WIPO Committee Advances Agenda On Copyright Exceptions, Broadcasting 09/11/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New As the senior staff of the World Intellectual Property Organization gathered outside its headquarters Friday to set the foundation stone of a new office building, WIPO member governments were struggling inside to agree on the foundation for the future of its key committee on copyright. In the end, the committee agreed to […]
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 […]
Who Will Advise Obama On IP? Let The Name Games Begin 06/11/2008 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Liza Porteus for Intellectual Property Watch with William New There are many questions as to what the President Barack Obama administration will look like – with no shortage of players participating in the Washington parlour game right now. The US and the world will cast a watchful eye on whom Obama chooses to advise […]
Obama Victory Draws Quick Reactions From IP, Tech Communities 05/11/2008 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch, with Kaitlin Mara and William New The intellectual property community has been quick to begin the anticipation of a Barack Obama presidency in the United States following his election on Tuesday. Although the consensus appears to be that an Obama administration would not bring any monumental change […]
Participants Ready Agendas For New-Look WIPO Copyright Committee 31/10/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New World Intellectual Property Organization members gather in Geneva next week to take up old and new agenda items targeting international policy on copyright and related rights. Emerging agenda items are limitations and exceptions to copyright – including a possible proposed treaty on access for the visually impaired, and possibly artists’ resale rights, […]
Google Books Settlement A Possible Path To Resolution Of Digital Content Disputes 30/10/2008 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Google’s groundbreaking settlement of copyright infringement claims by authors and book publishers this week resonates beyond the United States, the European Commission and a UK copyright lawyer said. While the agreement affects only US users of Google Book Search, it points the way toward possible solutions to the […]
Improbable Match: Open Licences And Collecting Societies In Europe 28/10/2008 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Catherine Saez A French musical group has signed a contract with French collecting society Sacem allowing the exclusion of the group’s internet rights that some claim opens a door to a new model where authors could manage their internet rights while the collecting society administers all other rights related to the use of the […]
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 […]
Panel: WTO Cross-Retaliation Could Bring Compliance But Political Pressure High 24/10/2008 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Catherine Saez Inducing compliance, after a favourable ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body, from countries which breached international trade rules can prove difficult, especially for developing countries. For many of them, retaliation in a trade sector unrelated to the one affected by the violation of WTO rules may be the only viable option, although the major obstacles are not legal but political, according to speakers at a roundtable held on Friday in Geneva.
Indigenous People Seek Recognition At WIPO Meeting On Their Rights 23/10/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Kaitlin Mara Indigenous groups are looking for better representation at the United Nations body negotiating on issues related to the protection of their traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. At the World Intellectual Property Organization last week, indigenous groups, member states, and interested non-governmental organisations came together for the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property […]