WIPO Copyright Committee Opens With Ideas, Questions On Internet, Terms Of Protection 28/05/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments This week’s meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee opened today with what officials perceived as good momentum. Argentina tabled a proposal to help discussions on deferred transmissions in the context of a potential treaty protecting broadcasting organisations, which have been a sticking point in negotiations. Civil society, however, voiced concerns on the provisions of a potential treaty protecting broadcasters against signal piracy, underlining the 50-year envisioned protection and the need to carve out strong limitations and exceptions.
Africa Takes Steps For Access To Medicines: Conference To Fight Fakes, Develop Local Production 23/05/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A week after African ministers of health adopted a treaty for the establishment of an African Medicines Agency, an international conference held on the side of the World Health Assembly denounced the rampant and increasing issue of fake medicines in Africa, and the lack of adequate action and political will. The Benin president said Benin’s efforts to fight traffickers is so far unsupported, and called developed countries to commit to the fight. Other speakers insisted on the importance of local production of medicines, and the need for biting legislation to defeat fake medicines.
OECD Issues Paper On Blockchain And Competition Policy 11/05/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The disruptive blockchain technology has been making waves, especially with Bitcoin and smart contracts taking centre stage. For some, it calls for a wide range of regulatory issues to be addressed, including patentability and more recently, competition-related concerns. Accordingly, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) hopes to assimilate contributions from stakeholders through its Blockchain Technology and Competition Policy Issue Paper.
EU-US Comparison & Guide On Copyright Link Liability – An Update 09/05/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Ed Klaris and Alexia Bedat write: An update to our article reviewing US and European law/recent developments in link liability in both the copyright and defamation contexts and providing a checklist of questions an attorney (or editor) ought to ask before deciding, prepublication, whether a proposed link may lead to liability in the US and/or the EU. Updates include the recent Goldman v. Breitbart decision in which a Federal Judge concluded that embedding a Tweet can be copyright infringement.
New Guidelines For Tech Companies To Be Transparent, Accountable On Censoring User Content 07/05/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Facebook, Google and other social media companies today were urged by groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation to “publicly report how many user posts they take down, provide users with detailed explanations about takedowns, and implement appeals policies to boost accountability.” The groups released a set of guidelines to address censorship.
USTR Annual Special 301 Report Intensifies Action On China, Colombia, Canada 27/04/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The annual report of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on the adequacy of trading partners’ protection of US intellectual property rights celebrated its 30th year this year with a sharper tone with China, in keeping with the Trump administration’s tough stance on the country. Also caught in the report are Colombia and Canada, which were downgraded to the “priority watch list.” Also, this year the report includes a special highlight on pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
WIPO Members Energised On Protection of Country Names, GIs, New Technological Designs 26/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization committee on trademarks concluded early today with plans for further work and a full week session for the next meeting. Member states are called into action to provide inputs so that the WIPO secretariat can come up with questionnaires on the protection of new technological designs, such as icons, and on the protection of geographical indications. Another issue for which member states are asked to contribute inputs in how to protect country and geographical names.
World IP Day: Women Are Celebrated But Gender Gap Persists 26/04/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The annual World Intellectual Property Day (26 April) is dedicated to women this year at the World Intellectual Property Organization. On the occasion, several countries are organising an exhibition and the screening of a film celebrating the life of Hedy Lamarr. Austrian/American actress who was also an inventor.
Interpol Highlights Takedown Of Deadly Global Fake Food And Drink Operations 25/04/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Weevil-infested flour, deadly methanol added to alcohol, borax to make products seem fresher, pesticide-laced shrimp, fake medicines. Global police organisation Interpol today detailed a multi-agency operation that dismantled nearly 50 criminal networks worldwide that provided fake and substandard food and drink that put people in danger and killed dozens.
US Supreme Court Rules Inter Partes Review Legal 24/04/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment United States Patent and Trademark Office inter partes reviews are legal and do not violate Article III of the Constitution or the 7th Amendment, the US Supreme Court said today. While the decision was expected, practitioners before the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board can now rest easy, as one patent lawyer put it.