Apple-FBI Case Has “Serious Global Ramifications,” UN Human Rights Chief Says 04/03/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, today issued a statement urged United States law enforcement authorities to exercise caution in their legal fight against Apple computer company, saying it could have “extremely damaging implications for the human rights of many millions of people, including their physical and financial security.”
USTR Strikes IP Deal With Honduras On Generic Cheese, Signal Piracy 02/03/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The government of Honduras has committed to a work plan for protecting intellectual property rights that includes recognition of food names considered generic by the United States such as “parmesano” (parmesan), provolone and bologna, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced today. Other commitments include signal piracy related to cable and satellite, and a customs trademark registry.
TPP Is Obama’s Top Trade Priority For 2016 02/03/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is the Obama administration’s top trade priority this year, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said in its annual trade agenda released today. The agenda highlights intellectual property protection but also says all the right things on copyright limitations and exceptions, safe harbor for internet service providers, and the ability of countries to use flexibilities under international trade law.
Malawi Awaits Reviewed Copyright Law 02/03/2016 by Munyaradzi Makoni for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Artists in Malawi are hopeful that the Copyright Bill, drafted four years ago, will be discussed when the parliament meets in the first quarter of this year, paving a way to plug unauthorised use of works that they say has led to massive loss of revenue.
TTIP Negotiations: 12th Round Ends With Plan To Hurry Between Official Rounds 26/02/2016 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments By July trade negotiators from the United States and the European Union want to present a draft text that only has brackets for the “most sensitive issues” in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This was announced by Ignacio Bercero, chief negotiator for the European Union, and his US counterpart Dan Mullaney during a press conference today after this week’s 12th round of TTIP negotiations in Brussels.
IP And Innovation, Non-Violation Complaints On TRIPS Council Menu 26/02/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The now-familiar item of intellectual property and innovation is on the agenda for next week’s regular meeting of the intellectual property committee of the World Trade Organization. This time under the item, a range of developed countries have proposed to discuss education and diffusion, and Switzerland has put forward a paper on nurturing a culture of innovation.
Year Ahead In Internet Governance: Where The Internet Stewards Will Go In 2016 26/02/2016 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Transitioning of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) out of the United States government – or not – is the top issue of a narrower internet governance community in 2016. Yet looming behind the many high-level government events are some more controversial topics that are attracting a wider set of stakeholders: the unresolved issues of privacy, free flow of data, surveillance and encryption, as well as the security or rather insecurity of a space of networked machines, including military machines.
Whistleblowers Detail Accountability Problems At The Top Of WIPO; US Congressional Members Prepare Actions 25/02/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments WASHINGTON, DC — A set of senior former employees of the World Intellectual Property Organization and their representatives yesterday gave detailed sworn testimony to US lawmakers on what they termed extremely serious misconduct and retaliation at the United Nations agency. A congressional subcommittee chairman told Intellectual Property Watch afterward that based on all they have heard, they believe WIPO Director General Francis Gurry has “gone rogue” and that action against him will begin immediately. The US State Department will be pressed to demand a copy of a newly completed UN investigation of Gurry that apparently has been shared with the Colombian Ambassador in Geneva, Gabriel Duque, who is chair of the WIPO General Assembly this year.
US Copyright Office Recommends No Change To The “Making Available” Right 24/02/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The “making available right,” affirmed by the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization “Internet Treaties”, gives authors the prerogative to authorise digital access to their copyrighted works “in such a way that members of the public may access these works from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.” But while United States government officials have routinely held that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which implements the treaties covers all of the conduct envisioned by the right, courts have been less consistent, the US Copyright Office said in a 23 February congressionally-ordered report that recommended no change to current law.
Digital Rights Management Faces “Big Data,” Multiple-Rightsholder Challenges 23/02/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Managing copyright in digital musical works can be difficult because there are multiple rights holders and no standards for exchanging the massive amounts of data involved. Digital rights management services LyricFind and Rumblefish are among organisations working to streamline access to online content, company chiefs say.