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.
Samsung Lawyer Assesses IP Legal Battle With Apple 19/03/2013 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Cape Town, South Africa – Professor Charles Gielen, an insider in the epic design war between Apple and Samsung, has described the hostile standoff between the two corporate giants as a shape-shifting space for intellectual property laws following the different interpretations of IP law the case has evoked from the courts.
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.
Practitioners Discuss Interconnection Between Professional Sports And IP 18/03/2013 by Tiphaine Nunzia Caulier for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A recent conference of AROPI (Association Romande de Propriété Intellectuelle), an association of intellectual property practitioners in French-speaking Switzerland, examined how sports and IP interact.
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.
Interpol, Pharma Join Hands Against The Crime Of Fake Pharmaceuticals 14/03/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Members of the pharmaceutical industry and Interpol have come to an agreement on a plan to fight “fake” medicines, echoing efforts to address the issue at the World Health Organization in recent years.
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.
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.
Meetings On IP And Innovation In Africa Open In Tanzania 12/03/2013 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments A ministerial-level meeting organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Japan Patent Office, and the Tanzanian government began today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The two-day conference, which focuses on how IP can stimulate innovation and development, will be followed by a UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting and a US Department of Commerce Commercial Law and Development Program (CLDP)-led workshop on IP use and protection at the same venue.