African Groups Seek To Modify “UPOV 91+” Draft Protocol 03/07/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A group of African civil society institutions is calling for a revision of the draft protocol on plant variety protection of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation.
European Commission Adopts New Strategy On Enforcement Of IP Rights 01/07/2014 by Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Today, the European Commission adopted two communications on intellectual property rights enforcement, one within the single market, the other in relation to third countries. Focusing on commercial scale infringement activities, the Commission will consider other measures later, including legislative ones.
WIPO And Caribbean IP, What’s The Point? 30/06/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Recent months have seen a few interesting intellectual property symposia in the Caribbean, in particular the WIPO–JIPO Regional Conference on IP and creative industries which was held in Jamaica from February 10-12 2014. It is quite interesting that in spite of the intention that it should be regional as indicated in the title of the conference, there seems to have been little participation from the fifteen member countries of Caricom and that most of the sessions focused on Jamaica and its situation, perhaps a natural outcome of the WIPO–JIPO collaboration. Progressive Caribbean intellectuals in the area of intellectual property were also notably absent from the forum, writes Abiola Inniss.
EPO President Battistelli’s Term Extended Amid Staff Concerns 30/06/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The term of European Patent Office (EPO) President Benoît Battistelli has been extended for three years to 30 June 2018. The vote by the European Patent Organisation Administrative Council strongly backed Battistelli’s quality and efficiency reforms, but sparked unhappiness from staff who see the president as a “dictator”.
The Right To Be Forgotten: Balancing Conflicting Rights 26/06/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch and Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments In a widely publicised case last month, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) applied the “right to be forgotten,” requesting that internet search engines, under certain circumstances, delist links to personal data upon request. The court’s decision establishes a contentious balance between the right to privacy and the public’s right to access to information. The ECJ left this balance to search engines to implement on a case-by-case basis. While some argue in favour of these decisions, others fear the larger worldwide implications that cases are leading to.
Hamamoto Is New US Ambassador To UN In Geneva 26/06/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations Office in Geneva today announced the official arrival of the new ambassador of the United States to the UN in Geneva, Pamela Hamamoto.
US Supreme Court Aereo Ruling Threatens New Risks For Online Firms 25/06/2014 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Internet start-up Aereo suffered a major defeat today, when the US Supreme Court ruled that the company was guilty of copyright infringement. But Aereo may not be the only loser. The ruling could jeopardise a wide variety of other online businesses, many experts warned.
Publishers Make Recommendations As EU Copyright White Paper Nears 23/06/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment With the publication of the European Commission’s white paper on copyright due as soon as the beginning of July,as announced by the Commissioner Michel Barnier, the European Publishers Council (EPC) presented their own “Copyright Vision.”
UK IP Crime Unit Preliminary Report On Activities 20/06/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment To coincide with the International IP Enforcement Summit held on 11-12 June in London, the United Kingdom (UK) Intellectual Property Crime Group produced a preliminary version of its annual report to showing actions taken by several organisations to fight counterfeiting products.
Author Interview: “Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage” 20/06/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments In this interview, Intellectual Property Watch sat down with Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington, DC-based policy think tank, to talk about his book, “Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage,” co-authored with Stephen Ezell. The book addresses US economic strategies and policies, or lack thereof, relating to innovation and technology, in comparison with past and present policies of other nations. It identifies “good” and “bad” national policies, the latter promoting national innovation at the expense of other countries and global efforts for innovation. The authors argue the US is falling behind in the innovation race, and sets out a road map for recovery.