WIPO Assembly Considers Paths For Possible New Treaties 30/09/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Member governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization this week set in motion negotiations that could lead to international treaties or other instruments on exceptions and limitations to copyright, the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore, and harmonisation of industrial design laws. Negotiations won’t be without difficulty, however.
Internet Access And Human Rights Highlighted Alongside UN Human Rights Council 28/09/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Can the digital environment be used in a way that promotes real human rights? A group of activists speaking yesterday alongside the ongoing UN Human Rights Council believes that it can, and provided several examples of work they are doing to make that happen.
Civil Society Fights For Participation As ACTA Counter To WIPO Rises 24/09/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new rival to the World Intellectual Property Organization is being created away from the tempering effect of public scrutiny, which could result in limits on the free movement of knowledge or products subject to IP rights, a civil society representative said yesterday.
Special Report: Global Internet Governance Work At A Turning Point 22/09/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Five years after the tale began in Athens, the United Nations Internet Governance Forum returned to Europe last week to ask itself what has been achieved. The answer was encouraging enough to prompt a range of internet stakeholders to suggest continuation of the group, this time with a greater focus on concrete outcomes.
Spanish Collecting Society Targets Group Proposing Alternative Royalty System 22/09/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A Spanish group lobbying for alternative ways to protect and promote creative production has been asked to cease activity or face a lawsuit for damages, unfair competition and infringement by the Spanish collecting society SGAE (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores), according to the group. The collecting society also charged that the lobbying group is undermining its reputation.
Musician Stevie Wonder Just Calls On WIPO To Improve Books Access 20/09/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter and UN Messenger of Peace Stevie Wonder today called on the governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization to create a system for copyright law to assist those with disabilities in getting access to education and reading materials. It is time to “declare a state of emergency and end the information deprivation that continues to keep the visually impaired in the dark,” he told assembled delegates.
Online Social Media Strategy: Use Them Or Be Used By Them 19/09/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A frontline debate among many industry intellectual property lawyers in the United States is how to handle the explosion in use of online social networking media tools like Facebook, Twitter or FourSquare.
Economists Report Empirical Evidence Of TRIPS Impact On Developing Countries 16/09/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Trade Organization Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement has sparked decades of international debate over whether exporting stronger intellectual property norms to developing countries is beneficial or harmful.
High Copyright Transaction Costs Cause “Friction,” Google Economist Tells WIPO 16/09/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The combined forces of strengthening copyright law and the explosion of information has led to huge transaction costs in managing legitimate transactions of copyright material, the top economist from Google said yesterday at the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Campaign Aims To Take Back Consumer Rights Over IP-Protected Products 14/09/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Copyright and patent laws “are often misused” for reasons that have “more to do with limiting competition and preventing consumers from making innovative uses of their products” than they do with stopping piracy, global consumer advocacy group Consumers International plans to tell a UN internet meeting today. Such misuse includes limitations on the use of third-party content on devices such as the iPhone, and regional codes that prevent consumers from playing DVDs bought legally abroad in a consumer’s home country.