By Henry Park
In April, the U.S. Trade Representative released the 2019 Section 301 report (see link to press release). The report calls out “foreign countries and expose[s] the laws, policies, and practices that fail to provide adequate and effective IP protection and enforcement for U.S. inventors, creators, brands, manufacturers, and service providers” (see Report at page 5)
Switzerland once again is on the Watch List because of a 2010 court case about downloading content from the internet for personal home use (see Report at page 75). The court found that under the current Swiss Copyright Act, such conduct was permissible. Because, the case makes online copyright protection and enforcement difficult, the US calls out Switzerland each year.
In response, Switzerland is still considering changes to its copyright law that would make online enforcement easier.
Image by Heidelbergerin from Pixabay
Reprinted from Law Office of Henry Park, PC with permission.