US High Court Opens Door To More (And Older) Copyright Suits 20/05/2014 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Music, movie, and television companies suffered a major defeat yesterday, when the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The ruling will lead to a flood of new copyright infringement suits against these content companies, according to many experts. And content companies may not be the only losers.
New Initiative To Address Lack Of Paediatric-Specific HIV Treatments 19/05/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As the World Health Assembly, a new partnership has been launched by three major public health actors in the field of HIV treatment. The initiative is meant to find improved treatments for children suffering from HIV/AIDs. Although all actors agree that significant progress has been made on adult treatments, children-specific medicines are still lacking.
EPO Internal Strife Spills Over Into European Parliament, Human Rights Court 15/05/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments Relations between European Patent Office (EPO) staff and senior officials, already tense due to work issues with President Benoît Battistelli, have been further undermined by the continuing presence of Vice-President Željko Topić, according to a source close to the situation. Claims about Topić’s suitability for office by one of his former employees at the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) have now reached the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), while a petition by the Association for the Advancement of the Rule of Law (Juris Protecta) in Croatia has been filed in the European Parliament.
Reforms To Spanish Patent Law Promote Filings At National Level 14/05/2014 by Angela Garcia Medina for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On 11 April 2014, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved a draft law reforming the current Spanish Patent Law of 1986. The reform aims to reconcile the regulation with the international framework, strengthen the Spanish patent system and make it easier and faster to obtain solid patent titles in Spain. It contains a few notable changes.
New EU Human Rights Guidelines On Freedom Of Expression, Offline And Online 13/05/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Council of the European Union reaffirmed the crucial role of freedom of expression in democratic society in the online and offline world by adopting a new set of EU human rights guidelines. This includes explicit limitations on restrictions of copyright and internet operators.
Book: Spark Employee Creativity Through Less Control Of Ideas 12/05/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A new book argues that the conventional business approach to increasing control over employees and the talents they carry out actually stifles their creativity and inventiveness.
Re:publica 14: “Take Back The Net From Criminal Services” – And Develop A Business 10/05/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The fight for copyright reform has become a secondary issue, it seems, amidst calls to take back the internet from “evil” intelligence services at the 14th edition of re:publica, the mega-conference on all things digital that took place in Berlin last week.
Panel: Good Governance Is Key To Achieving Global Health Goals 09/05/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As the future United Nations development goals are being debated and decided, two important reports make the case for inclusion of a discussion on global governance and its impact on health.
Comparative Study Of National Approaches To Internet Intermediary Liability 09/05/2014 by Joséphine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The increasing influence and role of internet intermediaries over the past decade has led to a debate regarding their liability in relation to online infringement of copyright and related rights. A recent study analyses legal approaches adopted across both common law and civil law countries in order to pinpoint potential worldwide trends in these liability doctrines.
Is US Overstating Health/Safety Risks Of Counterfeits? 08/05/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new analysis shows that while the United States government suggests intellectual property enforcement efforts at the border are largely aimed at protecting Americans from health and safety risks of counterfeit goods, the real story is different.