“Less Difficult” First WIPO Development Committee Meeting Begins 03/03/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The “historic” first day of the new World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) opened with a focus on procedure, a focus likely to carry through the whole first week, according to participants. “The goal [of this week’s meeting] is to progress on the first and most important […]
German High Court Defines New “IT Basic Law” Curbing Online Searches 01/03/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch MUNICH – Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court this week decided that infiltration of personal computers, laptops or other information technology devices of possible suspects by law enforcement violates the basic right of “confidentiality and integrity of IT systems.” In defining confidentiality and integrity of IT systems, the German judges […]
Positive Outcome For WIPO Committee On TK, Folklore, Genetic Resources 29/02/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By William New The World Intellectual Property Organization committee on traditional knowledge and other issues concluded a weeklong meeting with a compromise way forward that a range of government officials said was a positive outcome that maintains committee progress. “The meeting was a good one in the sense that we came forward with new ideas” […]
Members Seek Ways To Move Policy In WIPO Traditional Knowledge Committee 29/02/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New Developing countries this week are seeking ways to generate progress in a World Intellectual Property Organization committee on traditional cultural expressions and other issues of importance to developing countries. But developed countries and to some extent the WIPO secretariat appear to be reluctant to allow the committee, which is at the start […]
World Customs Organization Recommends Far-Reaching New Rules On IP 28/02/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – The World Customs Organisation is recommending far-reaching new rules on intellectual property rights that some say may extend beyond the organisation’s mandate. Staff at the WCO’s Brussels headquarters are preparing what they describe as voluntary ‘model legislation’ to provide guidance on how IP rights can be […]
Standards Body Weighs Microsoft’s Competing Format For Document Sharing 27/02/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Kaitlin Mara Public and private-sector representatives from thirty-seven nations are in Geneva this week for a five-day closed-door meeting to try to resolve editing suggestions on a recently proposed document format that if accepted as a standard could impact file-sharing worldwide. At issue is what has become a hotly contested fight over a proposed […]
European Commission Seeks Copyright Extension, New Levy Debate 14/02/2008 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch In a flurry of intellectual property-related activity Thursday, the European Commission proposed extending copyright protection for performers from 50 to 95 years, resurrected debate on the contentious issue of copyright levies on blank media, and ranked member states on their innovativeness. At a Brussels press conference, Internal Market […]
15 Candidates To Vie For WIPO Director General Post 13/02/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New Fifteen top officials will compete to be the next director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, according to WIPO. Most if not all of the candidates, all but one of whom is male, have strong backgrounds in Geneva policymaking, and many would be considered WIPO insiders. Candidates range from senior WIPO […]
EU: Microsoft Raised IP Rights As Late Defence In European Case 12/02/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – The European Commission has accused Microsoft of invoking intellectual property rights “in the eleventh hour” to protect its dominant position in the global computer market. Per Hellstrom, a senior official in the Commission’s directorate-general for competition, indicated on Monday that the European Union’s antitrust efforts against […]
Web 2.0 Expansion Sparks Questions Of Developing Country Participation 11/02/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Kaitlin Mara For the first time in world history, there is a technology used more in the developing world than in the developed, said Marc Laperrouza, a senior research associate at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) to attendees of the Lift Conference, an annual event in Geneva that brings together thinkers from […]