Copyright System Must “Adapt Or Perish,” WIPO Director Says 15/03/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments The traditional copyright system’s balance for encouraging yet controlling access to copyrighted works in order to extract value for them has met with a destructive force in the internet that it cannot overcome without changing itself, the head of the World Intellectual Property Organization said recently in a landmark speech. And he proposed several elements for the way forward.
Caribbean IP: Establishing An Arbitral Tribunal For The Region 11/03/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The use of arbitration across the Caribbean has been largely within the context of trade union disputes and is still something of a novelty in resolving commercial and private disputes in the region, Abiola Inniss writes.
World Blind Union Won’t Be Sidetracked In Quest For Treaty On Reading Access 10/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments In a significant development for ongoing copyright negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Blind Union has distanced itself from initiatives it sees as distractions from a primary goal at the international level: To get agreement on a treaty promoting better access to reading material for visually impaired readers.
Media Piracy In Emerging Economies Report Stirs Debate 09/03/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A large (440-page) new report on media piracy in emerging economies is stirring significant debate in internet copyright and open access circles, as it purports to turn rights owner assertions and the basis for developed country IP policy on their heads.
Governments, ICANN Still Deep In Negotiations Over New Internet Domains 07/03/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment BRUSSELS – In an arm-wrestling exercise, governments and the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) last week tried to reach common ground on intellectual property rights protection and governments’ ability to intervene with applications for new top-level domains that they see as “sensitive” or “vulnerable” like .nazi, .gay or .bank.
In Brazil And The IP World, It’s Tropicalization Time! 04/03/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Benny Spiewak writes: There used to be a time when Brazil meant almost exclusively Carnival, Samba and Soccer. Well, those days are over and there is an undeniable message that will echo through the knowledge-based, creative, innovative world: Wake-Up, World, It’s Tropicalization Time!
Stronger IP Rights In EU-Korea FTA: Precedent For Future FTAs? 20/02/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 9 Comments A European Parliament majority this week approved a free trade agreement with Korea with strong provisions on intellectual property rights protection, according to Robert Stury, rapporteur of the lead EP Committee on the dossier.
WIPO Could Enter Growing Fray Over Internet Domain Takedowns 17/02/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments An influential private sector trademark defender is proposing to the World Intellectual Property Organization to undertake creation of an international “notice and takedown” system for alleged online trademark infringers. And he told Intellectual Property Watch that this will be followed in a few months by a separate proposal for a “notice-and-trackdown” article requiring internet service providers to divulge information about online counterfeiters so they can be gone after.
New White House IP Advisory Committees Elevate IP Enforcement To Highest Level 10/02/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments US President Barack Obama this week used an executive order to create two government advisory committees on intellectual property rights enforcement. The committees put IP rights at the highest interagency level possible and have the stated aim of promoting innovation through the protection of such rights.
Veto Power For Governments Against Any Internet Domain Name? 08/02/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The United States Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is proposing possible veto power for governments against applications for new top-level domains. NTIA is asking for a change to domain name system management that would allow governments to object to any proposed internet address for any reason, which has not surprisingly stirred debate among some observers, including in Europe.