Case Could Signal Weakening Of Digital Rights Management In Europe 04/06/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A ruling by the Helsinki, Finland, District Court could have far-reaching implications for the use of technical protection measures (TPMs) in Europe, according to legal experts. The 25 May decision held that the Content Scrambling System (CSS) now used in DVD movies is “ineffective” as the term is […]
Germany Discusses Digital Age Licensing Model For Public Broadcasters 21/05/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch German public broadcasters at a recent hearing of Germany’s Supreme Court warned against state interference with the funding of their programmes. The appeal by Germany’s large public broadcasting organisations ARD, ZDF and radio broadcaster “Deutschlandfunk” to the highest German court is primarily about money. But it may result […]
Industry: Criminal Checks Needed For Tasting, Kiting, Spying 03/05/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch International organisations should step in to prevent the “tasting,” “kiting” and “spying” related to Internet domain names, say representatives from the US telecommunications and trademark industries. These new activities are dramatically altering online commerce and impacting legitimate businesses, and the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), World Intellectual […]
IP Enforcement Directive Clears EU Parliament But Opposition Remains 26/04/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A European Commission proposal to criminalise intentional, for-profit intellectual property counterfeiting and piracy won backing from the European Parliament on 25 April. The 374-278 first-reading vote on an amended version of the IP enforcement rights directive, known as IPRED2, followed months of controversy and heavy lobbying which show […]
EU Copyright Group Seeks Solutions to Digitisation Roadblocks 20/04/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Problems related to digital preservation, orphan works and out-of-print materials must be resolved if European Commission plans to digitise and make accessible Europe’s cultural heritage are to succeed, copyright experts said in an 18 April report. The Digital Libraries project is part of a Commission drive to boost […]
Text-Based Negotiations On A WIPO Development Agenda Pick Up Pace 22/02/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are moving quickly on negotiating draft texts aimed at improving the organisation’s development focus, as a week-long meeting nears its end. Four days into the 19-23 February special session of the Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to a WIPO Development Agenda […]
Study Highlights Needed Improvements For IP And Technology Transfer 22/02/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New A high-profile researcher in the United States this week presented analysis showing that work needs to be done to improve flows of technology transfer to developing countries, and is related to intellectual property rights. The author, Professor John Barton, emeritus of Stanford University Law School, presented the report at a 21 February […]
Questions Loom For WIPO Broadcasting Negotiation 23/01/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New With one meeting left before a decision at the World Intellectual Property Organization to proceed with formal negotiations on a treaty boosting the rights of broadcasters and cablecasters, the prospects are unclear, according to officials. The WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights met from 17 to 19 January but struggled […]
WIPO Negotiators Try To Bear Down On Broadcasting Treaty 18/01/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New World Intellectual Property Organization officials negotiating this week on how to improve broadcasters’ and cablecasters’ ability to protect their signals have attempted to move into a deeper debate using an informal chair’s text of a draft treaty. More discussion among negotiators arose on 18 January after a quiet first day, but the […]
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 […]