WIPO Delegates To Clean Text Of Blind Treaty Before Diplomatic Conference In June 15/02/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Hopes of the visually impaired community were rewarded in December when the World Intellectual Property Organization delegates agreed on a high level meeting anticipated to agree on a treaty providing exceptions to copyright facilitating access to books in special formats for blind and visually impaired people. However some outstanding issues remain and delegates will try to find consensus next week.
UK Appoints IP Attaché To ASEAN Countries 12/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office has appointed its fourth IP attaché, this time to represent UK businesses in the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Year Ahead In IP, Biotech, Biodiversity: A Trio Fuelling Debates, Opportunities In 2013 12/02/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The coming year promises to be very interesting at the intersection of intellectual property with biotechnology and biodiversity. Patentability of human genes in the United States, of conventionally bred plants in Europe, plant breeders’ rights and the management of regulatory authorisations when patents on genetic traits expire, the future of genetically modified organisms in developing countries, and the usual resistance they are meeting from civil society and famers’ groups are some of the issues that will continue to feed debates – and potentially create opportunities – in 2013.
South Korea Inks Copyright Protection Deal With Vietnam 11/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Manila, Philippines – The Republic of Korea, or South Korea, has signed an agreement with Vietnam for stronger collaboration in the area of copyright protection. This reflects South Korea’s continuing and more aggressive campaign to protect its copyrighted works here in southeast Asia.
US Justice Department Reaches Settlement In E-Books Case 08/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States Department of Justice today announced it has reached a settlement with Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as Macmillan, for allegedly conspiring with Apple Inc. to raise e-book prices.
New Textbook On Copyright Law For Librarians 08/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Copyright for Librarians (CFL), an online open curriculum on copyright law, has launched a new textbook aimed at providing librarians in developing and transition countries with general information concerning copyright law in addition to the aspects of the law that most affect libraries.
Fate Of Google Book Search Still To Come, Expert Says 08/02/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A few years ago, internet giant Google had the idea to digitise tens of millions of the world’s books and ran into legal trouble with the publishers and authors of some of them. The cases have moved through many stages, but the ultimate fate of the massive amounts of knowledge it could have made available to the public is still to come, says a Washington, DC lawyer who has followed the case closely for years.
Tracking IP Influencers’ Latest Moves 07/02/2013 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment From changes in policymaking leadership and staffing shake-ups to a flurry of hiring in law firms and new strategic alliances, the past few months have been an interesting time for IP people watching. With over 40 news items and over 80 names, here’s a substantial update on who’s who across governments, nonprofit organisations, and the private sector.
African Union Declares It Will Proceed With Pan-African IP Office 06/02/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The heads of state of the African Union (AU), the regional body working on African integration, have decided to proceed with the establishment of a Pan-African Intellectual Property Office (PAIPO), despite misgivings about the potential impact on their local economies.
European Commission Launches Copyright Licensing Initiative 05/02/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The European Commission has launched an initiative called “Licences for Europe” aimed at promoting copyright licences, as a next step in maintaining traditional copyright in light of new digital technologies.