Caterpillars And Butterflies: Movements Debate Meaning Of ‘Free’ Culture 20/09/2006 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch BERLIN – A debate is ongoing between “open source” (OS) software developers and devotees to Creative Commons licenses over the right way to promote free culture. Creative Commons licenses, under which some rights are reserved, are too restrictive for some in the OS community. “When I look at […]
A Wikipedia Architect Plans A “Better” Open Source Online Encyclopedia 19/09/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New BERLIN – Wikipedia, the popular community-driven online encyclopedia, is doomed to “amateurism” and should be complemented by a more serious effort, says one of the project’s creators who announced plans to launch an alternative. Larry Sanger, chief organiser of Wikipedia in its first year, unveiled his plan at last week’s fourth annual […]
WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Advances Past Disagreements 14/09/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New A proposal to negotiate a treaty to expand the rights of broadcasters and cablecasters cleared a key committee of the World Intellectual Property Organization on 13 September despite outstanding disagreements among committee members. “The draft basic proposal [the document upon which talks will proceed] is full of contradictions,” Surinder Kumar Arora, India’s […]
Critical Talks Ahead For WIPO Broadcasters’ Treaty 09/09/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New A proposed treaty to strengthen rights for broadcasters faces a critical test next week at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Government negotiators are under pressure to finish preliminary work on a draft treaty before the 25 September annual WIPO assembly, as increasing numbers of private sector stakeholders are digging in their heels […]
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 […]
Kenya Fights To Retain IP Flexibilities For Medicines Imports 09/08/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen A second attempt in Kenya to restrict intellectual property flexibilities meant to safeguard access to medicines has most likely been defeated, largely due to opposition from an interagency task force and civil society groups, local sources said. But although key politicians have indicated that proposed changes to Kenya’s intellectual property […]
Brazil Publishes Biodiversity Generic Name List 04/08/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Brazil has published a list of more than 5,000 generic terms from the Portuguese language related to Brazilian plant biological diversity to raise awareness and prevent further misuse of trademarks that hinder Brazilian exports. The Brazilian government has been, and is, involved in a number of trademark disputes with companies that, for example, take a […]
WTO Doha Round Suspended Indefinitely, IP Issues May Be Kept On Table 24/07/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment After some five years of negotiations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) free-trade talks were halted today as ministers of key countries left the negotiating table. But key intellectual property issues will be kept on the table for whenever they return, sources said. Ministers of six key members – Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan […]
G8 Outcome Has IP Implications For Enforcement, Trade and Health 19/07/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week’s Group of Eight (G8) meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia highlighted piracy and counterfeiting as one area in which G8 is determined to step up its effort, but it also made commitments to improve access to medicines for infectious diseases and to fulfil the development objective of the current world trade talks. Separately, German […]