Jaci McDole

The court rightly refused to encourage or support the Internet Archive's blatant theft and violations of copyright protections in Hachette v. Internet Archive.

The world’s leading creative countries still have a long way to go before they can say they’ve significantly reduced digital piracy, but many are finally taking steps in the right direction toward this goal. Australia has adopted many of the best policies to better target copyright infringement, but there are a few missing that policymakers should consider.

Creators, industries, the economy, businesses large and small, and more than 5 million U.S. workers rely on copyright. Meanwhile, the patronage system is archaic and irrelevant in the digital age. Policymakers must ignore these unfounded, outdated, and repetitious attacks on creators’ rights, focusing instead on updating copyright laws rather than abolishing them.

There is nothing meritorious about an expanded TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 therapeutics and diagnostics IP. Just like the TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, the expanded waiver proposal is unnecessary, inappropriate, and harmful. The United States and its allies must not allow it to continue.

As more content creators migrate to the metaverse—creating immersive, interactive, 3D virtual environments and placing virtual products within them—IP owners may face challenges in acquiring and enforcing trade dress and design patents for purely digital goods. To address this challenge, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) should issue guidance clarifying the rights associated with trade dress and design patents, especially essential terms like “functionality” and “secondary meaning,” to ensure digital goods receive IP protections just like their physical counterparts.

Digital piracy is a significant threat to industries and economies. Congress must act to protect American creators, and enacting the SMART Copyright Act is a smart next step.

With the development of the metaverse and other Web3 technologies creating more challenges for protecting rightsholders from online theft, Congress should update the DMCA to foster greater use of innovative technologies to protect copyright online.

Internet Archive is not a noble, Robin Hood organization being bullied by the hierarchy for helping the poor and needy, despite the story EFF and its anti-IP allies continue to spin. Rather, this is a simple case of an organization stealing from creators to justify its “information wants to be free ideology,” then trying to redirect blame, hoping to garner sympathy for its wrongdoing rather than simply compensating rightsholders.

Congress should ignore pressure from progressive activists who want to use drug price controls to move to a government-led drug discovery and production system and instead focus on more pragmatic reforms.

The WTO’s approval of a TRIPS waiver for IP related to COVID-19 vaccines is essentially a shotgun blast completely missing the broadside of a barn.

On May 10, 2022, Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Copyright Clause Restoration Act of 2022, a bill whose sole intent is to deprive Disney of copyright protections in retaliation for the company’s “woke” stance on social issues. This move is petty, unconstitutional, overall bad policymaking, and violates U.S. obligations under the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WCT). The Senate Judiciary Committee should let this bill die.

WIPO’s theme for World IP Day 2023 is “Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity.” To celebrate, ITIF highlights the stories of a few of the women who rely on IP rights to accelerate innovation and creativity. Join us for these first-hand accounts of how IP enables and benefits creators, innovators, and society alike.

Please join ITIF, Geneva Network, Hudson Institute, the Center for Intellectual Property and Innovation Protection, Property Rights Alliance, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as we learn the stories of a few of the individuals and SMEs who rely on IP rights to innovate for a better future.

The GTIPA’s annual summits bring together alliance members with world-leading experts to explore creative solutions to the difficult economic, trade, and innovation challenges facing the international community.

ITIF hosted an expert panel discussion about the report and the vital role IP has played throughout the pandemic.

Stephen Ezell and Jaci McDole presented about Intellectual Property’s Impact on Global Health and Life-sciences Innovation to students at the University of Akron Law School on February 18, 2021.