India: Influential Voices Back “IP-unencumbered” Software; Copyright Debate Heats Up 05/09/2006 by Frederick Noronha for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Frederick Noronha for Intellectual Property Watch NEW DELHI – For a judge, Yatindra Singh of India’s Allahabad high court is surprisingly outspoken. For a member of the bench, he is also amazingly tech-savvy. And as he talks technology, or explains to an Indian businessman how free software, unencumbered by intellectual property, can get support […]
Swedish “Pirates’” Call for IP Reform Spurs Global Interest 04/09/2006 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A Swedish political movement seeking drastic changes to intellectual property law is resonating internationally, according to a spokesman for the group called the Pirate Party. The party, whose platform calls for fair and balanced copyright, the abolition of patents and increased individual privacy protection, last month put its […]
UK Music Groups Seek Copyright Licences and Levies for Digital Content 13/07/2006 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch The United Kingdom independent music sector wants content distributors to pay creators for transmitting their works over the Internet, mobile phones and other devices. At a 12 July London roundtable headed by the Association of Independent Music (AIM), indie labels, composers, songwriters, musicians, managers, publishers and collecting societies […]
Centre Highlights Brazil’s Leadership In IP, Free/Open Source Issues 22/05/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Debates over the intellectual property system, access to knowledge, and free and open source software are raging worldwide, but perhaps nowhere so much as in Brazil. And in that country, one forum for debate and analysis that stands out is the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) Law School in Rio de Janeiro. Located at the FGV […]
France Forges Ahead With Copyright Law 16/05/2006 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch The French Senate on 10 May approved legislation aimed at aligning the country’s intellectual property law with the European Union Copyright Directive. The Senate package differs in several key respects from the one adopted in March by the National Assembly but is equally controversial, stakeholders said. The Senate-passed […]
WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Talks Off To Slow Start As Opponents Grow 02/05/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On the second day of a weeklong meeting at World Intellectual Property Organization on copyright issues, there is little indication so far whether member governments will recommend the full negotiation of a treaty boosting the protection of broadcasts, according to participants. At stake in the 1-5 May meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyrights and […]
Universities See “Disastrous Effects” For Education, Science In German Copyright Reform 30/03/2006 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch A German scientist who would like to read an online book owned by another department of his university soon may have to travel to the department and read it on site instead if a proposed copyright law is passed. “I will not be able to just use our […]
Sign Of The (Digital) Times: France’s Struggle With A New Copyright Law 18/03/2006 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Editor’s Note: The National Assembly adopted the legislation on 21 March by a vote of 286 in favour and 193 against. It will now go to the Senate in May, according to reports. In the global search to find a balance between copyright protection and consumer rights in […]
Opposition Heavy To US Environmental Health Agency Plan To Privatise Open Access Journal 28/02/2006 by Steve Gibb for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Steve Gibb for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – The director of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is facing overwhelming opposition to a plan to privatise an open-access environmental science journal NIEHS publishes, according to public comments on the plan. NIEHS last September proposed privatizing Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), www.ehponline.org, […]
Experts Discuss Balance Between Digital Content Access, Protection 24/02/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The impact of copyrights on access to everything from digital books in libraries to online music was discussed at a 21 February side event of a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting on a development agenda. One of the main issues was whether copyrights are good or bad for the public domain and how a […]