South Korea Bolsters Copyright Strategy In K-Pop Crazy States 14/12/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Manila, Philippines – With the global success of the dance single Gangnam Style, the heyday of the Korean popular music or K-Pop, along with the country’s other creative content, is proving to be far from over. And it’s providing a good reason for the Republic of Korea to bolster its copyright protection strategy, particularly in countries where its creative content exports are most popular and where copyright infringement is inevitable.
Waiting For Customs And Trademark Reforms, EU Rights Owners Get “Proactive” Against Fakes 13/12/2012 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Alicante, Spain – The impact of counterfeit goods on the economy, public health, and the bottom line was a central theme during a private-sector symposium on trademarks here this week. For European rights owners, the border is where counterfeiters are at their weakest and therefore the best place to act. But as stronger legislation regarding infringement of intellectual property rights on goods in transit is unlikely for now, the private sector is seeking alternative ways to take on a growing business threat.
Chair Of Stalled WTO Talks On GIs May Take Another Tack 07/12/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments World Trade Organization negotiations to establish a multilateral register of geographical indications continue to be stalled over whether talks should apply only to wines and spirits as mandated, or can extend to other products and include talks on disclosure of origin in genetic material, the negotiations chair reported to the WTO Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) today. He suggested a slightly different approach in the coming year.
Geographical Indications Catching Up With Appellations of Origin At WIPO 07/12/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A happy mood was in order at the close of a World Intellectual Property Organization meeting on the protection of product names indicating their origin, particular qualities and reputation. Geographical indications are being considered for the same recognition and protection as appellations of origin through the revision of a current international instrument.
From South Africa — Keeping Traditional Knowledge Traditional 07/12/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments There has been a tidal wave of severe criticism of the South African government’s proposed legislation to provide for protection for traditional knowledge in domestic South African law, writes Prof. Owen Dean. Now, the criticism seems to align with accepted international views.
Survey On IP: Policymakers Believe Junk Statistics; North-South Divide Dissolving 05/12/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Preliminary findings of a survey aimed at mapping the current prevailing ideas on intellectual property confirmed recognised trends that academics and intergovernmental IP professionals look more favourably on weaker IP protection, and traditional North-South differences toward IP rights are becoming less clear cut. It also found that policymakers tend to rely heavily on statistics from industry to help them with their decisions, whether reliable or not.
Industry Groups Urge European Commission To Back Strong Copyright In Upcoming Debate 03/12/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Groups representing European publishers, writers and collective management organisations are urging the European Commission to support their interests as it considers initiatives on copyright policy this week. The groups asked the Commission to back stronger copyright and resist calls for greater exceptions and limitations to copyright.
Special Report Russia’s Enforcement Against Online Copyright Infringement 03/12/2012 by Daria Kim for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment During the joint news conference held in Paris on 27 November by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Medvedev was asked a question of legislative scrutiny with regard to internet regulation in Russia. In his reply, the Russian prime minister admitted that the current legislation regulating the internet is “imperfect” and called upon the international community to “consider parameters to regulate the operation of the internet on the national or international level.”
EU Parliament To Vote On Measure Against Biopiracy; Focus On UN Protocol 29/11/2012 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment European Union lawmakers will vote soon on a non-binding measure aimed at protecting genetic resources and fighting biopiracy, or misappropriation. Despite the critical importance of these issues, efforts to draw the European Parliament’s attention to the resolution have been difficult and its outcome is less than clear, its author says.
Criminal IP Sanctions To Be Dropped From Canada-EU FTA, Documents Show 28/11/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Criminal sanctions for intellectual property rights infringement are to be dropped from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), according to a set of documents leaked by Montreal daily La Presse.