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Tuesday February 07, 2012 |
Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived in China today for a high
profile visit aimed at improving the Canada- China economic ties.
Many have noted the change in tone from the Canadian
government on China on rights issues, but the intellectual property
story is worth
noting here as well. Unlike a U.S. visit, which is likely to place IP
issues at the very top of the list, the Canadian visit is unlikely to
emphasize the issue. Indeed, Canada would do well to consider shifting
its approach to China on intellectual property.
While China-based
piracy is unquestionable a concern, Canada has too often used the issue
to curry favour with the U.S. at the expense of developing the China
relationship. In recent years, our support for the Anti-Counterfeiting
Trade Agreement (which deliberately
excluded China)
and now the Trans Pacific Partnership (which also excludes China) does
little to help relations. China could be a strategic ally on global IP
issues as both countries face significant external pressure for reform.
While compliance with international rules should be the starting point
for any dialogue, focusing on the flexibility that exists at
international law to address domestic concerns is in both our interests.
The biggest Canadian blunder was the decision to join a U.S. complaint
against China at the World Trade Organization in 2007 alleging that
China’s domestic laws, border measures, and criminal penalties for
intellectual property violations did not comply with its international
treaty obligations. The case was a big loss.
China was required to amend parts of its copyright law but on the
big issues - border measures and IP enforcement - almost all of the
contested laws were upheld as valid.
More interesting are the background documents that demonstrate that the
Canadian government was unable to muster credible evidence of harm
among Canadian companies.
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Tuesday February 07, 2012 |
Alexander Furnas explains
in the Atlantic why the broader implications of ACTA may make it as bad
as SOPA. Furnas notes "while many of the alarmists specific claims are
inaccurate, ACTA exposes the systemic danger in how international
intellectual property regulation has evolved over the last 20 years."
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Monday February 06, 2012 |
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AccessNow is maintaining an excellent
map
of the protests planned across the continent on February 11th, which
has been designated an international day of action against ACTA. The
issue has attracted mainstream media attention (eg. New
York Times) and questions
emerge about the likelihood the treaty will receive the necessary
approvals for ratification.
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Friday February 03, 2012 |
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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced
the country is suspending its ratification of the Anti-Counterfeitint
Trade Agreement. The announcement comes following huge protests in
cities across the country.
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