New Security System Is Internet’s “Biggest Change In History” 08/10/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Starting on 1 December, the central root zone of the internet domain name system (DNS) will be given digital signatures based on the protocol DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) in an effort to make the internet more secure. Once signed with DNSSEC, domains can be automatically authenticated, thereby making middle-man attacks to lure users away obvious […]
Former USTR Official Espinel Nominated US IP “Czar” 26/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A variety of industry and non-governmental groups today applauded the Obama administration’s announcement that Victoria A. Espinel would be nominated to be the first White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator. Espinel is a former assistant US Trade Representative for intellectual property and innovation who led US trade negotiations on IP. In 2007, after stepping down […]
USPTO-African Regional IP Organization Agreement 25/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The US Patent and Trademark Office today announced a bilateral agreement with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the mainly English-speaking regional IP group in Africa. The agreement is focused on enforcement and protection, along with ease of filing for foreign and African patent applicants, according to a USPTO release. USPTO Director David Kappos […]
Request For Google Book Settlement Hearing Adjournment 23/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The final fairness hearing of a class action lawsuit against Google related to its book-scanning project will likely be adjourned at the request of the plaintiffs, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. A memorandum in support of the motion to adjourn says that as of 8 September about 400 objections to the […]
IP Protection Commitment In US Innovation Strategy 22/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment America’s “economic growth has rested for too long on an unstable foundation,” and it is now necessary to “redouble our efforts to give our world-leading innovators every chance to succeed,” reads the text of a White House innovation strategy that President Obama presented yesterday at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. The strategy […]
France: Domain-Name Registrars Exempt From Trademark Liability 17/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A French court recently decided to exclude domain name registrars from liability for trademark infringing domain names registered by their customers in a case involving 13 large French companies against Luxembourg domain name registrar EuroDNS. The Third Chamber of the “Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris” by the judgment on 26 August (in French) confirmed […]
Last Cheaper AIDS Medicines For Rwanda Under WTO 17/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The 18th of September will mark the last shipment of lower-cost HIV/AIDS medicines from Canada to Rwanda under a World Trade Organization-sanctioned arrangement. The first shipment of the antiretroviral combination drug manufactured by Canadian pharmaceutical company Apotex was sent in September 2008, the second one had to take place in September 2009. The shipments were […]
France’s HADOPI 2 Passes 15/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment [Correction: Before the bill can become law, the National Assembly and Senate must combine their passed bills, according to sources] French legislators today approved, by a vote 285 to 225, a pioneering bill (in French) allowing authorities to cut off internet access and impose fines on those found to have downloaded copyrighted material without authorisation. […]
Survey: US 19th In Global IP Protection 13/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments The United States, often seen as toughest on other nations for their perceived failure to protect US intellectual property rights, was itself 19th [note: corrected from earlier version] in the world in such protection last year, according to the latest World Economic Forum survey on competitiveness. Some of those scoring higher have been criticised in […]
20,000 March In Berlin As Protests Erupt Against European Surveillance 12/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Over twenty thousand people today marched through the German capital of Berlin protesting against the rise of surveillance legislation in their country and the European Union in recent years. Under the motto “freedom not fear,” 167 organisations, including major trade unions, associations of lawyers, judges, journalists, doctors and civil rights activists, called on the German […]