Re: Helping Developing Countries with IP issues

On 11 June 1997, James Love <love[_at_]cptech.org> wrote:
>
> Can a developing country use its antitrust laws in the same way that the
> U.S. can?
>
> GATT and NAFTA both permit compulsory licensing, albeit with severe
> constraints. Indeed, compulsory licensing in cases where "judicial or
> administrative process" determines a practice is anticompetitive has
> greater latitude. (See TRIPS, Article 31 (k) for example, or NAFTA Article
> 1709 (k) and (l), and Nafta Article 1501 (3).)

The 1971 Paris Revisions to Berne also allow developing countries to reproduce books under a compulsory licence in specific conditions. There have, however, been exceedingly few takers (Henry Chakava writes that there have been no cases at all of books reprinted locally in Africa under the terms of the Paris Revisions).

As a side observation, it is interesting how publishers and authors have a different approach to compulsory licensing - for publishers, it is portrayed as the end of the world, while authors find it merely inefficient in terms of responding to a closed market (much better to do a local deal and reprint cheap than be expensive and pirated).

CHRIS ZIELINSKI, Secretary General, ALCS 74 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1EF, United Kingdom Tel: (0044)-(0)171 255 2034 - Fax: (0044)-(0)171 323 0486 <chris.zielinski[_at_]alcs.co.uk> Received on Fri Jun 13 1997 - 13:49:47 GMT