WIPO Patent Cooperation Committee To Proceed With Study With Constraints 12/05/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment World Intellectual Property Organization members on Friday overcame anxiety about overreaching of the UN body and agreed to study the Patent Cooperation Treaty, including proposals aimed at improving the efficiency and implementation of the treaty, taking into account some members’ concerns.
The World Is Going Flat(-Rate) 11/05/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 34 Comments A new study shows a copyright exception for legalising file-sharing is feasible, as a cease-fire in the “war on copying” emerges. A new social contract between creatives and society is needed, says media sociologist Volker Grassmuck.
Golan Case May Put US In Violation Of International Copyright Treaties 08/05/2009 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A United States federal court recently gave some bad news to the US government and many foreign copyright owners – including the estates of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Dmitry Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, and Igor Stravinsky. The court struck down a US statute which had restored copyright protection to the works of these foreign authors. By limiting copyright restoration, the ruling might prevent the US from fulfilling its obligations under the Berne Convention and the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
EPO Looks To Future Technologies, 2010 Leadership Change 08/05/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments PRAGUE – The current revolution in science and information was the topic of this year’s European Patent Forum, which brought together examiners, lawyers, policymakers and other patent professionals to discuss how the pace of the patent system can mesh with today’s whirlwind of technological change. Meanwhile, European Patent Office (EPO) President Alison Brimelow informed her staff that she will “not be seeking extension” when her current three-year contract is up at the end of June 2010.
Panel: Public Domain Fosters Innovation, More Limitations & Exceptions Needed 08/05/2009 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The public domain is key to the promotion of innovation and should be fostered, but international intellectual property policies may hinder that process, said speakers at a side event to the last week’s meeting of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property. Limitations and exceptions to copyright should be expanded and made mandatory, policymaking should be based on evidence and the public domain should be clearly defined and listed internationally, they said.
US Weighs New Exemptions To Copyright Law 08/05/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States Copyright Office held two days of hearings this week to consider new fair use exemptions to the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits breaking encryption on copyrighted digital material. Every three years, the Copyright Office considers possible exemptions to the DMCA, and held those hearings this week. The American University […]
Brazil Tightens Rules On Drug Companies’ Influence On Physicians 07/05/2009 by Claudia Jurberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment RIO DE JANEIRO – The interaction between pharmaceutical companies and physicians has been discussed intensely in the last three years in Brazil, and recently has come under heightened scrutiny.
Technology Essential For Green Jobs & Planet 07/05/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments The recent commem-oration of Earth Day and World IP Day raised the importance of IP rights to innovation and jobs, says David Hirschmann of the US Chamber of Commerce. How about calling it “Green Innovation Week”?
EU Parliament Signals Against ‘Three-Strikes’ Filtering 06/05/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The EU Parliament on Wednesday underlined its position that any limitations of the fundamental right of access to information is subject to a prior check by a judge. By voting for amendment No. 138/46 in the report of French Socialist Catherine Trautmann, the Parliament rejected a last-minute compromise Trautman had worked out with the Council […]
WIPO Buzzing With Possible Names For Top Cabinet Posts 05/05/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Behind the day-to-day policy and technical work at the World Intellectual Property Organization, member governments’ lobbying of new Director General Francis Gurry to obtain top positions for national officials at WIPO has been intensive in recent weeks and is near conclusion, according to sources. Among the pack of possible names is a recent former director of the US Patent and Trademark Office, according to sources.