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 […]
Grupo de expertos en derechos de autor de la UE busca soluciones para los obstáculos a la digitalización 04/05/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Por Dugie Standeford para Intellectual Property Watch Para que los planes de la Comisión Europea de digitalizar y volver accesible el legado cultural de Europa tengan éxito, primero deben resolverse los problemas relacionados con la preservación digital, las obras huérfanas y los materiales agotados, señalaron expertos en derechos de autor en un informe presentado el […]
Possible Qualcomm-Nokia Patent War Delayed Until August 03/05/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch US technology firm Qualcomm this week raised the spectre that if Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia does not comply with demands within four months, a long-running worldwide intellectual property dispute between the two companies could potentially escalate. But so far, Nokia has stated its position and shows no sign of moving. For now, the expected patent war between Qualcomm and Nokia has been delayed. Industry observers had expected Qualcomm to bring a slew of costly suits against Nokia in April for allegedly infringing its extensive patent portfolio. A patent war would pitch two of the largest mobile technology companies in the world against each other, which could have an impact on worldwide consumers’ access to mobile technology products.
Un Groupe d’experts de l’UE sur le droit d’auteur cherche des solutions aux problèmes que pose la numérisation 01/05/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Par Dugie Standeford pour Intellectual Property Watch Des experts du droit d’auteur ont affirmé dans un rapport publié le 18 avril dernier qu’il était indispensable de résoudre les problèmes relatifs à la conservation numérique, aux oeuvres orphelines et aux ouvrages épuisés pour mener à bien les plans de la Commission européenne visant à numériser et […]
WIPO PCT Reform Ends As Swiss Disclosure Proposal Suspended 30/04/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New Switzerland is known for its neutrality in many international forums, but when it comes to intellectual property rights, it generally has an opinion in favour, unsurprising given its high number of rights holders. Last week at the World Intellectual Property Organization, the government showed how it can make a move to favour IP rights in an international forum while retaining that special art of Swiss diplomacy. The Working Group on Reform of the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) held its ninth session from 23 to 26 April. The PCT, which allows recognition of a patent filed in one nation to be recognised in all PCT members, is an important contributor to WIPO’s finances through fees it charges. At the meeting, Switzerland again prepared to put forward a proposal to amend the PCT regulations to “explicitly enable the national patent legislation” to require the declaration of the source of genetic resources and traditional knowledge in patent applications. This would leave it up to the national level to decide whether to make disclosure part of national law. It would allow that disclosure could take place at the national level or later during the international phase, said the proposal, PCT/R/WG/9/5.
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 […]
Officials: European Patent In Five Years, London Protocol By End Of Year 23/04/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen MUNICH – If high-ranking officials speaking at a recent European Patent Office (EPO) meeting are right, the European fight over languages in patent applications may be over by the end of this year following France’s election, and Europe could have a Community patent within the next five years. A Community […]
EPO Report Prompts Debate On New Models For IP System 23/04/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen MUNICH – The launch of a new European Patent Office (EPO) report on the future of the intellectual property system prompted debate at a recent meeting regarding new ways of thinking about patenting and sharing of information in the future. The EPO report, Scenarios for the Future, was issued at […]
Top IP Official Cites Swiss Patent Litigation System, Global Over-Patenting 23/04/2007 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Catherine Saez The addition of new actors including developing countries and a trend of over-patenting in some developed countries is leading to an overload of the global patent system, according to Roland Grossenbacher, director of the Swiss Federal Institute for Intellectual Property. In addition, a patent litigation system is needed in the Europe Union […]
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 […]