U.S. trade report blasts Canada on IP, copyright

An annual report evaluating whether trade partners are implementing favourable policies to the United States — traditionally dismissed by the Canadian government — has sunk Canada’s record on piracy this year because of what it says is a failure to resolve “longstanding” intellectual property and copyright rules. The Special 301 report, released by the Office of The U.S. Trade Representative this week, said Canada’s poor record includes a lack of tougher border enforcement of pirated or counterfeit goods — including not allowing American customs to hold, inspect and destroy them — and both weak copyright protection and patent and pricing environment for pharmaceuticals. “Because inadequate and ineffective IP protection and enforcement constitute a barrier to U.S. exports and investment, these issues are a continuing priority in bilateral trade relations with Canada,” the report said. The report, for example, said Canada denies full and fair pay to American creators and performers more than other countries, and asked the government’s ongoing Copyright Act review to address that. It also takes issue with what it calls the broad nature of Canada’s fair dealing provisions, which sets the parameters around the use of content without permission. But the Canadian government has previously brushed off the reports as flawed and invalid. Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, said in a blog post that the report’s claims are “absurd” because Canada has some of the toughest anti-piracy rules in the world. For example, Geist noted that Canada has beefed up its anti-counterfeit legislation to give more power to border officials. He also said, as he has in the past, that fair use south of the border provides broader use of copyrighted material than fair dealing in Canada, and pondered how prospective reform on high pharma costs makes Canada a pirate nation. “The U.S. decision to use the piracy list as bargaining chip for NAFTA negotiations highlights how pointless it is to cave to U.S. pressure on intellectual property policy,” Geist wrote. “The U.S. will always ask for more as no reforms are ever enough.” The report concluded that the U.S. will continue to monitor the situation and will “work closely” with Canada in the coming year to “address IP issues.”

U.S. trade report blasts Canada on IP, copyright

Brief | May 2, 2018

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U.S. trade report blasts Canada on IP, copyright

Brief | May 2, 2018

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