Is Peace Breaking Out In US Internet Radio Royalty Rates Battle? 15/07/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A Saturday agreement between US webcasters and SoundExchange, which collects digital royalties for artists and record labels, appears to have cooled some of the heat surrounding a 2 March decision by the US Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) setting new rates for Internet radio performances. With the new rates […]
WIPO Committee Extends, Adjusts Mandate On Traditional Knowledge, Folklore 13/07/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen After intense, last-minute discussions, a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) committee decided to renew its current mandate, with a slightly stronger emphasis on the direction of its future work. Meeting Chair I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, the Indonesian ambassador, told Intellectual Property Watch that “the old mandate still exists” but […]
Second Life Copyright Case: New World, Same Old Laws? 13/07/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Far from being a bizarre by-product of the online society created by Second Life, a recently launched US intellectual property (IP) infringement case against one of its “avatars” is very much grounded in the real world, legal experts say. However, the fact that the first-of-its-kind case involves a “virtual” product raises interesting legal and social questions, they say.
Parliament Delays WTO IP Health Deal Till EU Boosts Bilateral Drug Access 12/07/2007 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have voted to delay approval of a World Trade Organization agreement on patents for medicines, pending European Union governments giving greater political and financial support to poor countries seeking to boost the supply of affordable drugs. The 785-strong Parliament adopted a resolution […]
WIPO Traditional Knowledge Committee Informal Text Under Debate 12/07/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Below is the draft chair’s text under discussion at the 3-12 July World Intellectual Property Organization Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC). The committee has been in informal and “informal informal” (very small group of key delegations) meetings since late morning on 11 July. Discussion has been mainly […]
Se espera que el Plan de Acción de la OMPI sobre Patentes se renueve en 2008 11/07/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Por William New Luego de un paréntesis de un año, es probable que la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual renueve su plan de acción sobre cuestiones relativas a la política de patentes en 2008, después de que los miembros aprobaran de manera informal a fines de junio que la Secretaría de la OMPI lleve […]
Nokia Patent Case Against Qualcomm Reinvigorated 10/07/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch A patent infringement case brought by US technology firm Qualcomm against Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia at the US-based International Trade Commission (ITC) has been reinvigorated, with a hearing scheduled for 10 September.
Rising Friction On Whether To Move To WIPO Talks On Global TK Regime 09/07/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Halfway into a 10-day committee meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), friction was rising between members seeking to prod the slow-moving committee to begin consideration of an international instrument for the protection of traditional knowledge and those who continue to resist the acceleration. Developing countries calling for global […]
Belgian Court Orders ISPs To Install Filters To Stop P2P Piracy 09/07/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Belgian Internet service provider (ISP) Scarlet Extended Ltd. (formerly Tiscali) must filter infringing music downloads, the Brussels Court of First Instance ruled recently. The decision, the first of its kind in Europe, dismissed ISPs’ concerns about filtering and could lead to more such lawsuits or changes to European […]
German Parliament Reforms Copyright Law, Leaves Unfinished Work 06/07/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch After four years of evermore controversial debate the German Parliament late Thursday passed another reform of the German Copyright Law intended to make updates for the digital age. But some are already planning for the next round of changes to the law. Referred to as the “second basket” […]