We are starting a new periodic series on the blog to help you understand important copyright law cases In Plain English. This first installment is authored by the Copyright Alliance’s legal intern William Ruiz.  William is originally from Southern California and is a third year student at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in [...]

During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Obama proposed a new Trade Enforcement Initiative designed to combat unfair trade practices.  In his remarks, the President stated “It’s not right when another country lets our movies, music and software be pirated.”  According the White House, the initiative includes the formation of a new [...]

Congressional leaders are asking that IP protection and market access for technology products be key elements discussed with Russian officials as Russia pursues accession to the World Trade Organization.  The Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Committees with jurisdiction over international trade this weekend expressed concern regarding these issues in a letter [...]

This week’s bipartisan approval of three free trade agreements was met with applause from some members of the Copyright Alliance. Especially welcome in the trade agreements – made with South Korea, Panama and Columbia – are provisions designed to deter the theft of U.S. intellectual property and to create better access to world markets for [...]

A bill to modernize Canadian copyright laws to include protections against circumvention of technical measures, and make various other changes was introduced yesterday. In the Ottowa Citizen,  Industry Minister Chrisian Paradis said of the bill: “Our government recognizes how new technologies are changing the lives of many Canadians. This bill delivers a common-sense balance between the [...]

Copyright Alliance Executive Director Sandra Aistars made the following statement regarding Saturday’s scheduled signing of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA): “Consistent protection of intellectual property throughout the world is critical to the security of the 11.1 million American jobs supported by the copyright community. The Copyright Alliance commends the US Trade Representative as well as the [...]

Last week was a big moment for artists and record companies in Europe. After a ten-year campaign, the EU finally agreed to extend the copyright term on sound recordings. This was a bitterly fought battle, with academics and digital activists lining up against musicians. Opponents of the legislation claimed that copyright locked up cultural assets [...]

John Stuart Mill defined liberty as the freedom to do anything, so long as it does not impinge on the rights of others.  So the UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt reminded us this week in a speech to the Royal Television Society in Cambridge. Speaking about the need to “explore all options to make life [...]

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an organization of 34 member countries including the United States that develops and promotes policy to foster economic and social well-being worldwide, is meeting this week in Paris to discuss Internet policy. A document resulting from these talks outlines 14 principles for Internet policy development, including an [...]

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today released its annual “Special 301” report, identifying countries that fall short in intellectual property rights enforcement and market access for American IP products. The report summarizes some good news from the past year – finalizing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, passage of four pieces of intellectual property rights [...]