Please circulate:
South Korea and United States are preparing for the FTA negotiation.
(You might have received an e-mail message that asks you to be a
cosignatory of a written comment on COPYRIGHT issues. If not, that message is below. )
This first e-mail message is about another written comment on PUBLIC HEALTH related
issues. Some of the issues are closely related with intellectual
property. The document also includes non-IP issues.)
Korean NGOs prepared a written comment (download at
http://www.ipleft.or.kr/fta/20060324-CoalitionLetterofNGOs-publichealth.pdf)
on public health issues that will be submitted to the USTR. Written
comments are due by noon, March 24, 2006 via e-mail. IPLeft is seeking
signatures from people and organizations in U.S on this comment.
People and organizations that want to join this effort and put their
names on the written comment, please reply to [log in to unmask] with
their names and addresses (post address, Web site address or/and
e-mail address) BY MIDNIGHT, MARCH 23, 2006. If you know people or
organizations that might want to join as a cosignatory, please forward
this e-mail message to them.
Our major concern is that the South Korea-U.S. FTA will protect large
pharmaceutical companies' interests (or 'investments') at the cost of
eroding the base of public health system by heightening intellectual
property protection, forcing to change pharmaceutical pricing policy
and medical insurance policy, and so on.
We ask you to keep up on with the future development of the South
Korea-U.S. FTA negotiation and to be a part of this fight against it.
Nam Hee-seob, Chairperson of Intellectual Property Left
Jungbongwon Bd. 5F, 502, 1-13,
Chungpa-dong 1ga,Yongsan-gu,
Seoul, Korea (140-868)
Website) http://www.ipleft.or.kr
>Dear all,
>
>This is another comment on the copyright issues in the Korea-US FTA.
>
>Best,
>PatchA
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>From: IPLeft <[log in to unmask]>
>Date: Tue, 21, Mar 2006 18:34:02 +0900
>Subject: [A2k] (Korea-US FTA) Seeking signatures on COPYRIGHT comment
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>South Korea and United States are preparing for the FTA negotiation.
>On the negotiation agenda, intellectual property issues are given a
>top priority. IPLeft and other NGOs prepared a written comment
>(download at http://www.ipleft.or.kr/fta/20060324-CoalitionLetterofNGOs-copyright.pdf)
>on copyright issues that will be submitted to the USTR. Written
>comments are due by noon, March 24, 2006 via e-mail. IPLeft is seeking
>signature from many individuals and organizations in U.S on this
>comment. People and organizations that want to join this effort and
>put their names on the written comment, please reply to
>[log in to unmask] with their names and addresses (post address, Web
>site address or/and e-mail address) BY MIDNIGHT, MARCH 23, 2006. If
>you know people or organizations that might want to join as a
>signatory, please forward this e-mail message to them.
>
>I ask you to keep up on with the future development of the South
>Korea-U.S. FTA negotiation and to be a part of this fight against it.
>
>The following paragraphs are excerpted from the written comment:
>
>We strongly oppose the inclusion of the copyright clause in the
>current FTA negotiation between Korea and the United States.
>
>Considering the FTA that the United States negotiated with Singapore,
>Australia, and Chile, and what the United States has been demanding
>from the Korean government thus far, we assume that the United States
>will request copyright protection similar to or stronger than the
>United States copyright laws such as the 1998 DMCA(Digital Millennium
>Copyright Act).
>
>However, the DMCA and extending the copyright protection period in the
>Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) have been under much
>criticism because it obstructs fair use, science research, technology
>advancement, and publishing. Furthermore, there are strong concerns
>about how it impedes computer security research. Nonetheless, United
>States has been imposing their own copyright laws on other countries
>by adopting laws similar to the DMCA in the FTA. Among them, we cannot
>allow the extension of the copyright protection period to 70 years or
>setting the penalty for circumventing the technical measures for
>protection at the broad level of the laws in the United States because
>these clauses violate the fundamental principles of the copyright
>laws. The United States must stop such demands on the Korean
>government immediately.
>
>Nam Hee-seob, Chairperson of Intellectual Property Left
>Jungbongwon Bd. 5F, 502, 1-13,
>Chungpa-dong 1ga,Yongsan-gu,
>Seoul, Korea (140-868)
>Website) http://www.ipleft.or.kr
Dept. of Media Studies,
University of San Francisco.
2130 Fulton St.
San Francisco, California 94117-1080.
415-422-5061
[log in to unmask]
> 19 March 2005
>
> URGENT APPEAL FOR LETTERS OF SUPPORT
> FROM U.S. ORGANIZATIONS
>
> The United States is about to launch negotiations for a free trade
> agreement with the Republic of Korea. The Office of the U.S. Trade
> Representative has called for public comments on the proposed talks,
> which must be received by noon on March 24th.
>
>
> The INCD is inviting you to sign on to an important submission it will
> file on the deadline. We urge you to read this material and indicate
> your support no later than the end of the day March 23rd, by replying
> to this email. Include a brief description of your organization, or
> indicate if you are signing as an individual.
>
> What are the issues?
> The price for opening negotiations for a free trade agreement was
> Korea’s agreement to accede to U.S. pressure to reduce its successful
> cinema screen quota. The 50 percent reduction will take effect in
> July 2006. Since it was implemented in 1993, this quota has fuelled a
> rapid growth of the Korean film industry which increased its share of
> the domestic market from 16 percent to more than 47 percent in 12
> years. Korean films have achieved international acclaim and their
> availability has increased choices for movie goers everywhere. The
> reduction in the screen quota will threaten this remarkable record and
> the Korean film industry believes U.S. pressure will continue in the
> upcoming talks in an attempt to completely eliminate the quota.
>
> U.S. movies continue to have strong access to Korean cinemas: foreign
> movies can be shown 60 percent of the time on each screen. Further,
> the quota has driven a tremendous growth in overall attendance, from
> 58 million in 1999 to more than 130 million in 2004, which has
> benefited U.S. movies.
>
> This issue highlights the huge gulf between the United States and the
> rest of the world on cultural diversity. The U.S. was one of only two
> countries which opposed the adoption in October 2005 of the new UNESCO
> convention on cultural diversity. INCD and its U.S. members believe
> that there is need for civil society and governments in the United
> States to be leaders in promoting diversity and cultural equality,
> both within the U.S. and globally. The U.S. needs to confirm its
> sovereign right to implement policies on the arts, culture and the
> media, including the promotion of diversity in the media.
>
> What is the submission calling for?
> The submission urges the United States government:
> • To propose an unrestricted and unlimited exemption for cultural
> goods and services from the terms of the free trade agreement with the
> Republic of Korea.
> • To exercise leadership to promote cultural diversity
> internationally, and within the United States itself, by ratifying the
> UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of
> cultural expressions.
>
> We know this is a late request, but we only just received the
> information. We hope you will send your letter of support to us
> quickly.
>
> In solidarity,
> James Early, Smithsonian Institution and INCD Steering Committee
> Garry Neil, INCD Executive Director
>
> For more information:
> Garry Neil 416.268.5665
>
> * * * *
> Frannie Wellings
> Free Press
> (202) 265-1490 x 21
> http://www.freepress.net
>
> Media is the issue.
>
> To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your
> subscription, please go to
> http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=1793730&user_secret=387be0d0
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