Should The EU Rethink Copyright Law For The Digital Music Age? 25/11/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Europe’s copyright rules are ill-suited to an age when millions of music files can be accessed at the click of a mouse, a Brussels conference has been told. About eight million tracks by musicians from a wide variety of genres can now be listened to via […]
EU Favours Disclosure Of Computer Patents Before Standards Are Set 20/11/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Computer firms may be required to divulge details of patents they hold before technology standards are set, a senior European Commission official has said. More than a year after the European Court of Justice ruled that Microsoft was abusing its dominant position in order to prevent its products being compatible with programmes developed by rivals, Brussels policymakers are continuing to assess what implications the judgment has for intellectual property and antitrust law.
User-Created Content Shows Uncertainty In EU Copyright Law 07/11/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Uncertainty surrounds the application of European Union copyright rules to material uploaded onto the internet by private individuals, a new study has found. Recent years have seen a proliferation of websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Flickr which allow their users to post photographs, articles, videos […]
Blind Readers Seek Guarantee Of Access Under EU Copyright Law 27/10/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Exceptions to European Union copyright rules designed to allow blind people access to publications should be made legally binding, according to disability rights organisations. In July, the European Commission opened a public consultation exercise on whether a central piece of EU law on intellectual property needs […]
New Stirrings On EU Patent Front In The Name Of Small Business 13/06/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – The ‘fragmented’ nature of Europe’s patent application system is harming small firms, a Brussels event has been told amid new efforts to harmonise it. Ever since the early 1970s, the European Community – now Union – has been discussing the possibility of introducing a single patent […]
European Commission Proposes Forum On Future Of Copying Levies 28/05/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – The European Commission has recommended that a forum involving creative artists and the consumer industry should be established to determine the future of private copying levies. Twenty-one of the European Union’s 27 countries impose oft-criticised surcharges on equipment – ranging from blank cassettes to MP3 players […]
European Parliament Set To Reprimand Mandelson For Pressuring Thailand 09/05/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – The European Parliament looks set to take Brussels’ top trade official to task over his latest attempt to persuade Thailand that it should revise its policy on pharmaceutical patents. Shortly after a new government was installed in Bangkok earlier this year, European Union trade commissioner Peter […]
Clash Over World Customs Organization Efforts On IP Enforcement 25/04/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Developing countries this week clashed with senior officials in the World Customs Organisation over an initiative designed to ensure that intellectual property rights are upheld at border posts, according to participants. Delegates to the 172-country WCO met in its Brussels headquarters on 24-25 April to prepare […]
EPO Head Sees Need To Review IP Rules For Climate Change 10/04/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Changes to intellectual property rules may be needed to facilitate the use of technology aimed at addressing climate change, the head of the European Patent Office (EPO) has suggested. Next month, the 34-country EPO will host what it claims is the first major international conference to examine the patenting issues raised by global warming. Alison Brimelow, the EPO’s president, said the European Patent Forum in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana will give an opportunity to exchange ideas on whether the international system for regulating intellectual property should be modified.
Complaint Lodged Over EU Parliament’s Exclusive Use Of Microsoft Systems 06/03/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – A formal complaint has been lodged with the European Parliament over how its information technology systems rely almost exclusively on software manufactured by Microsoft. Advocates of open standard software, which is developed on a not-for-profit basis, allege that the Seattle-based giant enjoys an effective monopoly or […]