Appeared in the Toronto Star on March 23, 2013 as Policy Laundering Lies Behind Ottawa’s Support for Trade Treaties Last week, the House of Commons Committee on Industry, Science and Technology released its long-awaited report on intellectual property in Canada. The report was the result of months of study with […]
Post Tagged with: "Intellectual Property"
CETA Update: Copyright Deal Has Been Reached, Patents To Go To the Ministers
Canada’s chief Canada – EU Trade Agreement negotiators provided an update on the CETA talks today, sketching out an ambitious negotiation schedule that they hope will lead to a Ministerial meeting in November to resolve the key outstanding issues. The next round of CETA negotiations will occur in Brussels in […]
EP Committees Reject ACTA As Backlash Against Secretive IP Agreements Continues to Grow
The strength of the anti-ACTA movement within the European Parliament is part of a broader backlash against secretive intellectual property agreements that are either incorporated into broad trade agreements or raise critical questions about prioritizing IP enforcement over fundamental rights. This week the Dutch Parliament voted against ratifying the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a move that some experts say could effectively kill ACTA (which is a “mixed agreement”) throughout Europe. In addition to the two anti-ACTA resolutions, the Dutch Parliament passed a third resolution against similar treaties:
The House of Representatives,
– observes that treaties like ACTA lead to a further formalization of copyrights rules on the international level,
– observes that such treaties are very difficult to modify and as a result can be an extra impediment for future reforms of copyright law,
– observes that strict enforcement of intellectual property on the internet is no solution for the ongoing difficulties regarding copyright law and interferes with internet freedom,
– requests the government to vote against new similar treaties,
– requests the government to focus the copyright policy on economic growth opportunities offered by the internet through, amongst others things, new revenue models for legal content.
The opposition to ACTA and ACTA-style treaties (which obviously include the Trans Pacific Partnership and bi-lateral agreements such as CETA) is part of a growing international trend as elected officials and independent policy officials around the world voice their objection to these treaties.
Industry Committee Launches New Study on Intellectual Property
The Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, fresh off its e-commerce study, kicks off a new study on intellectual property this morning. The study will apparently focus on “the important role of intellectual property in Canadian innovation and leading edge technology.” Today’s hearing will feature witnesses from CIPO and […]
What the Government Won’t Tell You Today About the Canada – EU Trade Agreement
The reason for the omissions are essential to understanding one of the primary sticking points with CETA. While the government says the deal is 75% completed, negotiators have consistently indicated that they left the toughest issues to the end. Those include rules of origin, agriculture, immigration and visa issues, and intellectual property.
The CETA intellectual property chapter leaked in 2010, revealing that the EU is seeking a complete overhaul of Canada’s IP laws. Initial demands on copyright included:
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