Post Tagged with: "EU"

ACTA Ratification in Europe To Require Approval from All 27 Member States

David Hammerstein reports that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement has been determined to be a “mixed agreement.” This means that the agreement must be approved by both the EU and by the 27 member states. That suggests a long process to obtain individual parliamentary approval throughout the EU (the EU Council […]

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June 30, 2011 — 1 comment — News

EU: Time For a New Approach on Copyright

European Commissioner Neelie Kroes has called for a change in approach on copyright and orphan works to foster bringing more cultural content online.  In a speech today, she stated “we must move away from the current playing field for specialists in copyright law. It is high time to understand that, […]

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March 10, 2011 — 10 comments — News

EU-Backed Study Finds Counterfeits Pro-Consumer, Rejects Company Complaints

A new report funded by the European Union has concluded that counterfeits have pro-consumer effects while rejecting claims of losses by established companies.  The report concludes that most counterfeit purchases are not substitute for the genuine article and actually help promote the brand.  The report finds that the real cost […]

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August 31, 2010 — 3 comments — News

Could the EU Walk Away From ACTA?

Over the past week, I have had several posts on ACTA in the wake of the most recent leaked text, including a scorecard on the major remaining areas of disagreement, one assessing the growing rift between the U.S. and E.U., Canadian positions on ACTA, the changed U.S. position on anti-circumvention rules, and a look at geographical indications, a key issue for the EU.  On top of these posts, there is additional information disclosed last weekend that Luc Devigne, the lead EU negotiator is taking on new responsibilities (though the EU says he will continue on ACTA).

Putting the pieces together, I think it may be worth considering whether the EU is prepared to walk away from ACTA altogether, leaving the U.S. with a far smaller agreement that cannot credibly claim to set a standard for the G8 or developed world.

Why raise this possibility?

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July 22, 2010 — 14 comments — News

Canada Seeks To Join Consultations on India-EU WTO Dispute on Generic Medicine Seizures

The SpicyIP Blog notes that Canada is one of several countries that have asked to join consultations on the World Trade Organization dispute between India and the EU over in-transit seizures of generic medicines (ie. seizures of the meds originating in India and traveling through Europe to another destination).  The […]

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July 22, 2010 — Comments are Disabled — News