[A2k] Disingenuous remark from the IIPA on fair use

[Jeremy Malcolm]

I'm currently reading more closely through the submissions that have
been put forward to the USTR for the 2009 Special 301 Report, and came
across this little gem from the International Intellectual Property
Alliance (IIPA), directed at the broad fair use exception in Israel's
2007 Copyright Act, which is unique outside of the United States:

> While IIPA would by no means object to the adoption of fair use as
> understood in the U.S., and as interpreted through decades of
> jurisprudence, Israel does not have that carefully-honed
> jurisprudence, and the adoption of the =93fair use=94 standards without
> it risks creating gaps in protection that would not be justified in
> countries having a =93fair use=94 tradition.


In essence, the IIPA would like to see US-level protection for rights
holders extended worldwide, without allowing for its strict
application to be mitigated by a broad US-style exception.  Although
we knew this already, its double standards have rarely been stated so
baldly before, and I would be appalled to find this lifted into the
USTR Report.

--
JEREMY MALCOLM
Project Coordinator
CONSUMERS INTERNATIONAL-KL OFFICE
for Asia Pacific and the Middle East

Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM
7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg
TTDI, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 3 7226 1599
Mob: +60 12 282 5895
Fax: +60 3 7726 8599
www.consumersinternational.org

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