Move On Data Protection Or Fail On TTIP, EU Parliament Chair Says 02/02/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments At the Munich Security Conference a year ago, there was a considerable first push for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Eight months after the start of official TTIP negotiations and with the Snowden revelations in between, the tone at the 50th edition of the high-level foreign policy event in Munich is somewhat changed.
Year Ahead: Copyright Issues Top EU IP Policy In 2014 23/01/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Copyright tops the European Union intellectual property agenda this year, with completion of a collective rights management directive, and European Commission statements on IP rights enforcement and possible revisions to EU copyright rules, due this spring. “Steady progress” on rollout of a unified EU patent and patent court system is expected, and trademark and other issues also figure prominently. But with European Parliament elections in May, and a new Commission in November, the timetables for these and other IP-related issues could shift, the EC and others said.
Top IP-Watch Stories Of 2013: India, Marrakesh Treaty, Seed/Gene Patents, WIPO Election 09/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Looking back on 2013, the list of the most-viewed stories on the Intellectual Property Watch website shows that reporting on activities in India, especially related to patents and public health, continued to draw the most attention. Other top stories were the Marrakesh Treaty on copyright exceptions for blind readers, legal cases involving patents on seeds and on plant and human genes, the election for World Intellectual Property Organization director general, free-trade agreements (including the Wikileaks leak of the IP chapter of the Trans-Atlantic Partnership agreement), Russian copyrights, and 3D printing.
New EU Customs Enforcement Regulation On IPRs Takes Effect 09/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new regulation on the enforcement of intellectual property rights took effect in the European Union on 1 January, strengthening enforcement and extending the range of rights protected, according to a legal analysis.
New Research Handbook On IP Licensing Available 08/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A recently released book titled, “The Research Handbook on Intellectual Property Licensing,” explores the complexities of intellectual property licensing law from a comparative perspective through the opinions of leading experts.
Academics, Authors Worldwide Start 2014 Strongly Against Surveillance 06/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments More than 250 academics from around the world have signed a declaration strongly calling for a stop to surveillance of citizens’ communications online by US and European authorities. And in December, more than 500 top authors joined a coalition called Writers against Mass Surveillance calling for international rules to curb wholesale surveillance.
EU Parliament Committee Receives Recommendations On Surveillance 19/12/2013 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs today received an oral summary of the draft recommendations on mass surveillance, after hearing the testimony of former Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald.
US Intelligence Committee Chair To EU Parliament: NSA Necessary To Jointly Fight China 17/12/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Mike Rogers, chairman of the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, today defended the work of the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies in the US at a meeting with members of the European Parliament, and called for a united front against the theft of intellectual property by China.
TTIP Leak Illustrates Depth Of “Enhanced Regulatory Cooperation” As NGOs Sound Off 16/12/2013 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments In time for the start of the third round of trade negotiations between the United States and European Union, EU transparency organisation Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) published the first interesting leak on the substance of the talks.
The EU-Thailand FTA: What Fate For Access To Medicines? 12/12/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Following the public outcry over the EU’s demands for stringent intellectual property rules that would dramatically raise medicines prices in India, you would expect the EU to think twice about making similar demands in future trade agreements, particularly with low- and middle-income countries. Yet, this is precisely what is going on now in the negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and Thailand, writes Tessel Mellema.