Unauthorised Streaming Of TV Broadcasts Breaches Copyright, EU High Court Rules 02/03/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Internet television broadcasting service TVCatchup (TVC) may not offer live streams of free-to-air TV broadcasts without permission, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said in a 1 March judgment.
USTR Issues 2017 Trade Policy Review, Listing IPR Priorities 01/03/2017 by Kim Treanor for Intellectual Property Watch and William New 2 Comments The Office of the United States Trade Representative today released its 2017 trade policy agenda. The report includes numerous references to intellectual property rights, mainly focused on enforcement, plans for multilateral discussions on IPR and trade, and promises of an aggressive stance on geographical indications. But overall it is short on overall details about what’s to come with the new administration.
Journalists Surveilled By German Intelligence Agency 28/02/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The German Federal Intelligence Agency (Bundesnachrichtendienst, BND) spied on foreign journalists, according to a report of German magazine “Der Spiegel”. A document obtained by the magazine showed that the BND had taps on at least 50 phone numbers, fax numbers and email addresses of journalists from the BBC, Reuters and the New York Times.
ICANN Is Moving Toward Copyright Enforcement, Academic Says 28/02/2017 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is on an “ambivalent drift” into online content regulation through its contractual facilitation of a “trusted notifier” copyright enforcement program between the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the registry operators for two new generic top-level domains, University of Idaho College of Law Professor Annemarie Bridy says in a draft article for the Washington & Lee Law Review.
Many Questions On Potential Multilateral Investment Court System 27/02/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The European Commission is pushing ahead with its Multilateral Investment Court (MIC) project, but called requests to eliminate specialised investor protection mechanisms unrealistic during a dedicated meeting with stakeholders in Brussels today.
IP Scholars Warn About Stringent Copyright Rules In Asian RCEP Agreement 27/02/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment As negotiations take place this week in Japan for a free trade agreement covering the Asia-Pacific region, a group of intellectual property scholars is calling for the public interest to be clearly considered in the copyright rules of the future agreement.
Will US Follow UK Lead In Case On Copyright And Interoperability? 27/02/2017 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In a case pitting copyright protection against competition, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit must decide whether World Programming Limited (WPL) violated SAS Institute’s copyright by copying software interfaces that enable interoperability. WPL has already won the argument in the UK and in Europe’s highest court. The case has drawn strong support on both sides from the tech sector and a civil liberties group.
WIPO Committee On Protection Of Folklore: Shall We Dance? 24/02/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments It is generally held that traditional cultural expressions reflect communities’ cultural and social background and include elements of their heritage. For indigenous and local communities, those expressions of their traditional culture are vital. Next week, World Intellectual Property Organization committee members are expected to advance on a draft treaty text to protect those expressions, and look for ways to agree on basic principles, such as what the treaty should protect, how, and who it should protect.
US Business, Government Work To Bring Down ‘Dangerous’ UN Panel Report On Access To Medicines – And Change The Debate In Geneva 23/02/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Calling it flawed and narrow and seemingly threatened by its contents, the leading United States business group and US government IP specialists are working to limit the impact of a recent United Nations report that made recommendations for the decades-old problem of ensuring affordable medicines reach people when they are under patent in a way that does not threaten innovation. One step in countering the UN report? Change the discourse in Geneva and elsewhere.
New WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement Seen Benefiting Developing Nations, Global Trade 23/02/2017 by Peter Kenny for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Multilateral institutions have received a lift with the realization of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement that is expected to provide a boost to sluggish international commerce by cutting out clogging regulations. Image Credits: Peter Kenny