European Patent Office Issues Report On Future, Celebrates Present 19/04/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen MUNICH – The European Patent Office (EPO) has published a report on what the intellectual property rights system may look like in the future, while it celebrates the present and its 30th anniversary this year. The celebration was kicked off by a colourful dance and music show on the opening […]
DRM Actions Could Prompt Fresh Look At Protecting Copyrighted Content 16/04/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Two recent developments – the decision by music industry giant EMI to sell downloads free of digital rights management (DRM) and the launch of France’s new DRM agency – could change the nature of the debate on copyright reform. While it remains to be seen whether EMI and other companies offering unprotected content are successful, or the Regulatory Authority for Technical Measures (ARMT) effectively resolves interoperability disputes, it is likely that content providers and policymakers around the world will be watching closely, experts said.
WIPO Broadcasting Treaty, EU-Wide Patent Generate Debate 16/04/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen NEW YORK – Two “old” intellectual property policy issues are continuing to generate new debate among legal and policy experts, namely the broadcasting treaty under negotiation at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the recent move by the European Commission to re-launch the debate on a single European patent […]
Conference Identifies Patent Challenges For Next Decade 13/04/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen NEW YORK – When this week’s Fordham University conference on intellectual property was discussing future trends in the areas of patents, trademarks and copyright, patents seemed to be the winner in terms of number of issues to be worked out over the next decade. The buzzword seems to be all […]
European Commission Issues Communication To Unlock EU-Wide Patent Debate 04/04/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen BRUSSELS – While waiting for the time to ripen to introduce a single European Community patent, the European Commission has outlined a compromise that would start with a harmonised court system for patent lawsuits, an EU official said at a 3 April briefing in Brussels. With this dossier stuck for […]
EU Hears Views On Policies For Addressing Neglected Diseases 04/04/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen BRUSSELS – Whether research and development into new medicines for poor countries may best be secured through the strengthening of current partnerships or through entirely new schemes was the focus of an expert workshop held in Brussels by the German presidency to the European Union and the European Commission on […]
EU Copyright Enforcement Draft Clears Parliamentary Panel; Concerns Linger 23/03/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A European Commission proposal to criminalise commercial intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements is headed for a vote in the European Parliament despite strong opposition to some provisions from industry sectors and consumer groups. On 20 March, members of the Legal Affairs (JURI) committee backed a report authored by […]
EU Parliament: Competition Yes, But No ‘Big Bang’ For Collective Rights 14/03/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The European Parliament this week passed a resolution on cross-border collective rights management asking for a framework directive at the EU level that would encourage more competition. But parliamentary members of the bigger political party groups warned against a “big bang” of unrestricted competition and an overly rapid […]
EU Enforcement Directive Stuck: What Is ‘Commercial Scale’ Infringement? 05/03/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch For the third time since December, the European Parliament committee vote on an EU directive on criminal sanctions against infringers of intellectual property rights has been postponed. This is a signal that there are great difficulties with the text, say observers from non governmental organisations, who argue that the European Commission should kill it or rewrite it from scratch. But a compromise is near, according to the vice chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (JURI), Rainer Wieland (EPP).
European Collecting Societies Under Fire From Cable Operators 09/02/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch AMSTERDAM – The current scheme for clearing broadcast retransmission rights harms cable operators and should be revamped, speakers said at this week’s Cable Europe 07 conference in Amsterdam. An alternative to collective rights management organisations (CRMs) – central licensing or all-rights-included packages – could give the cable industry […]