WIPO Committee Advances Decisions On Programme, Budget, Oversight 15/09/2014 by William New and Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The powerful World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee in its recent meeting worked through a tough agenda of core decisions about the UN organisation’s functioning and future. The committee reached decisions on key issues related to strengthened oversight, the 2014-2015 programme, and financial issues, but couldn’t break through on issues like new WIPO field offices, streamlining committee meetings, accounting for development expenditures, or funding indigenous representatives to participate in WIPO negotiations.
UN Human Rights Council Hears Discussion On Right To Privacy In Digital Age 12/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The UN Human Rights Council today held a panel discussion in Geneva on the right to privacy in the digital age, featuring several experts. The panel was part of a larger effort by the Council to address the increasingly urgent issue.
Libraries May Be Permitted To Digitise Books Without Copyright Owner’s Consent, EU High Court Rules 11/09/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments European Union governments may allow libraries to digitise books in their collection without rights owners’ consent in order to make them available at electronic reading posts, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said on 11 September. If library users want to print works out on paper or store them on a USB stick, however, rights holders must be fairly compensated.
Old (former IPR-Thieving) Napster v New (IPR-Thieving) Napster.fm? 11/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Intellectual Property Organization this week released the decision in an internet domain name dispute in which the current incarnation of the once-wildly successful Napster music-sharing website successfully forced a website called napster.fm to shut down over intellectual property rights violations. Is Napster still cool?
New European Commissioners Announced Under Changed Structure 10/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The structure of new European Commissioners and top officials was announced today, showing changes to the handling on intellectual property issues and many others.
US Tech Groups Tell Senate: Curb US Surveillance To Restore Trust, Markets 10/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Leading US trade associations representing the high-technology industry yesterday issued a joint letter urging the Senate to pass reforms to US surveillance programmes. The effort comes after revelations about the US surveillance have harmed overseas markets for US technologies, they said.
New US Ambassador Hamamoto Highlights Internet Governance, Ebola, IP 08/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Newly arrived United States Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Pamela Hamamoto last week met with journalists for the first time by highlighting internet governance and Ebola, with a mention of intellectual property rights, among other issues.
EU High Court Parody Ruling Could Create Problems, IP Attorneys Say 08/09/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A 3 September European Court of Justice decision on the concept of “parody” is a controversial attempt to harmonise copyright law judicially where legislative efforts have failed, and raises more questions than it answers, intellectual property lawyers said. But the decision won’t affect implementation of the United Kingdom’s new copyright exception for parody, the UK Intellectual Property Office said.
UN Internet Governance Forum Sees New Challengers, From Top Down And Bottom Up 08/09/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments ISTANBUL – The Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace by John Perry Barlow in the end somehow reconnected the 9th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the new Internet Ungovernance Forum held in Istanbul last week. The nearly decade-old UN-led IGF initiative is facing profound new challenges as the global split widens over the future of the internet.
India’s IP Policy On Stage As Modi Heads To US 05/09/2014 by Patralekha Chatterjee for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Will India’s new government bring in radical changes in the country’s intellectual property rights regime? That question has generated enormous buzz but no definitive answer ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power with a decisive mandate in May this year. [Update: the Indian government has announced that it has begun a process for a comprehensive IPR policy over the next six months, including a government think tank. See report here. The government website is here.]