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Today the Supreme Court of Canada released its long-awaited decision in Apotex Inc. v. Sanofi-Synthelabo Canada Inc., 2008 SCC 61, which upheld Sanofi's "selection patent" over the anti-coagulant marketed as Plavix. A selection patent is basically a patent for a particular part of an already-patented invention. They're widely used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and have huge importance in ongoing battles between generic and research-based pharmaceutical companies.

Should amateur podcasters, peer-producers, social networks, video-sharing hubs and "all other sites" pay copyright royalties for the music they communicate? The Copyright Board says no. Or at least not yet.

In a long-awaited decision released today the Copyright Board of Canada declined to set a tariff of royalties for a miscellany of web sites that transmit music in one way or another. Among those exempted are Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, as well as hundreds of thousands of other businesses whose sites incorporate some music. Amateur podcasters are also off the hook for payment of this tariff.

How can developing countries increase their influence in international negotiations around intellectual property? That's the question addressed by Professor Peter Yu in one of the chapters of a forthcoming book that I am editing, Implementing WIPO's Development Agenda. I mention this now because Professor Yu's chapter has just been published by the Centre for International Governance Innovation as a working paper. It is availble for download right here.

The release of the working paper coincides with the meetings of the WIPO General Assemblies that wrapped up in Geneva last night. The adoption of recommendations for a Development Agenda in October 2007 was a tremendous accomplishment, but so far practical changes have been slow to result. Concrete strategies are needed to ensure successful implementation of the recommendations over the coming months and years. 

Yu argues that developing countries need to take advantage of the current momentum, coordinate better with other countries and nongovernmental organizations, and more actively share with others their experience, knowledge, and best practices. He begins by explaining how building intellectual property coalitions for development (he uses the term, IPC4D) can help less developed countries strengthen their collective bargaining position, influence negotiation outcomes, and promote effective and democratic decision making in the international intellectual property regime. The paper then discusses four coordination strategies that can be used to develop these coalitions. It concludes with a discussion of the various challenges confronting the creation and maintenance of these coalitions.

The working paper was prepared for the E.D.G.E. Network on the Emerging Dynamic Global Economies Network, hosted by the University of Ottawa and funded in part by the International Development Research Centre. The complete book will be co-published  and released later this year by Wilfred Laurier University Press, CIGI and the IDRC.

I've heard people say Cape Town is among the most beautiful cities on the planet. Those folks are right. Flying in from Joburg we circled out over the South Atlantic Ocean and alongside the distinctive Table Mountain before landing, which gave me a gorgeous view of the city. Like in Accra, there are cranes all over the place, as the country gears up for the 2010 World Cup. The parts of Cape Town I saw seem much more affluent than anywhere else I stopped on the trip. There are, however, obvious signs of drastic inequality everywhere you look. Particularly disturbing is the fact that in South Africa, far more so than in other places I visited, inequality is so clearly connected to race. The country still seems a long way from healing the wounds of apartheid. Such characteristics of the country actually make South Africa an important place in which to study issues of access to learning materials.  

After a rough overnight flight from Accra to Maputo via Johannesburg I arrived in Mozambique for a couple of days of intensive work. It wasn't all work, of course. Even compared to the fantastic seafood I'd just sampled on the shores of each of the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and Bay of Benin, the Mozambican prawns fresh from the Indian Ocean were incredible. Mozambique is also fascinating for its mix of cultures and traditions. The remnants of the Portuguese influence are everywhere, including in the language of course. But it is also a former communist state, and is surrounded by former English colonies (so, for example, they drive on the left to avoid cross-border confusion). Given the genuine African friendliness I experienced there, I'd put Maputo near the top of places I'll visit again.  

Flying across the massive Sahara desert is a remarkable experience. After hours upon hours of dunes, mountains and more dunes, the sight of Dakar perched on the edge of the Atlantic was a welcomed one. A lengthy wait in the immigration queue and a bit of a struggle through the crowd of touts and taxis outside of the airport finally led to a ride into the city on a brand new road, apparently paid for by Iranians. I thought that was interesting, though I can’t really explain why. Dakar is a vibrant city, with lively markets, a super music scene and great food, all of which I enjoyed immensely.