US Supreme Court Applies First Sale Doctrine Worldwide 19/03/2013 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Today, the United States Supreme Court handed US copyright owners a stinging defeat. The decision in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons dramatically slashes the ability of US copyright owners to control copies of their works. And in so doing, the 6-3 decision blows a huge hole in the global marketing strategy of movie, TV, book and software companies.
Nearly 50 Groups Demand IPRs Out Of EU-US FTA 18/03/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Upwards of 50 civil society groups have issued a declaration asking for the exclusion of all forms of intellectual property rights from the upcoming Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the United States. They raised significant concerns about the potential effect of IP rights’ inclusion on the public interest in the countries involved.
UN Agencies To Examine International Standards, Potential Value For Developing Countries 18/03/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Five United Nations agencies are joining efforts to tackle the rising issue of private standards which they say are affecting developing countries’ exports by creating market entry hurdles for those countries. A new forum will be launched this week, and will establish its priority issues.
ICANN advierte a EE.UU. de no socavar el Modelo Multisectorial 18/03/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment La “Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers” (ICANN) ha emitido un nuevo comunicado sobre un futuro contrato con Estados Unidos para la gestión de la zona raíz y otras funciones de infraestructura de la internet, advirtiendo de que no se debe socavar el modelo multisectorial para regular las infraestructuras básicas de la internet.
African Ministers Focus On IP Role In Innovation For Development; Less On Flexibilities 18/03/2013 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – The role of innovation as a driving force of social, economic, and environmental development is one of the central themes in post-2015 global development agenda discussions. In a ministerial-level meeting with guidance from the World Intellectual Property Organization last week, African policymakers outlined what they would need to foster innovation at home. Among a list of recommendations, ministers widely agreed on the importance of developing national intellectual property frameworks, capacity building, and raising awareness through education. Encouraging the use of IP flexibilities, however, was largely left out of the conversation.
US Perspectives: US Tries Gentler Copyright Enforcement 14/03/2013 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments On 25 February, the US opened a new front in its war against online copyright infringement. Five of the nation’s biggest internet service providers (ISPs) joined with the movie and music industries to launch the Copyright Alert System, a new means of attacking unauthorised file-sharing. This ISP-based enforcement system is similar to efforts in at least seven other industrialised countries. Some of these efforts have apparently slashed unauthorised file-sharing, which suggests the US system will be similarly successful. It is unclear, however, if the US system (or any of the other countries’ systems) will succeed in their ultimate goal – boosting revenues for the movie and music industries.
USTR: IPRs Among “Most Challenging” Issues As TPP Talks Accelerate 14/03/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 26 Comments Intellectual property rights are among the three “most challenging” issues still to be resolved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations following the latest round that wrapped up yesterday, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has said. Meanwhile, chief negotiators said this week that the confidential talks are on track for completion by year’s end. But as before, no substantive details were shared about the content of the negotiations.
ICANN Trademark Clearinghouse To Start Accepting Registrations This Month 13/03/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has announced that its Trademark Clearinghouse database, through which rights holders can submit their eligible trademarks prior to and during ICANN’s launch of new domains, will start operating on 26 March.
Pirate Bay Loses Its Appeal To European Court Of Human Rights 13/03/2013 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in a judgment today rejected the appeal of Pirate Bay founders Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi (application no. 40397/12) to the Court.
On Plant Patents, EPO President Backs Industry, Disregards EU Parliament, Group Says 13/03/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A civil society coalition fighting patents on conventional plants in Europe has published a briefing paper alleging that the European Patent Office is giving a “green light” to patents on plants and animals, disregarding the position of the European Parliament.