Intellectual Property

Introduction

Introduction

After years of controversy, a small group of countries, including the United States and European Union member states, announced in December 2010 that they had finalized a new "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement"[1] ("ACTA"). With the negotiations complete, attention has turned to a question that may at first appear obscure, but is in fact of enormous importance: Can the U.S. President make the agreement on his own, without Congressional approval?

Introduction

I. Introduction

Google’s recent decision to stop censoring its search results in China reflects the challenging position in which providers of information and communication technologies find themselves today. This Insight provides an overview of the debate about Google’s provision of search services in China and describes the framework of corporate social responsibility that applies to Internet providers operating in countries that restrict expression online.

II. Internet Regulation in China

I. Introduction

I. Introduction

The power to tax is the power to destroy, or at the very least, the power to make imports of men’s gloves more expensive than imports of women’s gloves. An international business person importing goods into the United States might think that a law which treated differently an identical men’s and women’s product would somehow run afoul of the United States Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) has held that it does not.

Introduction

On March 20, 2009, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body adopted the report of the dispute settlement panel in China – Measures Affecting the Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (China – IPR).[1] The report addressed three claims brought by the United States alleging that certain Chinese measures are inconsistent with the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

On July 17, 2007, Rwanda notified the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) that it plans to import the HIV-drug TriAvir from the Canadian company Apotex and will not enforce any patents granted in that respect in Rwanda.[1] Two months later, Canada issued a compulsory license allowing Apotex to use nine patented inventions for manufacturing and exporting TriAvir to Rwanda.

Introduction