US IP Law – A Look At The Year Ahead 11/01/2018 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In the coming year, one US Supreme Court case promises to dominate developments in America’s IP law. The upcoming decision in Oil States Energy Services v. Greene’s Energy Group could have major ramifications for patents, copyrights, trademarks, and the USPTO. But even as that case steals the limelight, 2018 could bring other significant changes to America’s IP law. Here are some of the key developments to watch for.
Year Ahead: US Music Sector Calls For Major Legislative Changes To Copyright In 2018 09/01/2018 by Emmanuel Legrand for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The music community is ramping up its efforts to have significant new copyright legislation approved by United States Congress in 2018, amid key changes in the legislative apparatus, with the elevation of Rep. Jerold Nadler (D-New York) as the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, a pivotal role that puts him at the heart of the US legislative system, and the retirement of the Committee’s current Chairman, Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), at the end of the year.
Top IP-Watch Stories Of 2017: What Do They Tell Us About Multilateral IP Policy? 04/01/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment What IP-Watch stories were readers reading most in 2017, and what does it say about the state of global intellectual property policy? In this article, we look at the most-trafficked stories of last year, and make a few assumptions. Asia, Europe, trade, health. These were the top targets of interest to readers among our offerings. Interestingly, despite all the sound and fury in Washington, our coverage there was not at the top of the list. Even more interestingly, neither was our extensive and world-leading coverage of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Changes In EU Data Law: The GDPR Requirements And How To Meet Them 04/01/2018 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Linkilaw writes: Statistics show 69% of SME owners have heard about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and 70% admitted to being unaware it will come into effect from 25th May 2018. It is important for small business owners to understand what the GDPR is as well as its application. The GDPR is the outcome of four years of constant discussions, investigations, and amendments made by the EU to update its data privacy rules and regulations.The GDPR will replace the Data Protection Directive established in 1995, creating a greater territorial scope and stricter penalties for those states members, and business dealing with Personal Data, who fail to keep and handle data according to the new regulation. The GDPR was finally approved by the EU Parliament on 14 April 2016 but will apply from 25 May 2018, giving a two-year transition period for all EU members states. This is a call for all SME’s: you need to prepare now!
What Could Have Entered The Public Domain On January 1, 2018? 02/01/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Current US law extends copyright for 70 years after the date of the author’s death, and corporate “works-for-hire” are copyrighted for 95 years after publication. But prior to the 1976 Copyright Act (which became effective in 1978), the maximum copyright term was 56 years—an initial term of 28 years, renewable for another 28 years. Under those laws, works published in 1961 would enter the public domain on January 1, 2018, where they would be “free as the air to common use.” Under current copyright law, we’ll have to wait until 2057.1 And no published works will enter our public domain until 2019. The laws in other countries are different—thousands of works are entering the public domain in Canada and the EU on January 1, writes the Duke University Center for the Study of the Public Domain.
Internet Governance Forum – An Encyclopaedic Endeavour 27/12/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The 12th Internet Governance Forum has closed its doors and sent home the last of the more than 2,000 die-hard internet governance adepts from 142 countries who stayed until a mere three days before Christmas in the halls of the United Nations in Geneva. Asking the adepts and the critics about what has changed in the forum that started because governments just could not agree on how critical internet infrastructures should be managed during the 2005 UN World Summit on Information Society, the first answer always is just “big”. With originally 3,000 registered, it is the biggest international internet politics conference. But “big” is not only the size of the meeting, it is also the number of workshops, panels, best practice forums and bi-, pluri- and (nearly) multi-lateral meetings taking place over the five days. So this year Intellectual Property Watch, having participated substantively all week, decided to make an encyclopaedic endeavour to bring you the first IGF dictionary (or to make a dictionary about that encyclopaedic endeavour) in an effort to give credit to the richness of the forum, but highlight some problems, too.
Internet Society Official On Internet Governance Challenges, Role In Solving Issues 20/12/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Internet Society has participated in the Internet Governance Forum since its inception. Since then, the forum has been able to build trusted relationships with the different groups of stakeholders, but it should be able to attract more participants from all those groups of stakeholders, such as ministers and CEOs, according to Constance Bommalaer, senior director of Global Policy of the Internet Society. Bommalaer sat down with Intellectual Property Watch’s Catherine Saez in the margins of this week’s Internet Governance Forum in Geneva to explain the pressing issues of internet governance, such as the trust issue, and the internet of things, and the work of the Internet Society to bring tangible answers.
A Digital Geneva Convention: Nobel Prize-Worthy Or Dangerous? 19/12/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Microsoft on 19 December presented its Digital Geneva Convention during the 12th Internet Governance Forum in Geneva. With cybersecurity being one of the top issues at the forum, the company received a lot of interest for the idea of developing the convention as a multi-stakeholder draft. But there were also voices of caution from individual governments as well network-operating people.
US Court Strikes Down Bar On Scandalous Trademarks 19/12/2017 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Yet another part of US trademark law is dead. On Friday, a US appellate court struck down a statutory provision that prohibited the registration of immoral or scandalous marks. The decision was almost inevitable, after a recent Supreme Court ruling applying the US Constitution’s free speech guarantees to trademark law. And it is likely to be followed by further successful court challenges to America’s trademark law.
Internet Governance Forum Opening: Wish List For An Open, Trustworthy, Accessible Internet 19/12/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Internet Governance Forum opened yesterday at the United Nations in Geneva, coming back to its origins, and as the opening ceremony resounded with Swiss alphorn, speakers insisted on the urgency to find fresh solutions to internet-related new issues. Cyber security, digital divide, influence of private companies, lack of digital literacy, the challenges are numerous, and solutions require a multi-stakeholder collective effort, the speakers said in unison.