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intellectual property

EU and Mercosur aim to settle GI protection in renewed trade talks
6-Jun-2018 IEG
The EU and the Mercosur countries have started a fresh round of trade discussions in which both parties seek to strike an agreement on the key aspects of Geographical Indications and tariff reductions for car exports.
European Parliament delegation in China to discuss trade
9-May-2018 Latin America Herald Tribune
The European lawmakers will discuss the recently-imposed US tariffs on steel and aluminum, the question of overcapacity, a bilateral investment agreement, market access and intellectual property rights among other topics.
Ukraine eyes patent law reform after civil society push on medicines access
2-May-2018 IP Watch
Ukrainian lawmakers are poised to approve sweeping patent reform legislation, driven in large part by a push by patients’ groups for better access to affordable medicines and healthcare.
EU upgrades IPR category of PH in terms of protection, enforcement
30-Apr-2018 Manila Bulletin
Despite serious concerns on copyright piracy, the EU has raised the Philippines’ standing from “bad” to “better” in the area of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Drug patent extensions under CETA could cost feds $270M a year: PBO
27-Apr-2018 iPolitics
Extended patent protections under Canada’s free trade deal with the European Union could cost the federal government some $270 million a year, according to a new report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
‘Pakistan, China expected to sign revised FTA this year’
25-Apr-2018 The News
Pakistan and China are expected to sign the revised bilateral free trade agreement anytime during this year as the two sided are currently deliberating on the subject, Commerce Minister Pervez Malik said on Tuesday.
Dozens of NGOs oppose proposed EU watch list on IP rights
18-Apr-2018 IP Watch
A wide-ranging list of international nongovernmental organisations issued a letter to European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström opposing a proposal to establish a “watch list” of countries deemed failing to protect European intellectual property.
Economic ties with China still thorny / Intellectual property, steel remain problematic
18-Apr-2018 The Japan Times
The Japan-China high-level economic dialogue on Monday — the first such meeting in about eight years — marked a first step toward resetting a bilateral relationship that has been under strain amid such issues as perceptions of history and deepening economic ties.
Solutions for a stalled NAFTA: Stop pushing so hard on IP, and release the text
12-Apr-2018 EFF
Although advances have been made in some chapters, reports suggest that virtually the whole of the agreement’s IP chapter remains up in the air.
MSF statement on resumption of EU-India FTA negotiations
11-Apr-2018 MSF Access Campaign
Officials from the European Union (EU) and India are expected to meet in Brussels on April 12th to resume technical talks on the long-stalled EU-India free trade agreement (FTA). A leaked draft of the agreement, which has been under discussion since 2007, contains proposals from the EU that push for intellectual property (IP) provisions in the FTA that could jeopardize access to affordable medicines.
Copyright in Mercosur-EU trade agreement: A little better, but mostly worse
9-Apr-2018 Creative Commons
While it’s positive that at least the parties are coming to the conclusion to forego the gratuitous copyright term extension, most of the changes in the consolidated text show a continued tightening of copyright protections that favor incumbent rights holders at the expense of users and the commons.
Why intellectual property laws aren’t worth defending
3-Apr-2018 The Week
By treating IP laws as just another football in the America vs. China rivalry, Trump misses the way elites in both countries can use malformed trade policy to undercut workers in both countries.
Renegotiating NAFTA: Threats to affordable medicines
29-Mar-2018 Public Citizen
NAFTA was the first “trade” agreement that included new monopoly powers for Big Pharma companies.
We have resumed work on India-EU FTA: Prabhu
26-Mar-2018 The Hindu BusinessLine
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu today indicated the resumption of negotiations of the long-stalled free trade pact between India and the European Union.
America messed up the idea of free trade
22-Mar-2018 Quartz
US-led multilateral trade agreements have forced poorer foreign countries to honor patents in exchange for the benefits of bringing multi-national corporations—and their factory jobs—abroad.
Minister assesses trade motives of China, US
12-Mar-2018 China Daily
China’s top commerce official said on Sunday that it has no intention to start a trade war with the United States and will not initiate one, but the country can cope with any challenge and will defend its national interests.
Fair use and platform safe harbors in NAFTA
8-Mar-2018 EFF
What’s needed is a much more open and inclusive process, to ensure that trade agreements such as NAFTA reflect the needs of all rather than just those of well-connected corporate lobbies.
The post-TPP future of digital trade in Asia
6-Mar-2018 Electronic Frontier Foundation
On March 8, trade representatives from eleven Pacific rim countries including Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Australia are expected to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership, now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The agreement has been slimmed down both in its content—22 items in the text have been suspended, including the bulk of the intellectual property chapter—and also in its membership, with the exclusion of the United States which had been the driver of those suspended provisions.
Protecting and promoting copyright balance in NAFTA
5-Mar-2018 IP Watch
The ongoing NAFTA renegotiation presents a prime opportunity to move the ball on protecting and promoting general public interest copyright exceptions.
12 reasons why we say NO to the Mercosur – European Union free trade agreement
21-Feb-2018 Alianza Biodiversidad
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