I talked to Robert Harris on his podcast about Intellectual Property. Listen to the audio here.
Post Tagged with: "IP"
Policy Laundering Lies Behind Ottawa’s Support for IP Treaties
Appeared in the Toronto Star on March 23, 2013 as Policy Laundering Lies Behind Ottawa’s Support for Trade Treaties Last week, the House of Commons Committee on Industry, Science and Technology released its long-awaited report on intellectual property in Canada. The report was the result of months of study with […]
Industry Committee Report on Intellectual Property: A Case of Policy Laundering for CETA and TPP
The Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology released its report on the Intellectual Property Regime in Canada yesterday. The report is the result of lengthy hearings that focused on a wide range of IP issues including patent reform, trademarks, counterfeiting, and pharmaceutical protection. While most the recommendations are fairly innocuous – the committee identifies many issues for further study – there are essentially three main legislative reform recommendations. One involves limiting the scope of official marks, which appears to be the result of comments from Dalhousie law professor Rob Currie (echoed by CIPO’s Sylvain Laporte) expressing concern with governmental abuse of official marks in a way that may stifle innovation.
The other two are particularly interesting as they set the stage for the Canada – EU Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. First, the report recommends anti-counterfeiting measures similar to those required by CETA and found in Bill C-56. Should criticism arise over Bill C-56 or CETA, the government will likely point to this report in support.
The second involves a classic case of policy laundering as the government has manufactured support for CETA and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) provisions that were not even raised at committee. The report recommends:
European Reports Indicate Ongoing Battle over CETA IP Provisions
The European Commission hosted an information session for non-governmental groups on Europe’s current trade negotiations. The Canada – EU Trade Agreement was the first discussed. Both Ends, a Dutch NGO, reports that European officials indicated that they are still unhappy with the Canadian position on copyright and patents. While the […]
Reports Say No Intellectual Property Chapter in Canada – India Trade Agreement
iPolitics reports that India is resisting the inclusion of an intellectual property chapter in the proposed Canada – India Trade Agreement. Canada is promoting the inclusion of an IP chapter, but India (with a very large generic pharmaceutical industry and a far larger film industry) has yet to agree.
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