Philippines Heads Toward Expanded Copyright Law 13/11/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Philippine Senate, the upper house of the country’s bicameral congress, has approved a bill that seeks to put teeth into its copyright law as the island nation fights a bad reputation as one of the Asian states with high piracy rates. But it also seeks to protect fair use of copyrighted material.
Southeast Asian States Move To Harmonise Their E-Commerce Laws 12/11/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Cebu City, Philippines – The 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met over the weekend to advance the groundwork for what is perceived as a challenging but progressing task of harmonising their e-commerce laws, ahead of the region’s nearing deadline of creating an integrated economy by 2015.
Full Agenda For WIPO Committee On Development This Week 11/11/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment After a difficult session last May, the World Intellectual Property Organization committee examining the development dimension of WIPO activities will reconvene next week with a substantive agenda. In particular, delegates will assess progress of ongoing projects, consider reports on finished projects, and consider the committee’s future work. They also will consider a conference on IP and development.
UN Joint Inspection Unit Launches New Website 09/11/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The only independent external oversight body of the United Nations has launched a new website, making it easier to access its reports dating back to 1968, and other information.
Multi-Stakeholder Discussions á la Internet Governance Forum For WIPO? 08/11/2012 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Baku, Azerbaijan – The need to bring all stakeholders together to discuss the future of copyright appears to have gotten a push from this year’s UN-led Internet Governance Forum.
Internet Governance Forum 2012 Opens In Baku 07/11/2012 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Baku, Azerbaijan – Over 100 workshops related to policies and technologies of the internet – including side events, open fora by United Nations and internet governance organisations, and gatherings of the “dynamic coalitions” – are on the agenda of the 7th UN Internet Governance Forum, which started Tuesday in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Could US Election Result Reverse Ever-Stronger Copyright Protection? 07/11/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments US voters returned President Obama for four more years, and kept his party’s dominance of the US Senate as well as the opposition party’s dominance of the House of Representatives. While the Obama administration has generally allied itself with copyright interests, some see the possibility of a reversal in the US Congress of a trend toward stronger copyright protection.
Film Industry Praises Obama’s “Understanding” Of IP’s Importance 07/11/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) last night quickly congratulated US President Barack Obama on his re-election for four more years, praising his “understanding” of the importance of intellectual property to the US economy. Observers have seen the Obama administration as strongly supportive of the copyright industry, and said Obama received significant campaign financial support from Hollywood while possibly losing ground with the technology industry. And some even see the possibility of a reverse in the US Congress of a trend toward stronger copyright protection.
Pirate Party Rep Tells UN Meeting: “F*** You, This Is My Culture!” 07/11/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments Baku, Azerbaijan – Amelia Andersdotter, member of the European Parliament for the Swedish Pirate Party, in no polite words today (6 November) told the participants of the 7th Internet Governance Forum in Baku what she thought about the lack of progress in adapting copyright to the digital age.
Sizing Up The “Ill-Conceived” PAIPO Draft Statute 06/11/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The text of the Draft Statute of the proposed Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization does not support a clear basis for criticism, but the lack of a clear need to put resources toward a centralised African registration system, and the lack of transparency about the process signal that the idea is “ill-conceived,” writes South African lawyer Sadulla Karjiker.