The Minister of Culture has removed Marcos Souza from the post of Director of Intellectual Property Rights (DDI) of the Ministry of Culture.
As Director of Intellectual Property Rights, Marcos Souza was responsible for coordinating the project of reform of the current Brazilian Copyright Act under the guidance of the past Ministers of Culture Jucá de Oliveira and Gilberto Gil.
Ana de Hollanda has invited Marcia Regina Barbosa, currently at the Attorney General’s Office, to replace Marcos Souza as head of the DDI.
Marcia’s name was apparently appointed to the Ministry of Culture by Hildebrando Pontes Neto, former president of the National Copyright Council (CNDA), a body that regulated the sector between 1973 and 1990 and also a lawyer responsible for litigating several cases for ECAD (the music collection society).
The move is a clear indication that Ana de Hollanda is not satisfied with the current project of copyright reform and, according to newspapers, it is an indication that the Minister will abandon the reform.
It is still too soon to tell that the reform will be abandoned but it surely looks like that it will be at least thoroughly revised before proceeding to Congress.
Rodrigo Borges Carneiro
