WIPO Patent Law Committee Looks At Access To Medicines, Confidentiality30/11/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentThe World Intellectual Property Organization committee on patent law is meeting this week, including a half-day seminar on the relationship between patent systems and the availability of medicines in developing countries and least-developed countries.
TPP Strengthens Controversial IP Arbitration30/11/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 3 CommentsThe US government has been less than candid about the Trans-Pacific Partnership. While the agreement was being negotiated, the US Trade Representative stated that a much-criticized arbitration process included in the TPP would not apply to intellectual property. Turns out, it does apply to IP. And it provides foreign corporations with a huge advantage in IP disputes – private arbitrations that can override courts and statutes, effectively rewriting a nation’s IP laws.
Group Calls On WTO Members To Make Trade Rules Development Compatible30/11/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentA group of civil society organisations is calling for endorsements of a letter to the World Trade Organization prior to the upcoming Ministerial meeting in December aimed at preventing alleged efforts by rich countries to tighten international trade rules and introduce corporate “wish-list” issues from free trade agreements into the WTO.
New Text For Proposed WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Now Available27/11/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentThe chair of the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee has issued a new consolidated text on definitions, what should be protected, and the rights to be granted to broadcasters. The text comes in the lead-up to the next meeting of the committee.
Compromise Future Work Plan Adopted For WIPO Committee On Enforcement27/11/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentThe World Intellectual Property Organization committee on enforcement concluded yesterday with an agreement on the future work of the committee. The adoption of this programme was heavily discussed during the week, reflecting the different approaches on enforcement of intellectual property rights among countries.
Russia Reform Of National IP Industry: Royalty Scheme And A New Mega-Regulator26/11/2015 by Eugene Gerden for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentAuthors will receive more for their inventions in Russia, as the local government has changed a scheme on the distribution of authors’ royalties. In addition, the government is setting up a new body to draw together the two dozen agencies that deal with aspects of the intellectual property system.
At WIPO, Former South Africa Judge Calls For Balance In IP Rights Enforcement24/11/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentAlongside this week’s meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on enforcement, an event featured a former South African Supreme Court judge presenting his views on IP enforcement. There is a need to go for the “big fish,” he said, and to bring balance in sanctions and enforcement procedures. He also described courts as finding that exceptions to copyright are a public right.
TPP Article 14.17 & Free Software: No Harm, No Foul24/11/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment[Software Freedom Law Center, Link (CC-BY-SA)] The first official public release of the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement (known universally as the TPP) on November 5, 2015 generated much heated speculation. The ideal of “open agreements, openly arrived at” remains regrettably unattainable in international affairs. “Fast track” trade negotiating authority in the US means that parties excluded from the negotiating process have a short time in which to mobilize for or against the treaty as a whole in light of their specific concerns. The premium on speed of response to a very lengthy and complex legal document—and the presence of intense public attention—guarantees that hasty judgment and occasional self-promotion will always outrun professional analysis; this is one of the inherent defects of secret legislation.
A User-Focused Commentary On The TPP ISP Safe Harbors24/11/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 CommentsAnnemarie Bridy writes: Section J of the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s IP chapter, on ISP safe harbors, looks a lot like Section 512 of the DMCA [US Digital Millennium Copyright Act], but the two frameworks differ in some important respects that could negatively impact the global environment for user speech online. This post offers a comparison of Section J and Section 512 with a focus on the rights of users and the status of user expression in the TPP’s intermediary safe harbor provisions.
WIPO Committee On IP Enforcement Beats Drum Of Awareness24/11/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 CommentThe enforcement of intellectual property rights is a challenge in particular because of the lack of awareness of the consequences of infringement, said several speakers at the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on enforcement this week.
