EU High Court Parody Ruling Could Create Problems, IP Attorneys Say 08/09/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A 3 September European Court of Justice decision on the concept of “parody” is a controversial attempt to harmonise copyright law judicially where legislative efforts have failed, and raises more questions than it answers, intellectual property lawyers said. But the decision won’t affect implementation of the United Kingdom’s new copyright exception for parody, the UK Intellectual Property Office said.
UN Internet Governance Forum Sees New Challengers, From Top Down And Bottom Up 08/09/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments ISTANBUL – The Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace by John Perry Barlow in the end somehow reconnected the 9th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the new Internet Ungovernance Forum held in Istanbul last week. The nearly decade-old UN-led IGF initiative is facing profound new challenges as the global split widens over the future of the internet.
Flexible IPR Approach For European Joint Innovation Projects 07/09/2014 by Magda Voltolini for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Applicants to the European “Innovation Communities” initiative have until 10 September to submit joint innovation proposals in the areas of healthy aging and raw materials. The aim is to create new organisations compliant with the European grant programme Horizon 2020, which will operate under flexible intellectual property rights’ policies in collaborative innovation projects.
WHO: Fight Ebola Now, Solve Patent Issues Later 06/09/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The world and the global health community have been taken by surprise by the worst outbreak of Ebola so far. The World Health Organization today (5 September) said a vaccine could be available in November 2014 if proven safe. So far, according to the WHO, intellectual property issues have not acted as a barrier to accessing potential treatments and vaccines, and the focus for now is on emergency measures to find health solutions.
India’s IP Policy On Stage As Modi Heads To US 05/09/2014 by Patralekha Chatterjee for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Will India’s new government bring in radical changes in the country’s intellectual property rights regime? That question has generated enormous buzz but no definitive answer ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power with a decisive mandate in May this year. [Update: the Indian government has announced that it has begun a process for a comprehensive IPR policy over the next six months, including a government think tank. See report here. The government website is here.]
Review Of WIPO Programmes, Staff: Lisbon Agreement, Global Challenges, Geographic Diversity 04/09/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee is meeting this week to scrutinise the UN agency’s inner workings. At the meeting, the director general’s report on programme performance gave member countries the occasion to comment on WIPO’s various programmes. They also reviewed the annual human resources report. [Note: article corrected]
IP-Watch Celebrates 10 Years With An Update! 04/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment At Intellectual Property Watch, www.ip-watch.org, we’re celebrating our 10th anniversary by innovating to bring you the best independent coverage of international intellectual property policy possible. We are excited to announce our new website design, aimed at making our content easier to read, navigate and organize, with a simpler layout, clear text, more images, and new features like the From the Regions section.
WHO Health Specialists Meeting To Evaluate Potential Ebola Therapies and Vaccines 03/09/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization this week is holding a consultation on potential Ebola therapies and vaccines.
WIPO Members Work To Strengthen Oversight Of UN Agency 03/09/2014 by William New and Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments World Intellectual Property Organization member governments are hard at work this week trying to improve auditing and oversight of the UN agency, coming after a successful year financially but a year of questions about governance and transparency. Proposed changes include a number of measures on conflicts of interest and investigations even at the highest levels of the organization.
WTO: Antigua Has New Idea For Gambling Case; Cuba Rails Against US Trademark 01/09/2014 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments In a longstanding World Trade Organization dispute about measures affecting the cross-border supply of gambling and betting services, Antigua and Barbuda has made a new proposal to the United States on a way to solve the issue of the US not complying with a WTO ruling it lost. And in a separate matter at the same WTO meeting last week, Cuba referred to the US failure to change a law barring a rum trademark in the context of railing against US policy of “economic suffocation” of the island nation.