Digital Rights Management Faces “Big Data,” Multiple-Rightsholder Challenges 23/02/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Managing copyright in digital musical works can be difficult because there are multiple rights holders and no standards for exchanging the massive amounts of data involved. Digital rights management services LyricFind and Rumblefish are among organisations working to streamline access to online content, company chiefs say.
TTIP: Alternative ISDS No Real Alternative, NGOs Warn 19/02/2016 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Just days before the restart of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on 22 February in Brussels, a large coalition of non-governmental organisations led by the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) published a critical report on new proposals for the highly debated investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms. The activists called the Investment Court System (ICS) prepared by EU Commissioner Malmstroem as an alternative a mere “ISDS zombie.”
Changes Among IP Experts In Private Sector, Law Offices And More 12/02/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Movements at the World Economic Forum, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, along with changes in the academic and private sectors worlds marked the beginning of 2016. The early part of the new year has also brought some changes in the intellectual property divisions of law firms.
US Congress Passes Customs Bill With Strong IP Enforcement Provisions 12/02/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States Congress today (11 February) passed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, establishing clearer rules on customs officials’ work to stop infringing goods from entering the US. The Act creates a new National IP Coordination Center for coordinating investigations, training and other activities.
US Industry IP Index Rates Nations 11/02/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States Chamber of Commerce has released an index rating countries on their use and treatment of intellectual property and innovation, finding the United States to be top in the world. The report scores the largest emerging economies relatively low, including China, despite that country’s dominance in rates of IP filings in recent years, […]
President Obama Sends Two WIPO Copyright Treaties To US Senate For Ratification 10/02/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Today, United States President Barack Obama sent two signed multilateral copyright treaties negotiated at the World Intellectual Property Organization to the US Senate for ratification.
Music Copyright 101: A Brief Rundown Of Legal Status In The United States 10/02/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment “The world of music rights is divided into two major segments: compositions and sound recordings,” said Kenneth Steinthal, partner, King & Spalding, San Francisco, who opened a panel at Yale Law School last week with a baseline understanding of music copyright. Steinthal gave a textbook rundown of the complicated status of music copyright that puts […]
European Data Protection Officers On Privacy Shield Announcement: Please Send Text! 03/02/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A day after the European Commission announced an agreement with US authorities for a “Privacy Shield” as a follow-up mechanism for the invalidated Safe Harbour Agreement, the Article 29 Working Party of European Union data protection officers said they need to see the written text before making their final assessment.
The Conversation – Netflix’s VPN Ban Proves We Need To Develop A Global, Legal Digital Marketplace 03/02/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In mid-January, Netflix announced a ban on the use of proxies, unblockers, and virtual private networks (VPNs)—all technical work-arounds to view movies and TV programs unavailable in the subscriber’s country. This announcement coincided with the company’s global service launch into more than 130 new markets.
Internet Policy Task Force Seeks Changes To US Copyright Statutory Damages Law 28/01/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States Copyright Act should be amended in a “very careful” way to change the way statutory damages are awarded to successful copyright owners against infringing individuals and online services, Shira Perlmutter, US Patent and Trademark Office chief policy officer and international affairs director, said today. She and John Morris, National Telecommunications and Information Administration associate administrator and internet policy director, unveiled a white paper by the Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) which, while proposing legislative changes to the damages provisions, also said no amendments are needed to the measure’s remix and “first sale” clauses.