"The guide covers a broad range of topics – from identifying clear policies objectives to concluding a campaign. It has been designed to provide both an overview of a policy advocacy campaign, as well as more specific information and tools on key elements. Depending on your needs and resources, yo ... u may walk through the overview and each tool, or only use specific tools at certain points in the advocacy campaign. Whether you are just beginning to plan an advocacy campaign or are already conducting one, we recommend you start by reading the Campaign Guidelines. The overview provides a snapshot of all the elements of an advocacy campaign; it can also serve as a checklist and provide insights into gaps or areas that need focus in your campaign. Corresponding tools provide additional information and resources on each key element of a campaign." (Introduction) more

"This is the inaugural edition of the Consumers International IP Watch List, a survey that examines the intellectual property (IP) laws and enforcement practices of a range of countries, from the perspective of the world's only global consumer advocacy body, Consumers International (CI). This first ... IP Watch List focuses on copyright, because of all the forms of monopoly rights that are commonly described as intellectual property, it is copyright that has the most immediate impact on consumers' access to knowledge, and thereby on their educational, cultural and developmental opportunities. The intent of this IP Watch List is to assess how well the copyright laws and enforcement policies of the surveyed countries support the interests of consumers, by allowing them fair access to the fruits of their society's culture and science. The results of this survey will illustrate that strict copyright laws, enforced rigidly, can seriously harm the interests of consumers. The survey finds that what is more important than a strict copyright system, is a fair copyright system; one that balances the economic interests of rights holders with the compelling economic, social and cultural interests of consumers. As will be seen, such systems can be found in countries that one might not expect." (Page 1) more