The U.S. Trade Representative has released its annual Special 301 report, in which it criticizes dozens of countries over their intellectual property laws while ignoring its own shortcomings. Despite demands from the copyright lobby that Canada be placed on the "Priority Watch List," Canada is again on the lower level […]
Post Tagged with: "iipa"
Canada Remains in Good Company in USTR Special 301 Report
The U.S. Trade Representative has released its annual Special 301 report, in which it criticizes dozens of countries over their intellectual property laws while ignoring its own shortcomings. Despite demands from the copyright lobby that Canada be placed on the "Priority Watch List," Canada is again on the lower level […]
Responding to the IIPA’s “Inaccuracies and Hyperbole”
Last month, the IIPA, a lobby group representing a handful entertainment industries, released its annual submission to the United States Trade Representative criticizing the copyright laws of dozens of countries around the world. That submission will likely play an influential role in next month's USTR Special 301 Report. As usual, Canada was on their list, leading to the usual press coverage claiming that Canada is a laggard on copyright reform. While Canadian officials have criticized the USTR Special 301 report, to my knowledge the government has never made a formal submission defending Canadian policies.
This year, the USTR received 24 submissions, including comments from three countries – Israel, Poland, and Turkey (the USTR has posted the non-governmental submissions for the first time this year). The Israeli submission has been posted online and provides a great model for how countries should be defending their national interests. The submission, which characterizes the IIPA submission as containing the "usual inaccuracies and hyperbole," includes a great defense of Israeli copyright policy. For example, on the issue of anti-circumvention legislation it notes:
Patry on the IIPA
It's never too late to call attention to an exceptional posting – Bill Patry's comments on the IIPA are a must-read.
U.S. Copyright Lobby Complains About Canadian Copyright
The International Intellectual Property Alliance, a U.S.-based copyright lobby group representing the music, movie, and software lobbies, has released its annual list of demands for copyright reforms in dozens of countries around the world. Once again, Canada is in good company. The IIPA targets 51 countries including leading European countries (Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary), Asian countries (Japan, South Korea), New Zealand, Israel, and a host of countries in South America and Africa.
On the Canadian front, the IIPA notes that Canada implemented anti-camcording legislation, but it wants more. Much more. Demands include WIPO implementation, clarification of privacy copying, tougher measures on ISPs, and more IP enforcement. The group makes it clear that it wants Canada to move well beyond WIPO implementation by instead following the DMCA model, arguing that Canada "should jettison the approach taken by Bill C-60" which took advantage of the flexibility found in the WIPO treaties. The IIPA report will no doubt play a key role in this year's USTR Special 301 report, which will again claim that Canada lags behind on copyright issues.
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