The NY Times ran a bombshell article over the weekend in which it reported that Russia has been using the pre-text of intellectual property enforcement to seize computers from NGO groups involved in advocacy and dissent. The article notes that the authorities have been receiving active assistance from Microsoft, which […]
Post Tagged with: "USTR"
USTR “Transparency Soup” on ACTA Revealed
KEI has posted documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act that highlights how the USTR planned to address increased pressure for greater ACTA transparency.
Industry Canada on US IP Watch List
An Industry Canada spokesperson on the validity of the USTR Special 301 list: “Canada does not recognize the validity of the Special 301 process, which relies on industry allegations rather than empirical evidence and analysis.” Note that the article says I said that Canada did not need to pass anti-circumvention […]
Human Rights Groups Challenge USTR Special 301
A group of public interest organizations in the U.S. have filed a complaint alleging that the Obama administration’s trade policy reduces access to medicines in low and middle income nations, and therefore violates international human rights obligations.
Piracy Haven Label Case of Rhetoric Over Reality
In the wake of recent reports exposing the activities of former MP Rahim Jaffer, lobbying has been the talk of Ottawa for the past month. The incident has had an immediate impact on lobbying regulations, with the Conservatives and Liberals jostling over who can introduce tougher disclosure measures. The changes may plug a few loopholes, yet the reality is that lobbying efforts are not always the subject of secretive meetings with high-level officials.
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) considers the intensive lobbying effort on promised intellectual property reform. In recent weeks, those efforts have escalated dramatically, with most activities taking place in plain view. Scarcely a week goes by without a major event occurring – last week it was a reception sponsored by the Canadian Private Copying Collective, the week before an event hosted by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, and the week before that the Juno Awards attended by several cabinet ministers and MPs.
Even more open is the public campaign designed to persuade Canadians that their country is a piracy haven. Late last month, the IFPI, which represents the global recording industry, released its annual Recording Industry in Numbers report that tracks global record sales. The report targeted two countries – Canada and Spain – for declining sales and linked those declines to copyright law. Not coincidentally, both countries are currently working on legal reforms.