UN Urged To Emphasize Health Over Profit At Upcoming UN High-Level Meeting On NCDs 06/07/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments An open letter sent by 242 organisations and individuals to key United Nations and World Health Organization representatives on 4 July demanded that high prices limiting access to medicines and effective treatment be addressed at the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases.
European Parliament Rejects Starting Negotiations On Copyright Reform Proposal 05/07/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The European Parliament today opposed plans to launch immediate “trilogue” negotiations with the Council and European Commission on copyright reform legislation, instead sending the controversial measure to full debate at the next plenary session of Parliament.
Controversial EU Parliament Copyright Reform Vote Tomorrow; 1,300 Musicians Urge Support 04/07/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The European Parliament votes tomorrow on whether to allow negotiations with the Council to begin on controversial copyright reform legislation. The proposed updated rules have sparked intense lobbying by supporters and foes alike, including, one lawmaker said at a press briefing today, death threats.
145 Organisations Urge EU Vote Against JURI Mandate On Copyright 03/07/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Some 145 organisations have signed an open letter urging European Parliament to vote against the Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee mandate to negotiate on copyright reform. The European Parliament will meet on 5 July for a plenary vote on whether or not to endorse the mandate.
US Raises Economic Concerns About Proposals At WIPO On Patents And Genetic Resources 27/06/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Normally known for sanguine views of rules to strengthen intellectual property rights globally, the United States government this week submitted a paper at the World Intellectual Property Organization putting forward private sector economic concerns about proposals to strengthen international rules for patenting of genetic resources aimed largely at helping developing countries.
US ITC Not Keeping Pace With Digital Revolution, New Report Argues 26/06/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The rapid rise of digital technology in the twenty-first century places new demands on intellectual property protections, while presenting new challenges. A new report suggests that a leading US agency that investigates patent infringement may need to be updated to keep up.
Internet Policy – Whois And GDPR: Sky Not Falling Just Yet? 23/06/2018 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The struggle over how to comply with Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation dominates the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Panama. With the basic question how much data ICANN can ask its contractual partners to collect and store about its domain name customers, ICANN this week opened another hot topic to be discussed when publishing a paper on unified access to registration data. Meanwhile, trademark owners weighed in.
G20 Called On To Put People At Centre Of Digital Economy 29/05/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Some three dozen global civil society groups have called on the G20 countries to set a digital agenda that puts the interests of people and their rights front and centre, in particular on privacy.
WIPO Copyright Committee Opens With Ideas, Questions On Internet, Terms Of Protection 28/05/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments This week’s meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee opened today with what officials perceived as good momentum. Argentina tabled a proposal to help discussions on deferred transmissions in the context of a potential treaty protecting broadcasting organisations, which have been a sticking point in negotiations. Civil society, however, voiced concerns on the provisions of a potential treaty protecting broadcasters against signal piracy, underlining the 50-year envisioned protection and the need to carve out strong limitations and exceptions.
Did The WIPO Copyright Committee Just Approve A Group With Mission To Free The World From “Space Lizards’ Control”? 28/05/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee this morning started its weeklong meeting by rubber-stamping three nongovernmental organisations as observers, without discussion. But a look at the website, www.ipcentreug.org, of one of the groups, as provided in the WIPO document as approved, states that the mission of the group is a “global conspiracy investigation institution” whose mission is to “free individuals and organizations from space lizards’ control.”