WIPO Delegates Progressing On Once-Moribund Broadcasting Treaty 16/04/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A meeting meant to advance discussions on a treaty to protect the rights of broadcasting organisations held last week at the World Intellectual Property Organization yielded substantive results, according to the meeting chair. However, civil society remains cautious about potential side effects of such an instrument, while countries appear to have divergent views on the practicalities of the treaty.
The Novartis Decision: A Tale Of Developing Countries, IP, And The Role Of The Judiciary 15/04/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Ahmed Abdel Latif says of the Novartis case: The ruling is also a revealing tale about the changing role of developing countries in the global intellectual property landscape and the growing influence of the judiciary in these countries in the implementation of international intellectual property rules.
Race For WTO Director General Down To Five Candidates 12/04/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The number of candidates seeking to be the next director general of the World Trade Organization has dropped from nine down to five.
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.
New SMS Tool To Report Non-Tariff Trade Barriers At African Borders 12/04/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Small traders and businesses facing barriers to moving goods across African borders now can send a mobile phone text message alert that could help resolve the problems more quickly.
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.
Reports: Obama’s Proposed 2014 Budget Favours Patent Office, R&D, Generic Drugs 11/04/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment US President Barack Obama yesterday released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2014, and according to reports it would give the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) control over its revenues, and would be mixed for the biopharmaceutical industry while taking several steps to boost generic medicines.
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.