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.
WIPO Sees First Real Progress In 10 Years On Text For Protection Of Folklore 26/07/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 9 Comments Experts meeting last week at the World Intellectual Property Organization made the first real strides in over a decade at developing a concrete rules to protect the cultural expressions and folklore of indigenous and local communities.
International Experts See Backswing In Pendulum Of Biological Patenting 21/07/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments MUNICH – Some experts in Europe are coming to agreement that a tipping point might have been reached with regard to biological patents. At a conference organised this week by the “no patents on seeds” initiative on the eve of a public hearing of the European Patent Office on cases involving the patenting of broccoli and tomatoes, non-governmental representatives and farmers associations from Europe and elsewhere said there were detectable changes in American jurisprudence and European governments seem to be rethinking the biopatent issue.
Consensus On Binding Biodiversity Agreement Elusive, To Reconvene in September 20/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A last-chance negotiation of a draft protocol text on biodiversity access and benefit-sharing has been given yet another chance as delegates parted ways on Friday in Montreal without an agreement but with a tentative plan to reconvene to try to tie it up before a major UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in October.
Agencies Talk Cooperation On Medicines Access; Stakeholders Cautious 19/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Key international agencies for health, trade and intellectual property on Friday jointly organised a symposium on access to medicines in an effort to gather information and expertise as a basis of a collaborative response to the challenges of public health.
AIDS Conference Campaigns For International Focus, Funding and Research 19/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The 18th International AIDS conference opened its doors in Vienna on Sunday with a purpose of keeping the HIV issue high among international priorities in the context of a global economic crisis, and to promote universal access to treatment.
Hopes Fading For Concluding Biodiversity Access And Benefit Sharing Negotiations? 16/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The clock was ticking with only a day to go in this week’s meeting of a UN working group on biodiversity trying to reach an agreement on a draft protocol text on access and benefit-sharing.
OECD Sees New Angle On Innovation For Growth, Social Challenges 16/07/2010 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Innovation is a key factor in economic growth but is not only about research as it is a system with many different interacting parts including R&D as one of those elements, a senior developed nations group representative said this week. Governments need to promote policies that integrate the cross-cutting nature of innovation and favour evidence based decision making, he said.
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.
New Climate Technologies Rarely Reaching Developing Countries, Panel Says 13/07/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Climate-friendly technologies are only rarely being transferred to developing countries, and then primarily to a small handful of emerging market economies, said the findings of a study presented today. That the changing global climate requires urgent response, and that this response will most likely include technology, is largely agreed. But what role intellectual property rights play in making sure that technology exists and is available is still not yet fully understood.