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Friday February 22, 2013 |
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Canadian and European officials traded public barbs
yesterday over the inability to finalize the Canada - EU Trade
Agreement. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said unless Canada
makes some additional steps, there will be no deal. Canadian officials
responded that Europe has yet to meet Canada's core concerns. The
comments come after a ministerial meeting this month was unable to yield an
agreement. De Gucht and Canadian International Trade Minister Ed Fast
met in Brussels in November 2012, but those talks failed to solve the outstanding issues. The two ministers met again in Ottawa two weeks ago with a similar result.
While officials continue to put a brave face on the
talks, the latest comments suggest mounting frustration at the
unwillingness of either side to cave on key issues in order to strike a
deal. The major remaining issues
have been the same for months: agriculture, patent protection for
pharmaceutical companies, investor access and protection, public
procurement, automotive issues, and cultural protections. Indeed, these
issues were identified years ago as the major areas of disagreement
(copyright was initially on this list but the defeat of ACTA removed it
as an issue).
ceta, patents Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareFriday February 22, 2013 |
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Thursday November 29, 2012 |
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The Conservative government has defeated a bill designed to amend the Access to Medicines Regime that allows
for enhanced access to generic pharmaceuticals in the developing
world. Despite the fact that other countries are doing far more to
support access, Industry Minister Christian Paradis
claimed the bill would violate WIPO standards.access to medicines, camr, patents Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareThursday November 29, 2012 |
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Monday November 26, 2012 |
As International Trade Minister Ed Fast returns from negotiations in Europe that failed to secure a deal on the Canada - EU Trade Agreement, newly leaked documents to the CAQ and posted by LaPresse
provide a detailed look at the remaining outstanding issues with
details on the Canadian and European positions. The documents (1, 2, 3, 4)
make it clear that the EU recognizes the deal is unbalanced as there
are far more demands for Canadian changes than European ones. The EU
retains the hope that Canada will cave on the EU demands since "the EU
market to which it gains preferential access is much larger than its
own."
This ranks as perhaps the most important CETA leak to date, since it
clearly identifies the key remaining issues, the European demands, and
the massive changes that would be required for Canada to comply with the
treaty. Some of the changes demanded by Europe include patent reform
that could add billions to Canadian health care costs, the removal of
foreign ownership restrictions on telecommunications and book
publishing, the opening of public procurement for the energy and public
transport sectors, eliminating Investment Canada Act review for European
investments, new restrictions on the sale of a myriad of products such
as feta and parmesan cheese, changes to agricultural protections (ie.
supply management), and the adoption of European standards on passenger
cars. This would require dramatic changes across the Canadian economy,
all for what even the Europeans acknowledge are limited gains for
Canada.Given what is at stake, there needs to be an open debate and
consultation before an agreement is reached (which is no longer a
certainty) and Canada should be considering whether a scaled down
version of CETA - one that focuses primarily on a reduction of tariffs
for trade in goods - is a better model. A closer look at the some of the
remaining issues is posted below.
canada - eu trade agreement, ceta, ip, patents, pharma Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareMonday November 26, 2012 |
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Thursday November 22, 2012 |
The House of Commons Committee on Industry, Science and Technology has
spent the past few months hearing from a myriad of companies on the
Canadian intellectual property system. With few public interest groups
invited to appear, one of the primary themes has been the call for more
extensive patent protections, as witnesses link the patent system to
innovation and economic growth.
While policies that purport to help the economy unsurprisingly generate
considerable support, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes the Supreme Court of Canada recently provided a
powerful reminder about the true purpose of patent law in a decision
involving Pfizer's patent for Viagra, the well-known erectile
dysfunction medication. Teva Pharmaceuticals, one of the world's leading
generic pharmaceutical manufacturers, had lost successive challenges
against the Viagra patent, but managed to pull out a win when it
mattered most. The decision has already had considerable fallout, as Pfizer has asked for a rehearing, had the patent confirmed as invalid in a Federal Court case with Apotex, and dropped its retail price to match the generic pricing.
patents, pfizer, teva, viagra Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareThursday November 22, 2012 |
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