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 […]
US Lawmakers Seek IP Enforcement Agency; Satellite Radio Royalties Set 10/12/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A bipartisan group of US legislators is calling for tougher civil and criminal penalties for copyright and trademark infringement through new legislation introduced last week. Meanwhile, the US Library of Congress Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has set royalties for satellite radio services, as webcast radio companies lobbied for rate parity. The “Prioritising Resources and Organisation for Intellectual Property Act of 2007 (PRO IP),” introduced 5 December, would create an IP enforcement czar, establish a new IP division in the Department of Justice, and authorise the appointment of IP officers to help foreign countries combat piracy and counterfeiting.
EU Online Copyright Bill Coming; Publishers Debate DRMs 09/12/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New BRUSSELS – European publishers and copyright holders have a friend in European Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding, which she reinforced last week in describing efforts to push through a new bill on digital publishing copyrights. At the same event, publishers and cutting-edge US technology company SecondLife debated IP issues such as the […]
France’s Online Anti-Piracy Plan Comes Under Scrutiny 07/12/2007 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch Legal experts and consumer rights groups are questioning the feasibility of measures described in an anti-piracy pact that French media groups, government officials, and Internet service providers (ISPs) announced on 23 November. ISPs also dispute the veracity of media reports that have since claimed that access providers will begin to actively monitor and block peer-to-peer file exchanges in France. The anti-piracy agreement describes a number of possible measures that could prevent illegal distribution of copyright-protected digital media in France.
Film Industry Touts ISP Partners In Filtering Online Content 05/12/2007 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch NEW YORK – Internet service providers are going to lead the monitoring of networks to ensure they are not being used for infringing purposes in the entertainment industry’s seemingly endless battle to maintain control over where their content is distributed, and to whom, Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Dan Glickman said Tuesday. Glickman, speaking at the 35th Annual UBS Global Media & Communications Conference on 5 December, said his organisation – which represents the motion picture, home video and television industries – is working with telephone, cable and Internet companies, most notably AT&T, to ensure their networks are not being used to illegally share or download content. The relationship is somewhat ironic given the entertainment industry’s rocky history with the ISP community and its previous efforts to force telecommunications companies like Verizon to reveal the identities of customers who infringe copyrights on peer-to-peer filing systems.
The Proposed Reform Of Venezuelan Constitution: Cultural And Intellectual Property Issues 30/11/2007 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment [Re: 2 December referendum on constitutional changes in Venezuela] By Rafael Carreño, SAPI External Advisor During the last few months across Venezuela at dozens of open forums -both on the streets and within institutions and in the media, there have been many discussions held among intellectuals, authors, copyright users, small traders, and government officers about […]
EU To Publish Online Content Rule As Industry Launches IP Standard 29/11/2007 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch The European Commission’s is expected to publish by year’s end a communication on creative content online that will address how to improve the competitiveness of European online content production and distribution industry, European officials said Thursday. In remarks broadcast at the unveiling of the Automated Content Access […]
France To Require Internet Service Providers To Filter Infringing Music 27/11/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch French record labels and Internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed on a ground-breaking plan to fight online music piracy. Among other things, the 23 November memorandum of understanding requires Internet access providers to experiment with filters to block infringing files. Making ISPs shoulder more responsibility for copyright violations on their networks while leaving intact their immunity from liability for content for which they are “mere conduits” represents a sea-change in the interpretation of the European Union E-Commerce Directive, said attorney Winston Maxwell of Hogan & Hartson.
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.”
WTO Panel On Chinese Content Distribution Delayed 24/11/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The formation of a World Trade Organization panel requested by the United States on China’s distribution of American copyrighted material was delayed this week after a procedural move on an unrelated matter. The US panel request was to be considered by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on 19 November, but the agenda […]