EU Split Arises Over Thai Effort To Obtain Cheaper Patented Drugs 05/09/2007 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch A dispute has erupted between two of the European Union’s most powerful institutions over Thailand’s decision to circumvent pharmaceutical patents in order to boost its supply of cheap medicines. Peter Mandelson, who holds the trade portfolio in the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, recently wrote to several […]
US Internet Radio Royalty Deals Announced; Webcasters Seek Lower Rates 04/09/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Despite recently trumpeted deals with SoundExchange, which collects fees for record labels and artists, large and small US webcasters say royalty rates for Internet music performances are still too high and should be lowered by the US Congress. The fee caps are the latest development in the dispute […]
Acting To Protect Freedom of Expression At ICANN 30/08/2007 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dan Krimm The continuing saga at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) about policy for approving new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) is entering what may be its final stages this summer. There has been a stream of controversy surrounding the “.xxx” gTLD proposal that was rejected by the ICANN Board of […]
Concern Arises Over Proposed Pan-African IP Organisation 30/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen A proposal to set up a Pan-African Intellectual Property Organisation (PAIPO) though still in its infancy already faces opposition and concern, including from those who fear that Africa is signing up to stricter IP protection levels than the continent is ready for, sources say. In addition, there is anxiety that […]
Le système international des brevets sous pression ; prémices d’un plan d’action à l’OMPI 27/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Par Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Au vu de l’augmentation considérable du nombre de nouveaux usagers du système des brevets en Asie du Nord-Est, associée à une croissance continue parmi les usagers établis, l’Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI) estime qu’il est nécessaire de repenser et de rationaliser le système des brevets, comme l’on déclaré […]
El sistema internacional de patentes sometido a presiones. Surge una nueva agenda política en la OMPI 23/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Por Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Con el importante aumento del número de usuarios del sistema de patentes en Asia nororiental, al que se suma un crecimiento constante de los usuarios establecidos, ha surgido la necesidad de repensar y racionalizar el sistema de patentes, sostuvo la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI) en una conferencia […]
August/September Edition of IP-Watch Monthly Reporter Now Available 21/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Intellectual Property Watch Monthly Reporter features the most important news on international IP policymaking, the latest on who is coming and going in the IP community at the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Geneva missions, regional and national IP offices, industry and non-governmental organisations, plus News Briefs on reports and events that do not […]
WHO Holds Online Hearing On Innovation, IP Project 17/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The World Health Organization is inviting participation in a six-week online public hearing from anyone interested in commenting on an ongoing process on how to ensure treatments for neglected diseases mainly found in developing countries. “WHO again encourages individuals, civil society groups, government institutions, academic and research institutions, the private […]
Germany: Fight Escalates Over Copyright Fee For Computers 17/08/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The fight between German collecting rights societies and hardware companies is escalating. This week the CEO of the society for musical performing and mechanical reproduction rights, Harald Heker, heavily criticised the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM), claiming it was denying authors and artists […]
IP, Content Delivery Key To Telecom-Broadcasting Convergence 17/08/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New with Pravir Palayathan Content delivery and telecommunications are becoming rapidly intertwined in a “converging” world, bringing new opportunities but also likely leading to a dogfight among the high number of networks platforms for content delivery currently available, according to experts. “Not every horse can win the race at the same time, and there is a lesson there for ‘convergence’,” David Wood, head of new media at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), told Intellectual Property Watch. “Every day a new means of providing media to the public seems to come out of the woodwork, all convinced they will be popular, valuable, and make a lot of money. But it can’t happen. There will be winners and losers.” The EBU hosted a 21-22 June “meeting of high-level experts” jointly with the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU). “Our hope in organising the conference jointly with the EBU and ITU was to bring this into focus; and, if we accept that not everything can be successful, to see through to which would be more likely to succeed,” said Wood.