Rights Holders Launch Initiative To Protect Content In Africa 26/08/2010 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Foreign content producers and broadcasters hope the soon-to-be-launched Africa Media Rights Watch will help convince the region’s regulators and consumers alike to increase respect for copyright.
US Internet Neutrality Flare-Up Resonates Internationally 23/08/2010 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A network neutrality policy proposed recently by industry giants Google and Verizon not only sparked controversy here in the United States, but the news is making waves internationally as well.
中国防火长城：网络审查何时会违反世贸组织规则？ 02/08/2010 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment 中国政府认为自己的行动符合其公民的最佳利益。它正在规范互联网，以保护其人民不受色情和其他令人生厌内容的危害。然而，批评者声称，中国大幅限制大陆居民可以网上观看、听闻和言论的东西，因此犯了审查过分之过。
The Great Firewall of China: When Does Online Censorship Violate WTO Rules? 28/07/2010 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments China’s government says it is acting in the best interests of its citizens. It is regulating the internet in order to protect its people from pornography and other objectionable content. Critics, however, assert that China is guilty of wide-ranging censorship, drastically limiting what mainland residents can see, hear and say online. Moreover, according to a growing chorus, this online censorship violates World Trade Organization rules.
Review Of US Digital Millennium Copyright Act Brings New Exemptions 27/07/2010 by Leslee Friedman for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The United States Copyright Office this week completed its statutorily required review of the landmark Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Included in the ruling were three major exemptions: a renewal on the exemption for cell-phone unlocking, a new exemption for the jailbreaking of smart phones technology, and the use of visual media clips for transformative, non-commercial works. The ruling has resulted in a flood of optimism from a wide variety of non-governmental groups.
Brazil’s Discussion On Copyright Law Reform – Response To The Digital Era? 15/07/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments Brazil is actively engaged in a cutting-edge debate over reform of its copyright law, involving issues such as the abuse of copyright holders and constructive exceptions in the law (like copying for education and/or transformative purposes and authorisation to copy by libraries and museums to preserve their works). But the government needs to hear from all interested parties – especially the artists – and avoid letting the debate transform into a political-ideological discussion, writes Brazilian lawyer Manuela Correia Botelho Colombo.
US Economist: US Financial Patents Litigation-Prone; Low Quality Makes Them Easy Targets 01/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Filing of financial patents seems to be on a parallel upward trend with litigation in the United States, with large companies being prime targets, and individual or small entities owning the patents, according to a well-known US economist. This could be the consequence of low quality patents being granted, he said.
ACTA A Sign Of Weakness In Multilateral System, WIPO Head Says 30/06/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments The plurilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and other such regional negotiations are a “bad development” for multilateral agencies, the World Intellectual Property Organization director general has told Intellectual Property Watch.
In Bilski Decision, US Supreme Court Adopts Tough But Vague Test for Business Method Patents 29/06/2010 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States Supreme Court yesterday handed down an important patent law ruling. By a narrow 5-4 vote, the court held in Bilski v. Kappos that business methods are patentable under US law. But the court provided only limited guidance on how to determine which business methods (and other types of inventions) are indeed patentable.
Scope Of Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement Again A Big Issue In Round Nine 26/06/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment MUNICH – The staid little Swiss town of Lucerne this week sees round number nine of the negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). While the 11 negotiating parties gather in the Palace Hotel, the Swiss Pirate Party together with their Pirate colleagues from Germany and Switzerland will organise a rally at the Lucerne train station.