Copyright And The Public Interest: Not Necessarily Competing Forces 07/07/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Copyright protection advances the public interest, and good public policy must properly consider “the role of intellectual property as a tool for economic emancipation, a catalyst for cultural diversity, and a powerful protector of individual dignity and fundamental human rights,” argues RIAA’s Neil Turkewitz.
South Africa Says WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Would Address Piracy As African Production Grows 07/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As the broadcasting sector is growing in developing countries, concern over piracy of the signal of their broadcasts is rising, according to delegates from South Africa. Delegates attending last week’s World Intellectual Property Organisation copyright committee meeting sat down with Intellectual Property Watch and argued the importance of a potential WIPO treaty protecting broadcasting organisations’ rights.
No Directions For WIPO Copyright Committee, Despite Positive Mood 06/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Despite what was described as good momentum by World Intellectual Property Organization delegates trying to find ways to protect broadcasting organisations against piracy and providing copyright exceptions and limitations for the benefit of libraries, archives, education and research, no recommendation to the upcoming annual WIPO General Assembly could be agreed last week.
Broadcasting Treaty Discussions Open Way To New Convergence On Broad Principles 03/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments World Intellectual Property Organization delegates this week have underlined the positive mood which governed the discussions on a potential treaty protecting broadcasting organisations. The topic has been on the agenda of WIPO’s committee on copyright for some 17 years. This week some convergence emerged notably on what the treaty should protect.
Copyright Exceptions And Limitations: Efforts By Chair To Break Status Quo Gather Support 02/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Yesterday, the chair of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on copyright issued a non-official paper to delegates in an effort to break what appeared at the beginning of the session as status quo as delegations camped on their previous positions.
At WIPO, Performers Make Case For More Help, Visual Artists Seek Resale Right 02/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Ani Mamikon for Intellectual Property Watch and Rishi Dhir for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment While the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on copyright was discussing the protection of broadcasting organisations this week, performers lobbied for fair remuneration in the digital age. Visual artists, for their part, campaigned member states for a new treaty to be considered to protect their resale rights. Image Credits: Rishi Dhir
Report: New Technologies For Visually And Hearing Impaired People Lack Commercialisation 01/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Ani Mamikon for Intellectual Property Watch and Rishi Dhir for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A World Intellectual Property Organization patent landscaping report launched this week shows that although a large number of patents have been granted on technologies aimed to help visually and hearing impaired persons, most of them have not been commercialised yet.
Poland To Modify Authors’ Rights Violations Regulation After Constitutional Court Ruling 30/06/2015 by Jaroslaw Adamowski for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment WARSAW – Poland’s Constitutional Court has released a ruling in which it states that the country’s regulation obliging any entity violating other entity’s author’s rights to pay the threefold amount of due payment is excessive, and, as a result, should be amended. The latest ruling will oblige the Polish Parliament to modify the authors’ rights bill in line with the Constitutional Court decision, and decrease the amount of the due compensation.
Developing Country Broadcasters Ask For International Signal Protection At WIPO 30/06/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization committee on copyright opened this week with an information panel that underlined that broadcasters in developing countries face more or less the same issues than their counterparts in developed countries. Piracy remains a shared issue. This week, the committee is expected to breach the gap on differences on a potential treaty to protect broadcasting organisations.
WIPO: Databases To Protect GRs, TK, Useful But Some Controversy 29/06/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In the quest to find solutions to protect traditional knowledge and genetic resources from misappropriation, some countries have resorted to private databases to be used by patent examiners. Indigenous peoples are wary of the process primarily because they are not sure their knowledge will remain safe in those databases. Speakers at a World Intellectual Property Organization this week discussed the pros and cons of such defensive protection.