German Enforcement Directive: Industry Favour Or Necessary First Step? 17/04/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The German Parliament last Friday passed changes in copyright, patent and other intellectual property-related laws with the aim of better enforcement of IP violations in civil rights cases. The changes transpose the much-debated European Union IP Enforcement Directive (IPRED) into German law. IPRED contains general obligations, precautionary and corrective measures, damages and extended information rights for rights owners in civil law complaints aimed at third parties like internet service providers (ISPs).
WIPO: Cybersquatting Cases Rise To Record Levels 31/03/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Cybersquatting is on the rise, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which published statistics last week on case filings under its international Internet domain name dispute settlement system. The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre in 2007 recorded 2,156 complaints filed under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute […]
German High Court Defines New “IT Basic Law” Curbing Online Searches 01/03/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch MUNICH – Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court this week decided that infiltration of personal computers, laptops or other information technology devices of possible suspects by law enforcement violates the basic right of “confidentiality and integrity of IT systems.” In defining confidentiality and integrity of IT systems, the German judges […]
New Online Licensing Deals Signal Direction For Music Industry 06/02/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Two large licensing deals were announced during the recent 42nd edition of the world’s largest music fair, Midem, which may help pave the way to smoother operations for online platforms in the digital music business. But while the more proactive licensing strategies of rights owners – both labels and collecting rights societies – were welcomed by many experts at Midem, the calls for more radical changes to the licensing regimes for the digital era are growing ever louder.
Music Is (A)live – But Music Industry Looks For Future 29/01/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch CANNES – Music industry 1.0 is dead, but 2.0 has not arrived quite yet. New models for making money from music and music rights are being looked for desperately at the world’s largest music fair, Midem, this week in Cannes. The music industry has to reinvent itself in […]
Internet Governance: ICANN, Security And Nation States 28/01/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The future of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will remain an important topic in Internet governance in 2008, the tenth anniversary of the private global coordination body for Internet addresses and domain names. Yet experts also expect security in its different facets to be on the rise in Internet governance debates and point to the further growing interest of nation states in exercising their sovereign governance rights in cyberspace. And it is increasingly the case that governance of the Internet can affect access to online content.
Standardisation Policy More Effective Than Legislation On IP? 25/01/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Efforts by European Union authorities to take advantage of standardisation as a de facto regulatory tool have not been sufficiently systematic in recent years, according to a study published by the European Commission last week. Yet standards especially in information and communications technology (ICT) are becoming more important, […]
Broadcasting Treaty: Council of Europe Picks Up Where WIPO Left Off 10/12/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The Council of Europe is deliberating on whether to negotiate a convention to protect broadcasters’ signals against piracy and thereby take up the issue from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) where negotiations on a proposed broadcasting treaty came to a standstill earlier this year. The Council’s decision […]
Internet Service Providers Fear Trend Toward Liability For Content 26/11/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The rising trend of holding Internet service provider (ISPs), host and platform operators liable for third party violations of laws relating to copyright, competition and the protection of minors is of increasing concern to industry associations like the Association of the German Internet Economy, known as Eco. At Eco’s annual meeting in Cologne last week, Malte Gosau, legal counsel for Easynet (a network and hosting operator owned by BSkyB), said: “Recent court decisions push providers to go abroad to start new business models, as they risk being taken to court over third party violations of the law if they provide a commercial platform, a forum, online games or bets.”
Open Standards, Access To Knowledge Discussed At IGF 19/11/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch RIO DE JANEIRO – Intellectual property-related issues were a topic avoided by governments during the 2003-2005 World Summit on the Information Society, which gave way to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). But at the second IGF in Rio de Janeiro last week there were several IP-related workshops. Organisers […]