New Proposal At WIPO For Exceptions and Limitations Agreement; US Unconvinced 11/03/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New Several nations have joined Chile in presenting a new proposal for work on limitations and exceptions to this week’s meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee. The work would include establishing an international agreement on the issue. But the United States told the plenary on Tuesday that it is “not […]
WIPO Copyright Committee Begins New Era With Revised Agenda, Same Chair 11/03/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee on Monday began a new era in the wake of a failed decade of negotiations for a broadcasters’ rights treaty. But it will tackle its new agenda including limitations and exceptions to copyright with the same chairman who guided the broadcasting talks with fervour. Finland’s […]
Complaint Lodged Over EU Parliament’s Exclusive Use Of Microsoft Systems 06/03/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – A formal complaint has been lodged with the European Parliament over how its information technology systems rely almost exclusively on software manufactured by Microsoft. Advocates of open standard software, which is developed on a not-for-profit basis, allege that the Seattle-based giant enjoys an effective monopoly or […]
German High Court Defines New “IT Basic Law” Curbing Online Searches 01/03/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch MUNICH – Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court this week decided that infiltration of personal computers, laptops or other information technology devices of possible suspects by law enforcement violates the basic right of “confidentiality and integrity of IT systems.” In defining confidentiality and integrity of IT systems, the German judges […]
Free, Open Software Supporters Advocate Against Microsoft Document Standard 29/02/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara Free software and open standards proponents met this week in Geneva to discuss the importance of standards-setting and to debate the role of patent protections and advocate freedom of information sharing in the digital economy. Organised by open source software advocacy group OpenForum Europe and happening against the backdrop of Microsoft’s bid […]
Standards Body Weighs Microsoft’s Competing Format For Document Sharing 27/02/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Kaitlin Mara Public and private-sector representatives from thirty-seven nations are in Geneva this week for a five-day closed-door meeting to try to resolve editing suggestions on a recently proposed document format that if accepted as a standard could impact file-sharing worldwide. At issue is what has become a hotly contested fight over a proposed […]
Estados Unidos: La industria del derecho de autor presiona para obtener una observancia más estricta 18/02/2008 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Por Dugie Standeford para Intellectual Property Watch Estados Unidos gana terreno en su lucha contra la piratería y la falsificación en el ámbito de la propiedad intelectual, comunicó esta semana una importante comisión interinstitucional al presidente George Bush y al Congreso de Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, por cada logro que se obtiene en la observancia […]
European Commission Seeks Copyright Extension, New Levy Debate 14/02/2008 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch In a flurry of intellectual property-related activity Thursday, the European Commission proposed extending copyright protection for performers from 50 to 95 years, resurrected debate on the contentious issue of copyright levies on blank media, and ranked member states on their innovativeness. At a Brussels press conference, Internal Market […]
US Government, Copyright Industry Continue Push For Stronger Enforcement 13/02/2008 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch The United States is gaining ground in its fight against intellectual property piracy and counterfeiting, a potent interagency commission told President George Bush and the US Congress this week. Yet for every gain in IP enforcement, increasingly complex and unpredictable threats emerge, the agencies said in their 11 […]
EU: Microsoft Raised IP Rights As Late Defence In European Case 12/02/2008 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – The European Commission has accused Microsoft of invoking intellectual property rights “in the eleventh hour” to protect its dominant position in the global computer market. Per Hellstrom, a senior official in the Commission’s directorate-general for competition, indicated on Monday that the European Union’s antitrust efforts against […]