Special Report: Are Copyright Trolls The Future Of Digital Content Protection? 18/10/2010 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Entrepreneurial law firms in the United States and United Kingdom are targeting suspected internet infringers through mass letter-writing and lawsuit campaigns. Are “copyright trolls” the way of the future for protecting digital content?
Rights Holders Launch Initiative To Protect Content In Africa 26/08/2010 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Foreign content producers and broadcasters hope the soon-to-be-launched Africa Media Rights Watch will help convince the region’s regulators and consumers alike to increase respect for copyright.
Shareholders In 3G Mobile Patent Company Seek US Investigation Of Nokia, Ericsson 23/04/2010 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Two shareholders in a Pennsylvania company with patents key to third generation (3G) mobile communications want the US Department of Justice to investigate European mobile phone manufacturers Nokia and Ericsson and others for failing to pay royalties for use of the technology. Antitrust scrutiny is needed to prevent the same thing from happening as the next generation of mobile phones rolls out, Richard Monahan and Kent Greene say.
Contradictory Court Rulings, Continuing Tension On Internet Liability In EU 17/02/2010 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In its 2010 digital music report, the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said that despite the availability of 400 legitimate online music offerings worldwide and significantly higher 2009 revenues, the music sector remains hard-hit by peer-to-peer and emerging forms of copyright infringement.
EU Patent Regime Approved: Includes EU Patents Court, EU Patent, Coordination 04/12/2009 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment European Union governments have unanimously approved a roadmap for a single European patent regime. The system is seen as key to making patenting less expensive and more efficient for European inventors, but the devil, as always, is in the details, stakeholders say.
Kappos’ Early Days At USPTO: Many Changes, Few Funds 23/10/2009 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Reform of the United States patent system, better patent quality and greater international cooperation among patent offices are just a few of the jobs new United States Patent and Trademark Office chief David Kappos has on his plate.
Regulators’ Role Seen Rising As E-Content Tied To Devices 29/09/2009 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments When Amazon.com remotely deleted George Orwell’s “1984″ and “Animal Farm” from its Kindle e-books, it stirred up a hornet’s nest of complaints about privacy, the potential erosion of copyright users’ rights and censorship. Is the shift to “tethered devices” a real cause for concern or much ado about nothing?
Digital Library Europeana Said To Be Europe’s Answer to Google Books Settlement 28/08/2009 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Google’s settlement in the United States of copyright infringement claims by authors and book publishers faces strong opposition from European publishers. The deal does not apply to books outside the US and one Google official has suggested the need for a similar service in Europe. Could digital library Europeana be the solution? A 28 August European Commission policy statement addressed that concern and others.
US Cablevision Decision Has Implications For Cloud Computing, Online Advertising 03/07/2009 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A recent United States Supreme Court order letting stand a decision that a proposed remote digital video recorder does not violate copyright law has major implications for internet “cloud computing” and advertisers, intellectual property lawyers say.
South African Authors Seek First Public Lending Right In A Developing Country 29/06/2009 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment South Africa could become the first developing country to permit authors to be paid when libraries lend their books if an authors’ group gets it way, but the proposal is likely to spur strong opposition from access-to-knowledge advocates and libraries.