Standards-Setting Organisations Increasingly Make IPR A Priority 16/10/2012 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Washington, DC – Standards guide many aspects of our lives. They instruct how telephones talk to each other, how the life sciences community shares information, how electrical devices are charged, and how the internet runs, among other things. It’s standard-setting organisations (SSOs) that facilitate discussions among stakeholders – including intellectual property owners and users – and produce common, typically voluntary technical standards to address needs and concerns of those using the technology. Companies need to make compatible or interoperable products that comply with these standards in order to compete in the global marketplace. And intellectual property is increasingly coming into play in the development of these standards.
EU Rights Owners Blast ICT Industry For Trying To “Hijack” Copyright Levy System Talks 15/10/2012 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Copyright collective management and creators’ organisations Monday accused digital technology industry group DIGITALEUROPE of trying to hijack a mediation process aimed at straightening out the EU’s messy system of private copying and reprographic levies. In its 4 October paper setting out alternatives to device-based copyright levies, DIGITALEUROPE urged the European Commission to initiate comprehensive reform that includes replacing levies with some other forms of compensation to rights holders.
Russian Social Network vKontakte Held Liable For Copyright Infringement A Second Time 12/10/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week, the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and Leningradskaya Oblast announced a decision holding vKontakte, the Russian largest social network, liable for copyright infringement. This is the second case between the parties in which the court sided with the right holder following a decision earlier this year.
OECD Report Shows Rise Of Internet Services 07/10/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Internet firms continue to drive global economic growth and job increases in the information technology sector, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found in a new report.
Delay Of Pirate Parties’ WIPO Observer Status Raises Questions 04/10/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 8 Comments Member governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization yesterday approved all but one application for international non-governmental observer status at the UN agency: Pirate Parties International. This is likely to lead to a discussion of who can be an observer, sources say.
CERN: Free Access To Scientific Journals In Physics In 2014 03/10/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Geneva-based European Organization for Nuclear Physics (CERN) has collaborated with funding agencies and libraries of 29 countries to make freely available access to otherwise expensive scientific articles in the field of particle physics.
Industry Analysis: Print Sales Still In Decline; New Copyright Law Not A Solution 28/09/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new industry analysis highlights the continued decline in print advertising revenues, but offers a glimpse of possibilities for the recovery of the industry in light of the various technology-driven changes and developments in the global media market. New laws or new exceptions to copyright laws, however, are not seen as ways to save the print industry, at least in Europe, according to the report.
Latest Draft Of European Patent Court Agreement Released 28/09/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new draft of the agreement on creation of a European Patent Court has been issued by the Council of the European Union. The latest version shows the changes agreed earlier this year, including to locate the central office in Paris with divisions in London and Munich.
Google’s Neutrality Stance Tested Yet Again In Brazil 27/09/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The arrest of the president of Google’s operations in Brazil is the latest in a string of court decisions to test the neutrality stance of the search giant. Since its beginnings, Google has seen itself as an internet middleman, insisting that it should not be held legally liable for any defamatory or infringing content posted by its users.
European Creators Insist Private Copying Levy Still Relevant 25/09/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Trade associations representing creators, performers and producers of literary works in Europe have reiterated in a joint declaration issued today that manufacturers of copying devices should continue paying for copyright levies amid efforts to abolish the controversial remuneration model.