Governments’ Role In Management Of Internet In Question At ICANN Meeting 19/10/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Amidst rising voices that time is of essence to finalise the oversight transition for core internet functions from the United States government to the community of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), governments are divided over what their role should be.
TPP Heads Into Ratification Game 06/10/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Reactions to yesterday’s announcement that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is in the books quickly turned to “what’s next?” with European Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem sending congratulations and expressing expectations that “with TPP done, we will be able to approach our TTIP negotiations with an even greater focus from both sides.” But considerable work remains for TPP to come into effect.
Pull Up Your Socks – The TPP Is Done 05/10/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The odds for a final signature under the Trans-Pacific Partnership went up and down since negotiations of the regional trade agreement re-started in Atlanta last Wednesday. In the final hours, the delegations of the 12 Pacific-Rim countries fought hard over data exclusivity terms for biologic drugs and access to dairy. Now the deal, the first of a new generation of regional mega-agreements, is done and while opponents are concerned about the selling out of patients, workers and consumers rights, Perrin Beatty from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce recommends to the naysayers to “pull up your socks” and face competition.
IANA Transition: Trapped Between Demands For Detail, Simplicity 29/09/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Later 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.
German Bundestag Not Happy About Being Kept Out Of TTIP Reading Room In Berlin 09/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Transparency in negotiating free trade agreements continues to be a controversial issue, despite attempts of the official negotiators, especially European Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem, to pour oil on troubled waters. Regardless of Malmstroem’s transparency initiative for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the US-EU FTA, a storm is brewing in an area not easily neglected by negotiators.
ITU Secretary General Visits Old Archrival IETF 21/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC — International Telecommunication Union Secretary General Houlin Zhao today called for more cooperation between his organisation and other standardisation bodies, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
Is The European Unitary Patent System On Its Way To A Tepid Start? 17/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment For nearly two decades, the European Union has pondered the completion of a unitary patent system (UP) and a Unitary Patent Court (UPC). But even after the European Court of Justice has ruled the UP/UPC agreement to be constitutional, users, including some big ones, remain cautious.
TISA Stocktaking Meeting Reveals There Is Still Ground To Cover 16/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The ambassadors for the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) have endorsed a deadline of notifying any additional new annexes by 31 July, and submitting completed offers by 15 September. This is the result of the most recent meeting of negotiators of the 25 TISA parties, according to a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australia hosted the TISA round from July 6-10 in Geneva.
EU Parliament Adopts Reda Report On Copyright Reform 09/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The European Parliament during its last plenary meeting before the summer break today adopted a non-legislative report on copyright reform prepared by Pirate Party Member Julia Reda. The report calls for an adaptation of the EU 2001 Copyright Directive to the digital market.
European Parliament Decides In Favour Of TTIP Mandate And “New ISDS” 08/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 10 Comments The European Parliament today voted in favour of its own mandate for the negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a broad free trade agreement between its 28 member states and the United States. With 436 yes versus 241 no votes (32 abstentions), the Parliament adopted a resolution that also gives green light to the hotly debated investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), albeit a new version of it.