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Patent by Brook (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/3fKqYy

U.S. State Department vs. USTR on Eli Lilly and Canadian Patent Utility Rules

The Eli Lilly claim against Canada for hundreds of millions due to a court decision involving patent utility has attracted considerable attention with fears that the case foreshadows many more corporate lawsuits if the Trans Pacific Partnership becomes a reality. While the Canadian government has raised doubts about the independence of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce intervention in the case, the government must be a bit confused on where the U.S. stands on the issue. Yesterday, the U.S. Trade Representative issued its 2016 report on foreign trade barriers and stated the following on the case:

With respect to pharmaceuticals, the United States continues to have serious concerns about the impact of the patent utility requirements that Canadian courts have adopted.

That is consistent with the Eli Lilly argument, yet last month the U.S. State Department provided its own submission in the case. The U.S. government appears to undermine USTR arguments, seemingly siding with the Canada on the issue. The U.S. submission states each country has the right to determine how it implements the utility requirement, the possibility of revocation of patent rights, and for its patent laws to evolve:

April 1, 2016 — Comments are Disabled — News

Broadband by Gavin St. Ours (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/6Yzymi

Budget 2016: Is It The End of a Canadian Digital Strategy?

Canada’s experience with a national digital strategy has been marked primarily by delays and underwhelming policies. The Conservatives took years to release their strategy as Industry Minister Christian Paradis did nothing, leaving it to James Moore to ultimately release a digital strategy without a strategy. Those hoping for the rejuvenated approach under the Liberals seem likely to be left disappointed. Indeed, Canada’s long road toward a national digital strategy may have come to an end with Budget 2016. The government has some very modest commitments on the digital front, but the budget appears to signal a shift in approach with the Liberals substituting a digital strategy for one focused on innovation. Addressing Canada’s innovation record is important (I’ll have more to say on the issue in a column next week), but emphasizing innovation is not a substitute for addressing digital policy.

The headline digital policy expenditure in Budget 2016 is a $500 million commitment over five year to support broadband in rural and remote areas. While further details are promised in the future, this commitment comes without any reference to an actual broadband goal or target. A commitment to universal affordable broadband access regardless of location is what is really needed (the CRTC may step in to do so as part of its upcoming basic services obligation hearing) but that is not in the budget. The problem is particularly pronounced within first nations communities, where reports indicate that almost half of households do not have an Internet connection.

March 23, 2016 — 6 comments — News

Draft Marrakesh Treaty submitted by the Drafting Committee to the Plenary, 27 June 2013 by EIFL (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/f25S8C

Canada to Introduce Copyright Bill Implementing Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access for the Blind

While the media focus has unsurprisingly been on Budget 2016, the government has quietly moved to introduce copyright reform legislation that will allow Canada to implement the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. The notice paper for Wednesday, March 23rd includes an Act to amend the Copyright Act with specific provisions on access to copyrighted works or other subject-matter for persons with perceptual disabilities. The decision to implement the Marrakesh Treaty is long-overdue. The Conservatives announced plans to do so in last year’s budget but waited to table legislation days before the summer break and the election call. With that bill now dead, the Liberals have rightly moved quickly to revive the issue.

The treaty expands access for the blind by facilitating the export of works to the more than 300 million blind and visually impaired people around the world, which is needed since only a tiny percentage of books are ever made into accessible formats. Further, it restricts digital locks from impeding access, by permitting the removal of technological restrictions on electronic books for the benefit of the blind and visually impaired. The last bill featured changes to Canada’s digital lock rules that demonstrated (yet again) that the rules are overly restrictive and in need of amendment. The bill should be introduced as soon as Wednesday with analysis to follow.

March 22, 2016 — 1 comment — News

BOOKS by Ian Muttoo (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/7NpS98

False Alarms: Examining the Misleading Claims About the State of Canadian Publishers

Earlier this month, Digital Book World posted an article chronicling the discussion of a conference copyright panel featuring Access Copyright counsel Erin Finlay (the article was promoted by Access Copyright). The article caught my attention due to Finlay’s comments about the impact of Canadian copyright on education publishers:

“Another example Finlay used was the case of Broadview Press, which is an independent Canadian publisher that cannot publish anymore.“

The comment prompted me to contact Don LePan, the Broadview Press owner, who has been outspoken critic of the copyright term extension in the TPP. LePan was shocked by the claim which he said was completely inaccurate. He posted a long response on the Digital Book World site, which responded by amending the piece. Kristine Hoang, the journalist who wrote the article, noted that “what I had written was a reference to Erin Finlay’s direct quotes in my recorded transcript where she said ‘Broadview Press cannot publish anymore.'”

The erroneous claim about the state of a Canadian publisher would be surprising if it did not happen so frequently.

March 18, 2016 — 4 comments — News

Speak up, make your voice heard by Howard Lake (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/9rAjnQ http://www.emergencydentistsusa.com/cost/

The Trouble with the TPP: Canadians Get Their Chance To Speak Out

Yesterday I concluded my 50-day series on the Trouble with the TPP which examined the intellectual property and digital policy issues raised by the agreement. In addition to the posts on this blog, I’ve created some additional ways to work through the various posts including a Medium summary and Storify version with links to all 50 posts.

March 15, 2016 — 6 comments — News