US Bill On Radio Music Royalties Gets Key Backing 29/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The US Performance Rights Act got support from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California) and Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D, Illinois) last week. The Performance Rights Act seeks to equalise the rights to compensation between performers of sound recordings and terrestrial broadcasters, according to the Act summary. Musicians, artists and right holders would […]
US Announces 25 New IP Enforcement Positions 27/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Fifteen new Assistant US Attorneys and 20 new Special Agents at the US Federal Bureau of Investigation dedicated to combatting “domestic and international IP crimes” were announced yesterday. The new attorneys are a part of the US Justice Departments Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property programme. The FBI agents will be located with “intellectual property squads” […]
Brazil, US Signed Memorandum On Cotton Dispute 23/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments On 20 April, Brazil and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishing a fund that “will transfer resources to benefit the cotton sector in Brazil,” according to a Brazilian government press release. The MOU is “part of the path forward for the cotton dispute that the United States and Brazil reached earlier […]
Senators Seek US Investigation Of China’s IP Infringement 22/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment United States Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (Democrat, Montana) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa) this week requested a US government investigation of the effect of China’s IP rights infringement on American jobs. They allege China’s infringement is estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of American jobs per year and sent a letter […]
Obama Administration Tells Senate It Supports Patent Reform Changes 21/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The Obama administration supports changes to the United States patent reform bill, said US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke in a letter sent late yesterday to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The amendments in question would allow the US Patent and Trademark Office to adjust fees to cover the actual costs of patent processing […]
US Govt Economic Report: Patent Reform Will Boost Jobs 21/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Patent reform in America will spur high-paying job creation and economic growth, claims a new paper by senior economic officials at the US Department of Commerce and the US Patent and Trademark Office. Issued as the US Congress weighs patent legislation, the report found reform could reduce patent pendency by 40 percent. This is important, […]
Official ACTA Text Released 21/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A prepared-for-the-public version of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement under negotiation by leading economies has now been released online. The release comes after increased public and civil society outcry over a non-transparent negotiating process and fears that the treaty would lead to the introduction of stricter intellectual property enforcement laws in signatory countries. The text can […]
Negotiators: ACTA Text To Be Public This Week 19/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch ACTA will be public. During the eighth round of negotiations for an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Wellington, New Zealand that ended Friday, the negotiating countries decided to give in to persistent calls for greater transparency.
Kroes: Future Internet Needs Partnerships, Standards 14/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Neelie Kroes, European Commission vice president and commissioner for the Digital Agenda spoke today about the future of the internet. In Valencia, Spain for a conference, she emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships, characterised innovation as “the only way to remain a global player,” and said small and medium-sized enterprises are key job generators and […]
New US Government Report On Counterfeit, Piracy 13/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The US Government Accountability Office, an agency that works as a “congressional watchdog” investigating how taxpayer money is spent, has released a new report on intellectual property. The report [pdf] reviews the economic effects of counterfeiting and piracy. It finds negative effects on consumers and industry – such as lost brand value and incentives to […]