Patent And Copyright Reform Proposals Lead US IP Issues For 2008 16/01/2008 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch The year 2008 could be a turning point for intellectual property policy and law in the United States, with key patent, copyright and enforcement legislation pending, legal decisions unfolding, and high drama in the battle over content online. All of this comes in the context of a national presidential election late in the year.
Online Content, Patent Reform Are Key For Europe In 2008 07/01/2008 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Copyright issues take centre stage this year as debate intensifies in the European Union over Internet service provider (ISP) responsibility for online piracy. In addition, the proposed European patent litigation system, considered dead last year, has been resurrected, as has the discussion over copyright levies on blank media. […]
December/January Edition of IP-Watch Monthly Reporter Now Available 21/12/2007 by William New, 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 […]
International Implications Of Red Cross Trademark Fight Unclear 20/12/2007 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Catherine Saez Months after health products manufacturer Johnson & Johnson filed a civil complaint against the American Red Cross and its commercial licensees to stop using the symbol of a red cross, the public interest it generated seems to have all but subsided. However, questions about the possible consequences of this lawsuit at the international level remain unanswered. After roughly 100 years of sharing the symbol, the two entities are now fighting over it. The lawsuit filed by US-based Johnson & Johnson (J&J) against the American Red Cross (ARC) and four of its licensing partners on 8 August focused mainly on preventing the ARC and its licensing partners from using the red cross design on commercial products such as first aid kits to prevent unfair competition. The American Red Cross has licensed sale of its kits in large-scale retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target and major drug stores.
New Push Emerges For An Indian Patent Database 17/12/2007 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Two years after India’s implementation of international trade rules on intellectual property rights, a lawyers group is rekindling a decade-old push to organise India’s patent applications into an electronic database. IP law blog (“blawg”) Spicy IP has sent a petition to the India Patent Office (IPO). Citing India’s […]
US Lawmakers Seek IP Enforcement Agency; Satellite Radio Royalties Set 10/12/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A bipartisan group of US legislators is calling for tougher civil and criminal penalties for copyright and trademark infringement through new legislation introduced last week. Meanwhile, the US Library of Congress Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has set royalties for satellite radio services, as webcast radio companies lobbied for rate parity. The “Prioritising Resources and Organisation for Intellectual Property Act of 2007 (PRO IP),” introduced 5 December, would create an IP enforcement czar, establish a new IP division in the Department of Justice, and authorise the appointment of IP officers to help foreign countries combat piracy and counterfeiting.
Verizon Executive Discusses Telecom’s Move To Open Access 10/12/2007 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch NEW YORK – Verizon Wireless, in a surprise move for a company known to fiercely protect its network from outside use, announced on 27 November that it would adopt an “open-access” policy for the use of its wireless services. This means that third-party devices, including Google’s still in-development mobile-phone operating system Android, will be able to use the Verizon network, and opens the way for a global expansion for the telecommunications company. Speaking at investment bank UBS’s Annual Global Media Conference in New York on 5 December, Verizon President and Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl explained the choice.
France’s Online Anti-Piracy Plan Comes Under Scrutiny 07/12/2007 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch Legal experts and consumer rights groups are questioning the feasibility of measures described in an anti-piracy pact that French media groups, government officials, and Internet service providers (ISPs) announced on 23 November. ISPs also dispute the veracity of media reports that have since claimed that access providers will begin to actively monitor and block peer-to-peer file exchanges in France. The anti-piracy agreement describes a number of possible measures that could prevent illegal distribution of copyright-protected digital media in France.
Film Industry Touts ISP Partners In Filtering Online Content 05/12/2007 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch NEW YORK – Internet service providers are going to lead the monitoring of networks to ensure they are not being used for infringing purposes in the entertainment industry’s seemingly endless battle to maintain control over where their content is distributed, and to whom, Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Dan Glickman said Tuesday. Glickman, speaking at the 35th Annual UBS Global Media & Communications Conference on 5 December, said his organisation – which represents the motion picture, home video and television industries – is working with telephone, cable and Internet companies, most notably AT&T, to ensure their networks are not being used to illegally share or download content. The relationship is somewhat ironic given the entertainment industry’s rocky history with the ISP community and its previous efforts to force telecommunications companies like Verizon to reveal the identities of customers who infringe copyrights on peer-to-peer filing systems.
France To Require Internet Service Providers To Filter Infringing Music 27/11/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch French record labels and Internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed on a ground-breaking plan to fight online music piracy. Among other things, the 23 November memorandum of understanding requires Internet access providers to experiment with filters to block infringing files. Making ISPs shoulder more responsibility for copyright violations on their networks while leaving intact their immunity from liability for content for which they are “mere conduits” represents a sea-change in the interpretation of the European Union E-Commerce Directive, said attorney Winston Maxwell of Hogan & Hartson.