ITSSD President's Law Review Article on Brazil's IP Opportunism Prompts Media/Industry Attention, Brazilian Government Response & Law School Symposium

ITSSD President Lawrence Kogan's thought-provoking University of Miami InterAmerican Law Review article entitled, Brazil's IP Opportunism Threatens U.S. Private Property Rights (press release accessible at: http://www.lexdon.com/article/the_great_brazilian_ip-train_robbery/99020.html ; article accessible at: http://www.itssd.org/Publications/IAL105-II(frompublisher)%5b2%5d.pdf ) has continued to generated a great deal of international attention and consideration since its March 2007 release. For example, it was immediately catalogued in the Peace Palace Library in the Hague, The Netherlands (http://www.ppl.nl/catalogue.php?number=301810141&title=Brazil ) and in the British Public Library (http://direct.bl.uk/bld/PlaceOrder.do?UIN=204728286&ETOC=RN&from=searchengine ).


In addition, the law review article resulted in several provocative media articles. One article, entitled, Brazil is in the footsteps of Thailand, appeared in the Czech Republic media, at: http://www.zdravotnickenoviny.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=305469 . Another more provocative article appeared in the Los Angeles, CA-based Brazzil Magazine entitled, Brazil Charged with Leading a World Gang of Intellectual Property Predators, accessible at: http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/8071/54 . And, Professor
Pedro A. D. Rezende of the University of Brazil referred to the law review article as 'radical' in one of his student lectures, which is accessible at: http://www.cic.unb.br/docentes/pedro/trabs/fisl2007.pdf ; http://www.itssd.org/References/Think%20Tank/SaposPiramidaisnasGuerrasVirtuais-LKoganBrazilpapers.pdf.


Furthermore, the law review article prompted an invitation from the Instituto de Estudos Emprasariais (IEE) located in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Subsequently, the ITSSD President spoke on April 17, 2007, at the IEE's XXth Forum da Liberdade (Liberty Forum) entitled, Property Rights and Development - IP in the 21st Century: Challenges and Concerns, (accessible at: ) for which a presentation entitled, Rediscovering the Value of Intellectual Property Rights was delivered (accessible at: http://www.itssd.org/ppt/IPinthe21stCentury.ppt; http://www.itssd.org/ppt/IPinthe21stCentury-RediscoveringtheValueofIntellectualPropertyRights-OverviewOutline.ppt ). Information about this conference is accessible at: (http://www.forumdaliberdade.com.br/novo/sobre.php; http://www.queb.com.br/agenda.php?id=71337 ; http://www.consumidor-rs.com.br/index.php?p=cont_int&p1=diadia&txt_codigo=10001899 ; http://amanha.terra.com.br/notas_quentes/notas_index.asp?cod=4283; http://www.newtonbragarosa.com.br/conquista-detalhes.php?id=156 ).


While attending this conference Kogan was interviewed by Zero Hora, the main newspaper of Porto Alegre. The interview was presented in an article entitled, To Play the Role of Robin Hood is Not Correct, which is accessible at: http://www.abpi.org.br/empauta/segunda/160407.pdf ; http://www.itssd.org/References/mainstream-media/FazerPapeldeRobinHoodnaoecorreto-ZeroHora.pdf . Apparently, the interview was taken seriously by the Brazilian Government's Ministry of Foreign Relations, which posted the text of the article on its website. This posting is accessible at: http://www.itssd.org/References/Government/FazerPapeldeRobinHoodNaoeCorreto-ZeroHora-BrazilianMinistryofExteriorRelations.pdf ; http://www.mre.gov.br/portugues/noticiario/nacional/selecao_detalhe3.asp?ID_RESENHA=329736 .


Moreover, Kogan's participation in the XXth Annual Forum da Liberdade and Brazil's subsequent issuance, during May 2007, of a compulsory license against the patented drug
drug Efavirenz resulted in his authoring of a follow-up article entitled, Lula Disrespects Private Property, “Taking” Foreign Investors’ DPP. That article appeared on page 47 within the June issue of the Forum's Revista Leader Magazine, accessible at: http://www.itssd.org/Publications/artigosentrevistas_rev(2)-KoganarticleIEERevistaLeader-June2007.pdf ; http://www.itssd.org/Publications/LulaDisrespectsPrivateProperty,TakingForeignInvestors_DPP.pdf .

Kogan prepared a more in-depth analysis of the combined impact of compulsory licenses issued by the Brazilian and Thai Governments during the first half of 2007. This appeared in an article published by the Washington Legal Foundation entitled, Forced Licensing of Drug Patents Reflects 'IP Counterfeiting' Efforts on World Stage, accessible at: http://www.itssd.org/Publications/ForcedLicensingofDrugPatentsReflectsIPCounterfeitingEffortsonWorldStage-WLF06-22-07kogan.pdf .

Finally, these articles collectively provoked a formal response from the Brazilian Government which, by this point, had become truly concerned that Brazil was increasingly being viewed by the world community as an IP outlaw. Brazil's response assumed the form of a June 15, 2007 letter addressed to the University of Miami InterAmerican Law Review that was signed by Brazil's Ambassador to the United States, Antonio de Aguiar Patriota. In the letter (a copy of which is accessible at: http://www.itssd.org/References/Government/LKoganUofMIALRarticle.pdf), Ambassador Patriota states,

"Lawrence A. Kogan, in the article “Brazil’s IP Opportunism Threatens US Private Property Rights”, which appeared in Inter-American Law Review last February, makes many inaccurate assertions regarding Brazil’s stance on intellectual property rights. Some of Mr. Kogan’s allegations are simply biased and ill-informed. In order to set the record straight, let me clarify that Brazil’s legislation is fully consistent with international rules on intellectual property..."


Ambassador Patriota's letter inspired the University of Miami InterAmerican Law Review to convene a symposium on February 8, 2008, entitled, Globalization and the Pharmaceutical Industry: Brazilian Intellectual Property Law and US Policy Implications, in which a number of intellectual property experts participated, including a representative from Brazil's Embassy in Washington, DC.


Information about the University of Miami InterAmerican Law Review symposium is accessible at: http://currentstudents.law.miami.edu/ialr/IALR_Symposium02-09-08.pdf ; http://currentstudents.law.miami.edu/ialr/symposia.html ;http://www.law.miami.edu/news.php?article=863 ;http://www.lcmagalhaes.com.br/noticias_gerais.asp?cod=521&id=noticias1 ;
http://www.mercadoderegistros.com.br/?snippet=noticia&noticia=869 ; http://acheiusa.com/acheiusa/asp/noticias/noticia-ultimas-anteriores.asp?cd_n=2482 ;
http://www.forumdaliberdade.com.br/blog/?p=44 .

A summary of the symposium speakers' various positions on the issues debated appears on page 11 of the February issue of the University of Miami School of Law magazine, Res Ipsa LOQUITUR, accessible at: http://www.law.miami.edu/studentorg/pdf/ril/resipsafeb2008.pdf .