IP-Watch/Yale FOIA Case Decided: USTR Can Keep TPP Texts Secret, But Maybe Not Communications With Industry Advisors30/09/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 CommentsAs government negotiators dig into perhaps the final round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations this week in Atlanta, they may take comfort in knowing that nothing they are doing has to be shared with the public they represent until years after it is over. That’s because a federal district court in Manhattan decided this week, in a closely watched Freedom of Information Act case brought by Intellectual Property Watch, that draft texts of the trade deal can be kept secret. The court did, however, cast doubt on the government’s reasons for also keeping its communications with industry lobbyists from the public eye.
Trade Works, Says WTO Head, But Only If Right Policies, Transparent Trade System In Place30/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentThe annual World Trade Organization Public Forum opened today with a plenary session on making trade work more inclusively. The Doha Round, agriculture, and environmental technologies were part of the conversation.
WIPO Working On Voluntary International Collective Management Standards30/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 CommentCollective management organisations have often been the subject of criticism both from artists and end users. Some international federations have set up professional rules, but there is no international standard. The World Intellectual Property Organization is working to set up a voluntary international recognition of good practice for those organisations.
CEIPI Launches Training Program For Technical Judges Of Unified Patent Court29/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 CommentOne of the major imminent changes in the international patent system is the establishment of the Unified Patent Court. The agreement to create this tribunal was signed by 25 European Union States in 2013, and it is foreseen that the Court will be operational by the end of 2016. Setting up of a single tribunal with competence to decide on both validity and infringement disputes is an old European aspiration, and must be seen in the context of the global trend of creating specialized intellectual property tribunals. In this case, the aim is to respond to the high costs, forum shopping and lack of legal certainty that are generally attributed to the current system of adjudicating disputes concerning European patents. Among the many new features of the Court, the presence of technical judges is particularly notable.
US Court Adds Confusion To #Trademarks29/09/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentOnce, hashtags (like #cute_cat) merely identified topics on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. No longer. A rapidly growing number of companies are using hashtags (like #HowDoYouKFC) as trademarks. There is one problem, however. A court in the US has recently ruled that hashtags can never receive trademark protection.
IFRRO Comments On European Copyright Society Opinion In Reprobel Case29/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentIFRRO, the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations, has issued comments on the recent opinion offered by the European Copyright Society on European Court of Justice Case C-572/13, Hewlett-Packard Belgium v. Reprobel.
IANA Transition: Trapped Between Demands For Detail, Simplicity29/09/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentLater this week (30 September) the original deadline for the so-called IANA transition runs out. But despite stern warnings from US Assistant Commerce Secretary Lawrence Strickling and former Clinton aide Ira Magaziner that further delays could put the planned change of oversight over the management core internet infrastructure assets at risk, tensions could not be laid to rest over the weekend. After a two-day weekend “dialogue” in Los Angeles between the ICANN Board and the group in charge of developing new accountability mechanisms, it became clear that final text cannot be expected before early next year.
Russian Court Orders vKontakte To Stop Infringement, IFPI Says29/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 CommentThe London-based International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) today announced that a Russian court has ordered popular Russian social network vKontakte to use technology to effectively block infringement of two record companies.
Obama To UN: Real Measure Of A Nation’s Strength Is Its People’s Knowledge, Innovation28/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentUS President Obama told world leaders at the United Nations today that a nation that tries to repress its people is doomed to failure, and that the new measure of the strength of nations is the success of its people, including their knowledge and creativity. Access to information cannot be defeated due to technology and social media, and the desire of people to choose how they are governed, he said.
WTO Public Forum: Trade Works – Taking Stock After 20 Years28/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentThis week, the World Trade Organization is holding its yearly public forum with a focus on the contribution of the organisation to global trade since its inception 20 years ago. Some 90 sessions are planned, on issues such as intellectual property, global value chains, agriculture, trade for development, and the WTO dispute settlement system.
