IP ArchIPelago

    Abortions and Intellectual Property Dr Emma Perot The world has been reeling from the overturning of the US constitutional right to abortion recognised in  Roe v Wade [1]  in the US Supreme Court. This is despite the fact that the impact of the judgment is seemingly limited to the USA. Some US states have federal rights to abortion, which still protect women to a greater extent than most of the Caribbean region. Our stricter approaches to abortion mean that the practice is generally illegal or only legal in exceptional circumstances to preserve the life or mental health of the mother. How is IP relevant to abortion where debate is usually confined to human rights discourse? Intellectual property is not immunised from the moral quandaries of legislators. In particular, patent legislation across the globe often has a provision which prohibits the patenting of inventions that could be considered immoral or contrary to public conscience. In Trinidad and Tobago, secti...

  How to NOT Get Away with  Copyright Infringement Dareem Scipio LLB “No Copyright Infringement intended. I do not own the rights to the music in this video!”  I am sure you are accustomed to seeing this phrase as you scroll through your various social media profiles and streaming platforms.  Maybe you are guilty of having used such line at some point in your life. You see the line as your protection against being sued and so you include it in the caption of every post where the works of others is featured. You feel safe, assured, at peace. However, contrary to popular belief, the words “no copyright infringement intended” offer absolutely no protection to individuals who use and share the works of others without permission. While copyright law does provide exceptions and limitations to avoid copyright infringement, these are often very specific and narrow in focus. In the Caribbean, exceptions and limitations to copyright infringement are generally co...