WIPO Standards Committee: IP Geeks Meet Policy Wonks 07/05/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization is by its nature a crossroads of IP technical expertise and global public policy wrangling. But the difference between the two became more pronounced at last week’s meeting of the WIPO Standards Committee, according to participants.
Draft Proposal Calls For Delay Of WHO R&D Treaty Talks 03/05/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A new draft proposal suggests that World Health Organization members postpone negotiations for a convention on financing of research and development for diseases predominantly afflicting poor populations. The negotiation of a convention is up for discussion by members at the annual World Health Assembly this month.
WIPO, EPO Sign Patent Cooperation Agreement 03/05/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The heads of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the European Patent Office today signed a three-year agreement to mutually improve the procedural framework of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Viacom v. YouTube: Chipping Away At The DMCA 03/05/2012 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment It was a major legal battle between copyright owners and online businesses. Then, on 5 April, online businesses won. Mostly. The US appellate court ruling in Viacom International, Inc. v. YouTube, Inc. basically upheld the legal protection that a key US statute grants to online firms. However, the ruling also opened several holes in that protection.
Full Agenda For WHO: Reform, R&D Convention, Substandard Medicines, NCDs, Pandemics 02/05/2012 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With just over two weeks until the annual UN World Health Assembly begins, member states face a substantive agenda, including a sweeping reform programme, an innovative public health proposal, the global strategy for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, a mechanism to fight poor quality medicines, and progress in pandemic influenza preparedness.
Eben Moglen’s Warning: Beware Of Media Consuming You 02/05/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Eben Moglen, a professor of law and history at Columbia University, made a haunting appeal to participants of the 6th re:publica conference that opened in Berlin this morning: Do not to fail in completing the fight for freedom of thought.
Industry Report On Trade Secret Theft, Congressional Demand For IP Protection, As US-China Meet 01/05/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A report released today asserts that trade secret theft is occurring on a massive scale worldwide, and that most companies are not taking sufficient steps to stop it. The report, which comes on the eve of bilateral economic meetings between the United States and China, offers a set of recommended actions for companies and others. Also today, leading Democratic members of Congress urged the Obama administration to demand improvements in China on intellectual property rights protection.
Music Industry Groups Await Judgment On Breakthrough Royalty Agreement 01/05/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Groups representing a range of music industry companies in the United States recently struck what they call an “historic” agreement on the tricky matter of mechanical royalty rates and standards in a digital age. Now, they are awaiting final approval on the agreement.
Lines Of Geographical Indications Debate Begin To Take Shape In The United States 01/05/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States has historically demonstrated little interest for geographical indications but recent developments seem to indicate that actors are taking stands on the issue.
Study On Non-Agricultural GIs Supported By European Commission 01/05/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Commission Directorate General for Internal Market and Services has awarded a contract to three lobbying groups promoting geographical indications to conduct a study on GIs.