Piracy, Innovation Top Developed-Country Industry Priority List 26/01/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New Companies from the wealthiest nations continue to view a clampdown on theft of their intellectual property rights as key to improving their economic performance, and are targeting the largest developing countries in their effort. To their aid comes the World Intellectual Property Organization and others, with a conference next week in Geneva […]
WIPO Committee Seeks Footing For Broadcasting Treaty Talks 17/01/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New Just months before full-fledged negotiations are expected to begin on a treaty to boost broadcasters’ and cablecasters’ rights, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) negotiators meeting this week to iron out differences struggled to find their footing for a way forward. “It was a slow start,” said Jukka Liedes of Finland, chairman of […]
Patent Reform, Copyright Enforcement Are Key European IP Issues for 2007 16/01/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Last year saw the apparent demise of two hotly contested European Union intellectual property policy proposals, the European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA) and consideration of a pan-European copyright levy on blank audiovisual media. This year could prove a bit quieter, although a European Commission plan to criminalise some IP infringements may prove no less controversial.
Patent Reform On US Senate Agenda; US Officials Question French Copyright Law 14/12/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New As the year end draws near, United States government officials are marking the ground for international intellectual property debates to come in 2007. On 13 December, Senator Patrick Leahy, incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee released his committee’s agenda for next year. He said he would prioritize updating of the US […]
Germany Still Seeking Balance In Copyright Policy 04/12/2006 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch A series of five recent hearings in the Justice Committee of the German Parliament have revealed deep rifts over the second part of Germany’s copyright law reform. This so-called “second basket” deals with adaptations of copyright law to the digital age after a “first basket” from 2003 aimed […]
US-Russia Bilateral/WTO Deal Pushes New Standards For IP Protection 24/11/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New In its bilateral negotiation with the United States in order to join the World Trade Organization, Russia appears to have agreed to intellectual property rights standards that push those of the WTO and US law to new levels. IP issues have been a top priority for the United States in recent years […]
Australia Eyes No-Fault Copyright Infringement Offences 17/11/2006 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Australia is poised to become the first country to make copyright infringement a “no-fault” offence, a move aimed at broadening criminal penalties for infringement. The change is part of sweeping revisions intended to bring Australia’s Copyright Act 1968 into the digital age and compliance with the Australia-United States […]
Copyrights, Knowledge Access, Democracy Debated At Internet Forum 01/11/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New ATHENS – Whether intellectual property rights protection is inhibiting the free flow of information was hotly debated at the Internet Governance Forum on 31 October. “Just about every aspect of the free flow of information is now hampered” by technologies, laws and other reasons, said Joichi Ito of Creative Commons. “Suddenly the […]
WTO TRIPS Council Stumbles Over Inclusion Of Enforcement 27/10/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen A meeting of the World Trade Organization committee responsible for intellectual property rights this week erupted in disagreement over how to address enforcement of those rights in the committee. The debate in the 25-26 October meeting of the WTO Council for the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights […]
Developed Countries Seek To Elevate Enforcement Measures In TRIPS Council 25/10/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The European Union has received support from Japan, Switzerland and the United States in its push to raise enforcement of intellectual property rights higher on the agenda of the World Trade Organization (WTO). On the first day of the 25-26 October meeting of the council for the WTO Agreement on […]