Europe Takes IP Enforcement Build-up To Intergovernmental Channels 30/07/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New Advanced European countries are increasingly looking for channels to school their neighbours and worldwide free-trade agreement partners on the enforcement of western-style intellectual property rights. And in order to get them to bite, officials are promoting the benefits to countries themselves of creating and protecting their own ideas. Now an effort is […]
IPO Posts Comparison of US House, Senate Patent Reform Bills 27/07/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The Intellectual Property Owners’ Association, a Washington, DC industry association, has posted on its website a side-by-side comparison of the two bills to reform US patent law currently advancing in the US Congress. Both bills moved at the committee level last week but now face uncertainty. Both chambers are working furiously toward […]
Film Company Wins thesimpsonsmovie.com From Cybersquatter. Doh! 26/07/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch As the “Simpsons Movie” rolls out on silver screens across the United States and Europe, word comes that its maker, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, has won the rights to the domain name “thesimpsonsmovie.com” from a stand-up comedian who failed to strike the international arbitrator’s sense of humour. […]
US Patent Reform Advances But Outcome, Global Impact Uncertain 25/07/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Legislation for sweeping reform of the US patent system emerged from House and Senate committees last week. Among other changes, the bills would more closely align the US scheme with international patent practice, create an additional opportunity to challenge the validity of questionable patents, and limit damages in some infringement lawsuits. But the bills’ future is unpredictable, observers say.
Observers Watchful Of US Trade Impact On Medicines Access 24/07/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The United States has begun incorporating a revised intellectual property and health policy into its bilateral trade deals. But although the overall softer approach towards its partners may improve access to medicines, the debate on the impact of the US free trade agreements on public health in developing countries is […]
Rwanda Pioneers Use Of WTO Patent Flexibility For HIV/AIDS Medicine 20/07/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Years after it was permitted under international trade law, the first country has notified the World Trade Organization that it will use a flexibility allowing it to address public health needs by importing a patented medicine produced without authorisation of the patent holder. Rwanda this week told the WTO it […]
US Ruling Creates Uncertainty For Famous Foreign Trademarks 20/07/2007 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Steve Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch In a ruling that surprised many trademark experts in the United States, one of the country’s most respected appellate courts recently cut back on the protection given to famous foreign trademarks. If such marks are well known in the US but are not registered or used in the country, they are unprotected by federal law, according to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
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.