European Parliament Decides In Favour Of TTIP Mandate And “New ISDS” 08/07/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 10 Comments The European Parliament today voted in favour of its own mandate for the negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a broad free trade agreement between its 28 member states and the United States. With 436 yes versus 241 no votes (32 abstentions), the Parliament adopted a resolution that also gives green light to the hotly debated investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), albeit a new version of it.
Copyright And The Public Interest: Not Necessarily Competing Forces 07/07/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Copyright protection advances the public interest, and good public policy must properly consider “the role of intellectual property as a tool for economic emancipation, a catalyst for cultural diversity, and a powerful protector of individual dignity and fundamental human rights,” argues RIAA’s Neil Turkewitz.
Report: New Technologies For Visually And Hearing Impaired People Lack Commercialisation 01/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Ani Mamikon for Intellectual Property Watch and Rishi Dhir for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A World Intellectual Property Organization patent landscaping report launched this week shows that although a large number of patents have been granted on technologies aimed to help visually and hearing impaired persons, most of them have not been commercialised yet.
Effects Of New Australian Blocking Legislation Remain Highly Controversial 26/06/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Much will depend on Australian federal judges after a website blocking bill targeting copyright violations was passed by both houses of the Australian legislature this week.
Secret Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Takes Centre Stage In Asia 24/06/2015 by Patralekha Chatterjee for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), part of US President Barack Obama’s promised pivot to Asia, has stirred up a hornet’s nest on the ethics of trying to hammer out a trade deal in secrecy. But it is not the only one. A proposed trade agreement in Asia, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), is facing the same hiccups and flak.
UN Expert Urges Encryption, Anonymity Online To Preserve Freedom Of Expression 18/06/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A United Nations expert on freedom of expression this week has brought international attention to the need for individuals to be able to share completely encrypted, anonymous communications on the internet in order to preserve rights related to freedom of expression and opinion worldwide.
EU Parliament Hearing: Data Protection Not A Trade Barrier, But A Fundamental Right 18/06/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment At a hearing on data flows and data protection in trade agreements this week, several members of the European Parliament called for the clear exemption of current and future data protection regulation from ongoing trade negotiations.
European Parliament Committee Copyright, Trade Secret Votes 16/06/2015 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments In voting that took over an hour due to the more than 550 amendments proposed, the European Parliament Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee Tuesday adopted an own-initiative report by German MEP Julia Reda of the Greens/European Free Alliance intended to make sweeping changes to EU copyright law. The report is expected to feed into the European Commission’s (EC’s) copyright reform proposal expected later this year. JURI also backed draft rules on legal redress for theft and misuse of business trade secrets, but said they must in turn respect freedom of information and expression and safeguard whistle-blowers.
WIPO Marrakesh Treaty In Force By Early 2016? Now Part Of Bigger UN Process 12/06/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The 2013 World Intellectual Property Organization treaty on access to published works for print-disabled readers may go into effect by early 2016. And the treaty has become part of a bigger process at the United Nations on the rights of persons with disabilities, speakers at UN headquarters in New York said this week.
LDC Pharma Extension Request At WTO Yields Support But Needs Further Discussion 11/06/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments World Trade Organization members this week could not decide on a request from least-developed countries to extend a waiver allowing them to forego the enforcement of intellectual property rights on pharmaceutical products until their economies are stronger. Discussions are expected to be conducted informally until the next meeting of the organisation’s council on IP rights in October.