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Thursday January 21, 2010 |
Concluding the review of submissions to DFAIT regarding the Canada-EU Trade Agreement, the submission of the Canadian Publishers' Council is important because it highlights the hopes of those lobbying for extensive new copyright reforms. The submission makes clear that those groups hope that CETA could force Canada into reforms such as copyright term extension and the creation of new database protection:
It would be expected that the EU will press Canada to move ahead with enabling legislation leading to quick ratification of the [WIPO Internet] treaties. The Council has vigorously encouraged and continues to encourage the Canadian government to introduce required legislation and to ratify the treaties. We strongly recommend that the scope of any agreement between the EU and Canada include the protections required by the WCT and WPPT.
The Council would also endorse the alignment of copyright terms in Canada with those of our key trading partners (who have extended the term of copyright to 70 years after the life of the author).
We would press Canada to the sui generis approach to database protection, complementing the protection available under Canada's Copyright Act as interpreted by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Tele-Direct and CCH decisions. This hybrid system is ideal. canada - eu trade agreement, canadian publishers\' council, ceta, copyright, cpc, database right, term extension Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareThursday January 21, 2010 |
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Wednesday January 20, 2010 |
Continuing the review of submissions to DFAIT regarding the Canada-EU Trade Agreement, the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association warned against the inclusion of any intellectual property provisions:
The very fact that both Canada and EU have robust IP systems in place should be a sufficient basis on which to enhance and expand our existing trade relationship. The Government of Canada has an obligation to ensure an economic agreement with the European Union will not harm domestic industries and will not disadvantage Canadian companies who export products to the United States and other countries. As such, it is the view of Canada's generic pharmaceutical industry that intellectual property should not be included in any economic negotiations between Canada and the European Union - particularly as the IP measures pertain to pharmaceuticals.
canada - eu trade agreement, ceta, generics, ip, patents, pharmaceuticals Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareWednesday January 20, 2010 |
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Tuesday January 19, 2010 |
Yesterday I posted on the EU "barrier hymn sheet", a leaked document that discloses EU negotiating strategy on the Canada-EU Trade Agreement IP chapter. It follows a leaked draft of the EU proposal for the chapter itself, including copyright term extension, anti-circumvention rules, and resale rights. I also recently obtained a copy of the submission received by the Department of Foreign Affairs as part of its consultation on the proposed agreement. I'll post highlights from several prominent companies and organizations over the next few days.
I start with eBay Canada, which clearly has concerns with the proposed agreement and the potential for adverse impacts on Canadian businesses:
canada - eu trade agreement, ceta, copyright, ebay, ip Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareTuesday January 19, 2010 |
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Monday January 18, 2010 |
Canada and the European Union resume negotiations on a Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) this week. The second round of talks comes as the EU's proposed chapter for the intellectual property provisions leaked last month, revealing demands for dramatic changes to Canadian intellectual property law. This would include copyright term extension (to life of the author plus 70 years), anti-circumvention rules, resale rights, and ISP liability provisions.
Now a second document has leaked, though it is not currently available online. The Wire Report reports that an EU document dated November 16, 2009, features candid comments about Canada and the EU strategy. The document, called a "Barrier Hymn Sheet" leaves little doubt about the EU's objective:
Put pressure on Canada so that they take IPR issues seriously and remedy the many shortcomings of their IPR protection and enforcement regime.
Having viewed the document, I can report that it goes downhill from there, promoting the key message that Canadian laws are inadequate, while liberally quoting a report from the Canadian IP Council and discredited counterfeiting data.
The document states that the trade negotiations are a "unique opportunity [for Canada] to upgrade its IPR regime despite local anti-IPR lobbying." It includes an assessment of recent copyright reform efforts, noting that two bills have died due to "political instability." The document adds that the copyright reform process was revived in 2009 with the national copyright consultation, but notes dismissively it may have been a "tactic to confuse."
canada - eu trade agreement, ceta, copyright, ip Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareMonday January 18, 2010 |
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