcomes of a Long-Awaited Agreement
Roxana Blasetti
In collaboration with Juan I. Correa
This paper provides a first glance at the Intellectual Property Chapter of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the European Union (EU). It is not intended to provide an exhaustive analysis of the commitments involved but rather to briefly review the scope of intellectual property in the bi-regional negotiations, which took more than 20 years and ended in June 2019 with an “agreement in principle.” It also aims to put the Chapter into context with the whole commitments covered by the FTA and, finally, to highlight its most relevant aspects.
Data in Legal Limbo: Ownership, sovereignty, or a digital public goods regime?
By Dr. Carlos M. Correa
The legal characterization and design of a legal regime for data poses one of the most important contemporary challenges to law professionals and policy makers. How such a framework is designed matters for what kind of insertion a society will have in the digital economy, and the extent to which a country will be able to benefit from the opportunities opened by big data. The current policy space to devise legal regimes adapted to national circumstances allows countries to seek for new solutions that take into account differences in legal systems, levels of economic and technological development, and national objectives and priorities.
Modulos de Introduccion a la Propiedad Intelectual y Salud Pública
Descripción:
Este libro contiene cuatro módulos para la capacitación en materia de propiedad intelectual y salud pública. Su objetivo es presentar una introducción a las diversas categorías de derechos de propiedad intelectual y, en particular, ilustrar sobre los derechos aplicables a la producción y comercialización de medicamentos en el marco de las llamadas ‘flexibilidades’ contenidas en el Acuerdo sobre los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio de la Organización Mundial del Comercio. Los módulos proporcionan elementos para comprender el alcance y las implicaciones de los derechos de propiedad intelectual, especialmente las patentes de invención, en el acceso a los medicamentos. Ellos brindan asimismo pautas para el diseño y la aplicación de esos derechos en una manera consistente con dicho Acuerdo y con políticas de protección de la salud pública. Los módulos contienen información general y enfoques prácticos para orientar a los encargados de formular y aplicar políticas públicas en el tratamiento del tema, tanto en el campo administrativo como judicial.
El presente documento realiza un estudio preliminar del capítulo XX relativo a propiedad intelectual del Acuerdo MERCOSUR – UE de libre comercio, MERCOSUR logró en este capítulo que la UE hiciera tabla rasa respecto de los anteriores acuerdos de libre comercio. Se arribó a un resultado equilibrado, que refleja las concesiones de ambas partes.
Intellectual Property Rights and the use of Compulsory Licenses: Options for Developing Countries
By Dr. Carlos M. Correa
In view of the forthcoming review of the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, and of a possible revision of its provisions in future WTO negotiations, it seems important that information is available to developing countries on the ways in which compulsory licenses have been provided for and used in developed and developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide concrete examples on how compulsory licenses have been provided for in national laws and, in particular, to illustrate the grounds and conditions on which such licenses have been granted in specific instances. The emphasis of the paper is not on the general principles relevant to the matter, but on the ways in which compulsory licenses have been actually provided for or used in order to satisfy diverse public interests. Many of the decisions pertaining to the granting of compulsory licenses in the developed countries may be useful in indicating the options available to developing countries wishing to have adequate legislation at the national level on this matter. The decisions referred to also make it clear that compulsory licensing is firmly rooted in the legal systems of developed countries, including those that seem to oppose that concept in international fora.
Submission by the South Centre to the Draft Issues Paper on Intellectual Property Policy and Artificial Intelligence (WIPO/IP/AI/2/GE(20/1)
The South Centre welcomes the opportunity to submit to the WIPO Secretariat input on the draft issues paper on intellectual property policy (IP) and artificial intelligence (AI). The South Centre hereby provides recommendations for the revised Issues Paper. The aim of the Issues Paper should be to provide a framework for informed discussion among Member States on the topic of IP policy and AI, without pre-empting the substance of such discussion, and to complement a process of sharing of views and experiences between different Member States and constituencies. The Development Agenda should also be mainstreamed into the discussion of IP policy and AI.
Time for a Collective Response to the United States Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property
By Viviana Muñoz-Tellez, Nirmalya Syam and Thamara Romero
This policy brief discusses the annual Special 301 report issued by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The report is a unilateral tool of the US to pursue its foreign intellectual property (IP) policy by exerting pressure on countries to reform their IP laws and practices. Developing countries are particularly susceptible to this threat. The report identifies countries that are considered by the US as not providing adequate and effective protection of IP of rights holders from the US. The selection of countries is biased to the concerns raised by segments of the US industry. The report targets balanced provisions in countries’ legislations to ensure that IP rights do not hinder the ability of the government to adopt measures for promoting development priorities, particularly in the area of public health. A uniform and collective international response by the affected countries is long overdue. The way forward is to continue dialogue in appropriate multilateral fora, recognizing the need for all countries to maintain policy space to use IP as a domestic policy tool.
South Centre Statement to the WIPO Assemblies 2018
The South Centre is the intergovernmental organization of developing countries with 54 member States across Africa, Asia and Central and Latin America, that is supportive of multilateral work towards an inclusive, balanced and flexible international intellectual property system that benefits all countries and all types of users.
