Post Tagged with: "IP"

read the fine print by unreal estates https://flic.kr/p/bncbwt (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Canada Releases Most of the Updated TPP Text…But the Side Letters Are Still Missing

The Canadian government and other TPP partners released the text of most of the CPTPP yesterday. The release contained few surprises as the TPP remains intact and a new annex identifies the suspended provisions. The list of suspended provisions was revealed several months ago and is particularly notable for the suspension of IP provisions such as copyright term extension, patent term adjustment, technological protection measures, biologics protection, and Internet safe harbour rules.

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February 21, 2018 5 comments News
Press Conference with the Prime Minister of Canada by World Economic Forum (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/E8nVj4

Don’t Make the TPP Mistake Again: Why Canada Needs to Maintain a Progressive Approach on IP in NAFTA

The intellectual property chapter has not been a focal point of the NAFTA negotiations this week in Montreal, but the successful conclusion of the TPP11 (or CPTPP) serves as a reminder that it is likely to emerge as a contentious issue in the months ahead. The U.S. position on the NAFTA IP chapter is clear: it wants to replicate the original TPP IP chapter. Yet Canada now stands opposed to that chapter having backed the suspension of many of its provisions including copyright term extension, digital locks, notice-and-takedown, patent protections, biologics protections, and pharmaceutical plan rules. In fact, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week cited changes to the IP provisions as one example of how the government worked to make the TPP more progressive.

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January 26, 2018 6 comments News
TPP townhall by @CommerceCanada https://twitter.com/CommerceCanada/status/743239245188435968

When Consultations Count: Why the TPP is a Reminder of the Value of Speaking Out

In June 2016, I appeared at one of the government’s public town hall meetings on the TPP.  Alongside then-International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland (now Global Affairs minister), C.D. Howe’s Daniel Schwanen, and Unifor’s Jerry Dias, I had the chance to raise concerns with the TPP’s IP and e-commerce provisions and then hear from dozens of people who raised a wide range of issues. The town hall was part of a broad public consultation that was frequently derided by critics as a stalling tactic, yet the impact of the consultation was felt with yesterday’s announcement of a deal on a slightly re-worked TPP that includes suspension of many of the most controversial IP provisions.

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January 24, 2018 2 comments News
Stop the TPP by Backbone Campaign (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/fKgaBo

Canada Successfully Stands Up For Balanced IP and Canadian Culture in TPP Deal

While the NAFTA negotiations in Montreal were expected to be the lead trade story this week, the Trans Pacific Partnership talks in Tokyo have stolen the show with the remaining 11 countries reaching agreement on a deal that is likely to be signed in March. Canada faced intense criticism last year from some TPP partners (particularly Japan and Australia) over its demands to address concerns with the agreement. That sparked some Canadian business groups to quickly call on the government to simply cave in order to conclude a deal. Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne rightly argued that capitulation is not a negotiating strategy and they now come away with an improved (albeit still flawed) agreement.

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January 23, 2018 9 comments News
By The White House from Washington, DC (Foreign Leader Visits) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Donald_Trump_Justin_Trudeau_2017-02-13_05.jpg

Canadian Trade Committee Warns Against Unbalanced U.S. IP Demands in NAFTA

The House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade released its detailed study on the priorities of Canadian stakeholders in NAFTA earlier today. I appeared before the committee to discuss intellectual property and digital trade issues in September. The report includes notable recommendations on culture (retain the cultural exemption in NAFTA) and digital rights (ensure that digital trade provisions do not undermine Canadians’ privacy rights or security of their data, a nod to concerns over data localization and data transfer rules). It also features an important discussion on the intellectual property chapter, with clear support for retaining a made-in-Canada approach consistent with international standards.

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December 12, 2017 2 comments News