Transition Of Core Internet Functions (IANA) Oversight From US Government No Done Deal 24/05/2016 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Will the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) be able to handover oversight over the management of the DNS root zone and other core databases of the internet in September? At a hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee in Washington today, proponents and opponents showed off and Senator Marco Rubio, former presidential candidate, strongly […]
US High Court To Consider IP Protection For Clothing Design 24/05/2016 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Fashion in the US generates over $330 billion in annual revenues, but it is more than a business. Fashion is a well-recognized art, displayed in numerous museum exhibitions throughout the world. This art, however, receives little IP protection in the US. But a case before the US Supreme Court could change that.
Guilty As Charged? Pakistan And The Special 301 Reports 23/05/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Owais Hassan Shaikh writes: According to the section of US law on Special 301 reports, a country may be considered a priority foreign country even when it is fully compliant with the WTO Agreement on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the main multilateral agreement on IP rights today. Hence, this legislation and the determinations made in the Special 301 reports prioritize protection of commercial interests of the US nationals.
Washington Post- Colombia Battles World’s Biggest Drugmaker Over Cancer Drug 19/05/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment [From the Washington Post] BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s government is giving pharmaceutical giant Novartis a few weeks to lower prices on a popular cancer drug or see its monopoly on production of the medicine broken and competition thrown open to generic rivals.
USITC Finds TPP Benefits US Economy, But Maybe Not Jobs; Unclear On IP Rights 19/05/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States International Trade Commission (ITC), an independent government agency, today released an 800-page analysis of the economic impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement completed last year.
Google’s Book Scan Project Still Under Fire Despite Legal Victory 16/05/2016 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Legal barriers for Google’s monumental book-scanning project have been removed in the United States, but the initiative remains controversial and would likely run afoul of European [corrected] copyright law, legal experts say.
US President Signs New Trade Secrets Law 12/05/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment US President Barack Obama yesterday signed into law a measure aimed at strengthening trade secret protection including by allowing federal courts to hear cases involving trade secret theft.
At WIPO, Music Industry Points Fingers At YouTube For Hiding Behind Safe Harbour 11/05/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment YouTube is recognised by many as the world’s biggest music platform. Listening to music on YouTube is free for users. However, according to the music industry, it pays very little in terms of revenue, mostly from advertising. It is time that the safe harbour laws behind which YouTube is hiding, creating a market distortion, be revised or better applied, music industry speakers asserted this week at a World Intellectual Property Organization side event.
Alleged Leaked TTIP Report Reveals Differences, Convergence On IP Issues 03/05/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments This week’s high-profile alleged leak of recent texts of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiation between Europe and the United States sent a shockwave in policy circles. Below, Intellectual Property Watch highlights some of the IP-related elements in the text.
Measure Allowing Federal Courts To Handle Trade Secrets Claims Clears US Congress 28/04/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Legislation authorising federal courts to hear cases involving theft of trade secrets passed the US House of Representatives on 27 April and is now headed for an expected signature by President Barack Obama. Final enactment of the “Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016” (DTSA), along with the 14 April adoption by the European Parliament of the EU Trade Secrets Directive, boosts protections on both sides of the Atlantic but not uniformly, intellectual property lawyers said.