Recording Industry Faces Uphill Legal Battle In P2P Network Fight 13/08/2007 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and other associations representing record labels are facing significant challenges in their efforts to enforce European Union copyright laws against unauthorised downloads of music files over peer-to-peer networks. It remains to be seen whether the EU Copyright Directive and other EU mandates, as well as thousands of lawsuits filed against downloaders, will be enough to contain file sharing in the EU. Different degrees of enforcement and the reluctance of some criminal courts to convict so-called “music pirates” in the different EU states can make it difficult for recording industry groups to successfully seek court remedies against individuals who illegally download copyrighted files.
WIPO: ‘Explosive Growth’ In Patent Filings Strains IP System 10/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The shape of the intellectual property map is changing, with Northeast Asia moving into the top of the list of number of patent filings in 2005, says a new report from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). There was a 4.7 percent average annual increase in patent filings worldwide from […]
Modificación de la directiva de la UE sobre observancia podría penalizar las importaciones paralelas 09/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Por Monika Ermert para Intellectual Property Watch El Parlamento Europeo ha votado en contra de la penalización de la importación paralela de artículos en la directiva propuesta en la Unión Europea sobre medidas penales destinadas a garantizar la observancia de los derechos de propiedad intelectual (IPRED2). Sin embargo, estas reimportaciones de artículos comercializados por los […]
WHO Draft Negotiating Text On IP Cautiously Received 08/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The World Health Organization’s (WHO) new draft negotiating document for the final round of what has become an intense process of analysing medicines innovation and intellectual property narrows the focus to about a dozen diseases but is wide-ranging on policy options, seemingly encompassing all proposals. In early reactions, some criticised […]
Rejected Novartis Cases Leave India’s TRIPS Compliance Unchallenged 07/08/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch As Indian lawyers for Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis comb through a High Court judgment published today, the question of whether the Indian patent law is compliant with a World Trade Organization treaty remains unanswered. The judgment, from the Indian High Court in Chennai, threw out two highly contentious […]
Las cuestiones de propiedad intelectual permanecen en juego en las negociaciones de la OMC 06/08/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Por William New Las cuestiones de propiedad intelectual podrán no ser “decisivas” en la actual ronda de negociaciones de liberalización del comercio en la Organización Mundial del Comercio, pero siguen siendo un factor relevante. En la sesión de apertura de la semana pasada del Comité de Negociaciones Comerciales (CNC), el Director General de la OMC […]
Mobile, IT Industries Form Patent Pool-Style Scheme 06/08/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Some of the biggest names in the mobile phone industry have joined forces to share intellectual property but have stopped short of establishing the mobile industry’s first patent cooperative, known as a patent pool. Intel, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and Qualcomm are among the manufacturers that have agreed to […]
Change To EU Enforcement Directive Could Criminalise Parallel Imports 03/08/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The European Parliament has voted against criminalising parallel imports of goods in the proposed European Union directive on criminal measures aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRED2). Yet these re-imports of products marketed by rights holders in other countries may be criminalised if Parliament does not change a “cleaned-up” draft text of the directive that has quietly emerged, sources say. The directive is a follow-up to the IP Enforcement Directive (2004/48/EC, IPRED1) passed by the EU in 2004 and will add criminal sanctions against piracy and counterfeiting of a commercial scale. Both IPRED1 and IPRED2 brought about fierce debates about how far protection of intellectual property should go in Europe.
Intellectual Property Issues Remain In Play In WTO Negotiations 02/08/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New Intellectual property issues may not be ‘make-or-break’ for the current round of trade-liberalisation negotiations at the World Trade Organization, but they continue to be a factor. At last week’s opening to the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said consultations on IP issues are continuing, a WTO session chairman […]
US Congressional Panel Mulls Royalty Right For Songs On Radio 31/07/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Well-loved American performers, members of Congress and the US Register of Copyrights squared off Tuesday against the country’s powerful broadcast lobby in a bid to change US copyright law to reward artists for songs played on terrestrial radio stations. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and […]