European Commission Introduces Its Inaugural IP “Watch List” 09/12/2018 by Emmanuel Legrand for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Echoing the United States’ Special 301 Report on alleged inadequacy of trading partners’ protection of US intellectual property rights, the European Commission has released its first ever Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List, which exposes rogue cyberlockers, stream-ripping sites as well as peer-to-peer and BitTorrent indexing sites among the threats to the EU’s legitimate intellectual property-driven businesses.
South Africa Parliament Passes Sweeping Copyright Bill; Final Step Expected In New Year 07/12/2018 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment South Africa’s National Assembly this week approved redrafted versions of the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill and the Copyright Amendment Bill that includes stronger protections for copyright holders but also a fair use provision preserving some exceptions. But there is still an additional hurdle to go before it reaches the President for signature, likely in the New Year.
Report: Core Copyright Industries Add $1.3 Trillion To US Economy 07/12/2018 by Emmanuel Legrand for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Core copyright industries have contributed more than $1.3 trillion to US gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, and accounted for 6.85% of the US economy. They employed nearly 5.7 million workers in 2017, accounting for 3.85% of the entire US workforce, or 4.54% of total private employment in the United States, according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA)’s “Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy: The 2018 Report.”
EU Members Push For Private Censorship Of Terrorist Content On The Internet 06/12/2018 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Big platform providers and small hosters alike shall be obliged to censor, according to a draft regulation presented by the European Commission in mid-September and accepted by EU member states at their Council meeting today.
Towards WIPO Regional Seminars On Copyright Exceptions: Looking Out For Users 06/12/2018 by Beatrice Marone for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Twelve years after the first proposal on the topic, it’s time to speed up the discussion about the global copyright limitations and exceptions regime, advocates and officials said alongside negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization last week. And a key focus will be on regional meetings being planned by WIPO on the issue.
Google, YouTube Accused Of Disinformation, Scaremongering By European Authors 05/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment European creators are alleging a scaremongering campaign by YouTube, and more than 30 entities representing creators in France say Google and YouTube are leading a massive fake information campaign against the European copyright directive currently under discussion in order to protect their commercial interests.
WIPO Copyright Committee Closing Chair’s Text Shows Way Forward On Broadcasting Treaty, Exceptions, Resale Right 30/11/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights concluded its work in a weeklong meeting early today, a rare occurrence, after agreeing on ways forward for a draft treaty on broadcasting, limitations and exceptions for a range of groups such as libraries and educational institutions, and additional topics such as creation of a task force on artists’ resale royalty rights, and upcoming regional meetings. The final chair’s text below shows the details.
Interviews With National Publishing Industry Attendees At WIPO’s Copyright Committee 30/11/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment During this week’s World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee meeting, Intellectual Property Watch had the opportunity to meet observers from the international publishing sector who are following the committee’s discussions closely. In Geneva at the invitation of the International Publishers Association (IPA), several publishers shared their thoughts about WIPO’s work as well as their experience from their own markets. The interviews below represent a range of perspectives, from three different types of markets worldwide.
WIPO Draft Broadcasting Treaty: NGO Views On What To Keep, What To Change 30/11/2018 by Beatrice Marone for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization draft treaty for the protection of broadcasting organisations was the focus not only of informal meetings among delegates this week, but also outside the negotiating room. On 27 November, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) provided committee participants the impressions of five speakers keen on the topic, each with a different point of view underlining things they feel have to be improved to get to an effective treaty.
Fight Over .Amazon: ACTO Countries Cancel Meeting With ICANN CEO 29/11/2018 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The fight over delegating the .amazon top-level domain to Amazon LLC is not over. But the effort of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to cut a deal between the regional Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) and online retailer Amazon has failed, according to ICANN CEO Göran Marby. [updated]
