UN Office Of Drugs And Crime Enters Debate Over Fake Medicines And IP 09/12/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been working for several years to fight “fraudulent” medicines in the global supply chain. But an alleged new draft model legislation it is developing includes intellectual property rights, an issue which has led to intensive debates in other international fora. This week, a closed-door UNODC informal expert group drafting the model legislation is meeting in Vienna.
At WIPO This Week: Broadcasting Treaty, Copyright Exceptions And Limitations 08/12/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment After two difficult meetings, the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee is meeting this week with the hope of getting closer to a treaty protecting broadcasting organisations, although questions remain on scope and level of protection. The committee is also expected to find ways to work on exceptions and limitations to copyrights for libraries, archives, education and research, as developed countries oppose normative work, and developing countries want international instruments.
Draft UN Post-2015 Development Goals: Future Must Not Be ‘Business As Usual’, Including IP Rights 07/12/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Last week’s United Nations draft report for the post-2015 sustainable development goals under negotiation calls for continued progress toward sweeping improvements in the lives of all people and the health of the planet, including ensuring that intellectual property rights are respected but do not get in the way.
WIPO Seminar Discusses Intellectual Property And Gender 05/12/2014 by Elena Bourtchouladze for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Gender differences persist in the field of intellectual property, but there are signs of change, and new proposals are emerging for bringing greater balance, a US professor told a gathering at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week.
Remembering Ville Oksanen 04/12/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment From EDRi: Ville Oksanen, Vice President and a founding member of Electronic Frontier Finland (Effi), passed away on Sunday 23 November 2014 in Helsinki from a sudden illness. He was 37 years old.
EU Law Does Not Adequately Protect Performers, Study Finds 02/12/2014 by Elena Bourtchouladze for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Association of European Performers’ Organisations (AEPO-ARTIS) has released a study showing that EU legislation does not provide adequate protection to performers for the legal exploitation of their performances on the internet.
China Establishes Patent, Trademark And Copyright Integrated Office 28/11/2014 by Mingjiang Liu for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment China has set up an administrative office called the Shanghai City Pudong New Area Intellectual Property Office, integrating patent, trademark and copyright administration in the Pudong New Area in Shanghai city.
Interview With Alberto Bichi, Federation Of The European Sporting Goods Industry 26/11/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Alberto Bichi is secretary-general of the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI), based in Brussels. In an interview with Intellectual Property Watch’s Catherine Saez, he describes FESI’s mission, the views of the industry on the importance of intellectual property protection, and the growing issue of counterfeiting. He also talked about the industry’s concern over the current European Union customs regulation on goods in transit, which, according to him is negatively impacting the sector.
CEIPI Celebrates 5oth Anniversary With Major Conference 25/11/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The highly esteemed Center for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) in Strasbourg will mark its 50th anniversary this week with a conference featuring the top names in the European IP community. Below is the press release announcing the event: Conference CEIPI / 27-28 November 2014 Council of Europe, Strasbourg “Perspectives for the Intellectual Property System […]
Keyword Advertising: The Next Instalment In The Interflora v M&S Saga 25/11/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A few days after the first South African case to consider the issue of internet keyword advertising (Cochrane Steel Products (Pty) Ltd v M-Systems Group (Pty) Ltd & Another Case 39605/13, 29 October 2014), we had the next instalment – from the English Court of Appeal – in the dispute between Interflora and Marks & Spencer (Interflora Inc & Another v Marks & Spencer plc [2014] EWCA Civ 1403). Yes, it is, indeed, not just any dispute concerning keyword advertising. It appears that these two litigants have taken it upon themselves to definitively settle the law relating to keyword advertising, through the various judgments their dispute is yielding.