Digital Rights + Internet Governance + Innovation Policy

IP Justice Statement to WIPO General Assembly July 2022

IP Justice submitted the following statement to the 63rd WIPO General Assembly, which was held 14-22 July 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland:  IP Justice Statement Issues Raised: Proposed Broadcast Treaty Domain Name & Country Names Issue Intellectual Property Waiver for COVID-19 Vaccines and Medicines IP Justice's Statement at the WIPO 63/GA was drafted by Solveig Legoupil.

IP Justice Participates at WIPO Committee on Development Meeting

From November 20th to 26th, 2021, IP Justice participated in the World Intellectual property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP)’s Twenty-Seventh Session. The WIPO General Assembly established CDIP in 2008 to convene all WIPO member states, NGOs/IGOs, and observers such as IP Justice to discuss intellectual property (IP) transfer and address the [...]

IP Justice Statement at WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property’s 27th Session

IP Justice Statement at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP)’s Twenty-Seventh Session (20-26 November 2021) IP Justice urges the WIPO to provide more easily understandable resources for identifying available inventions in the public domain.  For the public to have greater access to the public domain inventions, they have [...]

International Civil Society Sends Letter to WIPO Over China’s Rejection of Wikimedia Foundation

IP Justice and 54 other international public interest organizations signed a letter letter of concern to the Member State Delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) after the application for "observer status" requested by the Wikimedia Foundation was twice rejected by China during WIPO General Assemblies.  The civil society letter called on country delegations to [...]

IP Justice Statement at WIPO General Assemblies 2021

I am representing IP Justice, an international advocacy organization on internet regulation and digital governance.  I urge the delegates to reject the WIPO Broadcast Treaty and adopt Limitations and Exceptions provisions. Imagine when big broadcasting companies own the learning materials in school, and that broadcaster will own the contents created by artists. The Broadcast Treaty [...]

IP Justice WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Policy Brief 

Summary  The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Broadcast Treaty had a long journey of two decades of negotiation on the WIPO table. U.S. delegates proposed a most recent draft at the Standing Committee of Copyright (SCCR 38) in 2019, and the last SCCR 41 Agenda asks for comments on possible next steps for the Broadcast [...]

45 Public Interest Groups Send Letter to WIPO on IP Enforcement Activities

Forty-five civil society groups concerned about efforts to ratchet-up the enforcement of intellectual property rights beyond healthy levels sent a letter to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) this week to their express concern on WIPO's continued promotion of a "maximalist" agenda with respect to intellectual property rights. The civil society letter reminded WIPO that this approach undermine's development dimensions and subordinates fundamental rights including freedom of expression on the Internet. The public interest groups cite the lack of transparency in WIPO decisions and its lack of balancing other public interest concerns in its approach.

Google Comments to USTR on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

Comments Submitted by Google Inc. Regarding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement in Response to USTR Public Notice of September 5, 2008 (73 FR 51860) September 17, 2008 Google Inc. appreciates the opportunity to comment on the pending negotiations for the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). We have three areas of concern: (1) the scope of the [...]

Secret Counterfeiting Treaty Public Must be Made Public, Global Organizations Say

More than 100 public interest organizations from around the world today called on officials from the countries negotiating Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to publish immediately the draft text of the agreement. Secrecy around the treaty negotiation has fueled concerns that its terms will undermine vital consumer interests. Organizations signing the letter include: IP Justice, Consumers Union, Essential Action, Knowledge Ecology International, Doctors without Borders’ Campaign for Essential Medicines, Australian Digital Alliance, The Canadian Library Association, Consumers Union of Japan, U.S. Public Interest Research Group ...

IP Justice Statement at IGF Open Consultation of IGF Dynamic Coalition for Access to Knowledge and Free Expression (A2K@IGF)

"IPR protection has always been given to creators and inventors in exchange for some benefit to the public. These are usually included in IP law as exceptions and limitations that can provide a benefit to the public. For example, when copyright owners permit the copying of their materials for private and educational use, they contribute to the general pool of knowledge available on the Internet. The practice of remixing, re-using, editing, and combining of audio-video and text to comment on culture and create transformative works depends upon a system of robust exceptions and limitations to exclusive rights. This coalition supports innovation and the creation of wealth through IPR incentivization, but we also seek to support alternative models for creating knowledge goods, including free and open source software, or open scholarly and scientific journals, and on-line access to scholarly research, publicly funded research, and essential documents such as legal information. The A2K@IGF coalition welcomes a discussion in Hyderabd that explores best practices for promoting sharing of knowledge and access to information and that explores a variety of business models designed to encourage creativity and innovation. We welcome participation from all stakeholders in this ongoing discussion to build an open and inclusive Internet to promote human development and individual empowerment...."

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