EU General Court Clears Copyright Collecting Societies Of Antitrust Charges 12/04/2013 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment European copyright collecting societies are not engaged in a cartel but the European Commission was correct in finding that some of the provisions in their reciprocal representation should be barred, the EU General Court (GC) said in a 12 April ruling. The case, which pits the International Confederation of Societies and Authors (CISAC) and 24 of its members against the EC, could be appealed to the EU Court of Justice (ECJ). CISAC said the decision proves its contention that it was not engaged in a conspiracy to restrict competition, and that it has already done away with the complained-of clauses. Separately, the ECJ has been asked to tackle several key issues in a German matter involving standards-essential patents encumbered with a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing agreement.
Is ICANN Policymaking Around Its Bottom-Up Multistakeholder Process? 12/04/2013 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week, registry, registrar and user constituencies at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) complained about what they saw as deviations from the bottom-up multistakeholder process by late additions made to policies or by processes never being laid out to the community for review.
Debate In Beijing: ICANN As Online Content Regulator? 12/04/2013 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The publication by governments of additional safeguards for new top-level domains at this week‘s 46th meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) sparked warnings that the private net management body should avoid becoming a content regulator.
Community Right To Access Unpublished Works Trumps Moral Rights Of Heir, Argentine Court Says 11/04/2013 by Maximiliano Marzetti for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In a recent decision, Ediciones de la Flor SA c. Fontanarrosa Franco s. Acción Mere Declarativa (File No. 1420/08), the Court of First Instance in Civil and Commercial Matters No. 12 of Rosario, the second largest city in Argentina, ruled that the rights of the community to access unpublished works of a deceased author are superior to the moral rights of one of his heirs to oppose such publication.
Questions Follow Sharp Rise In Investor-State Disputes, Far-Reaching Cases 10/04/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment At an unprecedented rate, private companies are using “investor-state” provisions in trade agreements negotiated by governments to challenge foreign government regulations, often made on behalf of the public, a United Nations report has found. And the majority of target governments are developing or transition economies, most of the time being challenged by companies in developed countries.
Protection of Broadcasting Organisations, Another Treaty Brewing At WIPO 09/04/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The protection of broadcasting organisations will be discussed at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week as delegates are expected to work on a text that could become an international treaty.
Brand Owners Seek Their Own ICANN Constituency Group 09/04/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Brand owners that have applied with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for their brand’s top level domain (TLD) are seeking to create their own constituency group.
US Trade Office Calls For Comments On Transatlantic Trade Deal 04/04/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Another step toward launching negotiations on a European Union-United States trade agreement has been made as the Office of the US Trade Representative filed a request for comments on the deal and announced a forthcoming public hearing.
Linguistic Diversity Essential For Innovation, Development, Roundtable Speakers Say 04/04/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Multilingualism not only expands cultural horizons but also provides a tool for innovation, speakers gathered at an international roundtable yesterday said. However, language uniformity is a tempting road taken by many – often for cost-related reasons – while multilingualism should be promoted as a factor in development, they said.
WIPO Opens Fifth External Office, In Moscow 02/04/2013 by Daria Kim for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On 23 March, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree establishing a World Intellectual Property Organization office in Moscow.