Costa Rican President Tells ICANN Of Concern Over Internet Restrictions 12/03/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla opened the 43rd meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in San Jose with concern about “attempts to regulate the network among which we have the Stop Online Piracy Act seeking protection of intellectual property by restrictions on the addressing and the Protect intellectual Property Act seeking to extend some national jurisdiction towards the entire cyberspace.”
Trademark Filings Reach Record High; Industrial Designs Climb As Well 12/03/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment International trademark applications filed in 2011 reached a record high of 42,270 applications and a year-on-year growth of 6.5 per cent as businesses resolved to protect their brands despite last year’s shaky economic situation, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reported today.
US Government Scuttles Plan To Share Control Of The Internet 11/03/2012 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The US Commerce Department National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has cancelled its request for proposal for the management of the internet root zone file, a core piece of infrastructure for the global domain name system (DNS) that helps users to navigate the net.
US Congressman Posts ACTA For Open Debate 07/03/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A United States congressional representative has posted the text of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the internet and is calling for public comments out of the fear that the agreement will harm the open internet.
Cybersquatting Cases Reached New Record In 2011, WIPO Reports 06/03/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The number of cybersquatting cases filed with the arbitration body of the World Intellectual Property Organization reached a record high in 2011 with 2,764 cases filed by trademark owners, the UN agency reported today. WIPO also expressed alarm over the potential impact on cybersquatting of a move underway to add more generic domain names to the internet.
Internet Governance In 2012: Reaching New Heights Or Hitting A Wall 05/03/2012 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment There will be more than 50 important meetings talking internet in 2012, and activists and government alike have started calling for streamlining or better cooperation and focus. Yet what might make 2012 a very notable year with regard to the politics of the net is not these meetings, but the rising storms blowing over the net regarding day to day internet politics. The preliminary stop of the un-beloved SOPA/PIPA legislation in the United States and the unexpected hesitation of Europe to sign the controversial ACTA agreement gave a first taste of a hot year in internet governance.
European Parliament Hears Pitch For ACTA; But Did It Change Minds? 02/03/2012 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement consumed hours of European Parliament time this week as the European Commission sought to persuade lawmakers to approve it. But no matter how often EC officials, academics and lawyers said the treaty will not change EU law, scepticism still remains about its potential impact on digital freedoms and access to generic medicines in developing countries – including from the Parliament member who will author the legislative report.
UN Human Rights Council Rallies On Right To Internet Freedom Of Expression 29/02/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments With tension seeming to brim just beneath the surface, human rights officials from around the world came together today at the United Nations in Geneva to talk about ways to keep the internet open and nationally regulated at the same time. There were no decisions, and wide differences in views, but the first-of-its-kind panel might have laid the ground for future work on internet freedom and human rights. Intellectual property rights were mentioned several times.
ACTA Debated At WTO; Petitions And Letters Fly In Brussels 29/02/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments While action on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is occurring at the European Parliament in Brussels – including a new letter from Members of Parliament and 2.5 million petitioners in opposition – ACTA also was the subject of discussion at the World Trade Organization this week.
Australian Tobacco Law May Head To WTO Dispute As TRIPS Council Meets 28/02/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Trade Organization committee responsible for intellectual property issues today is meeting to address its usual list of topics with two recent additions of international interest. Countries negotiating the embattled Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and a country opposed to Australia’s public health law on tobacco packaging have added these to the agenda. Sources at the meeting say opponents of the tobacco law may be near to filing a dispute settlement case at the WTO.