WTO Inquiry Launched Into US Complaints Against China’s IP Record 27/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Paul Garwood A World Trade Organization panel will formally investigate United States complaints that China has failed to adequately protect intellectual property rights on goods such as software and movies, a move criticised by Beijing. WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 25 September established a panel following Washington’s second request to look into its […]
Preocupan los acuerdos bilaterales entre la UE y países en desarrollo 24/09/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Por David Cronin para Intellectual Property Watch BRUSELAS – Aumenta la preocupación tanto en Europa como en los países en desarrollo sobre si diversos acuerdos de libre comercio, cuya firma está programada para finales del presente año, contendrán normas demasiado estrictas en materia de propiedad intelectual. El organismo ejecutivo de la Unión Europea, la Comisión […]
China Proposes Fund To Help Its Firms Fight IP Litigation 19/09/2007 by Jia Hepeng for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Jia Hepeng for Intellectual Property Watch BEIJING – China is proposing a fund to help its enterprises cope with rising international litigation related to intellectual property rights (IPRs). The message, together with other measures, was delivered by Zhang Qin, deputy director of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) at a national corporate IPR meeting on 2 September, but it was not made public until 10 September. Sun Pingping, a spokeswoman of SIPO, confirmed the news, saying the scale and detailed operation of the fund have not been finalised. Zhang told the corporate meeting that international legal cases on IP that Chinese enterprises face have been growing. While some of the lawsuits arise from Chinese enterprises’ poor IPR awareness and ownership, it is possible that some multinationals are abusing IPR to block the rise of Chinese firms, he said.
Germany: Fight Escalates Over Copyright Fee For Computers 17/08/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The fight between German collecting rights societies and hardware companies is escalating. This week the CEO of the society for musical performing and mechanical reproduction rights, Harald Heker, heavily criticised the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM), claiming it was denying authors and artists […]
US Elevates WTO IP Case Against China By Seeking Panel 13/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The United States has asked the World Trade Organization to take to the next level a case it filed on China’s intellectual property rights protection after four months of consultations did not lead to the desired results, the US Trade Representative (USTR) said. The case on copyright and trademark protection […]
La criminalisation des importations parallèles deviendra-t-elle réalité ? 13/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Par Monika Ermert pour Intellectual Property Watch Le Parlement européen s’est prononcé contre la criminalisation des importations parallèles de marchandises dans le cadre de la proposition de directive de l’Union européenne relative aux mesures pénales visant à assurer le respect des droits de propriété intellectuelle (IPRED 2). Pourtant, ces nouvelles importations de produits commercialisés dans […]
Recording Industry Faces Uphill Legal Battle In P2P Network Fight 13/08/2007 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and other associations representing record labels are facing significant challenges in their efforts to enforce European Union copyright laws against unauthorised downloads of music files over peer-to-peer networks. It remains to be seen whether the EU Copyright Directive and other EU mandates, as well as thousands of lawsuits filed against downloaders, will be enough to contain file sharing in the EU. Different degrees of enforcement and the reluctance of some criminal courts to convict so-called “music pirates” in the different EU states can make it difficult for recording industry groups to successfully seek court remedies against individuals who illegally download copyrighted files.
Change To EU Enforcement Directive Could Criminalise Parallel Imports 03/08/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The European Parliament has voted against criminalising parallel imports of goods in the proposed European Union directive on criminal measures aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRED2). Yet these re-imports of products marketed by rights holders in other countries may be criminalised if Parliament does not change a “cleaned-up” draft text of the directive that has quietly emerged, sources say. The directive is a follow-up to the IP Enforcement Directive (2004/48/EC, IPRED1) passed by the EU in 2004 and will add criminal sanctions against piracy and counterfeiting of a commercial scale. Both IPRED1 and IPRED2 brought about fierce debates about how far protection of intellectual property should go in Europe.
UN Body Offers Guidance To Governments On Boosting IP Systems 30/07/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The World Intellectual Property Organization may be the biggest United Nations agency in Geneva working on IP issues, but another body also has taken up the effort. And in a recent conference held by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), panels of experts informed officials from economies in transition about technology […]
EU Seeks Stronger IP Enforcement At Every Level 30/07/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The growing problem of intellectual property rights piracy and counterfeiting requires global cooperation, and the European Union has elevated its focus on the issue at every policy level, an EU official told a recent intergovernmental gathering discussing IP and economies in transition. The official described efforts internally within its members, in bilateral […]