Tech Industry Blasts Obama Administration, Says Legitimate Anti-Counterfeiting Efforts Being ‘Hijacked’ 17/03/2011 by William New and Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Legitimate efforts in the United States to address counterfeiting problems have been “hijacked” to benefit rights holders who should protect their own interests and change their business models, the Computer & Communications Industry Association has said.
US Court Rulings May End Plague of False Patent Marking Suits 17/03/2011 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Companies doing business in the United States have, for the past 15 months, found themselves in the cross-hairs. Bayer, Nike, L’Oreal, Sony, Wal-Mart, Novo Nordisk and hundreds of other firms have been sued for making or selling products displaying incorrect or expired patent numbers. And the liability for such false patent marking can be astronomical, with a defendant potentially facing fines of billions or even trillions of dollars.
Would US Senate Patent Reform Bill Harmonise US Law With The World? 16/03/2011 by William New and Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The bill to reform United States patent law recently passed by the Senate purports to bring US law closer to laws of other major patent-filing nations. But how close would it come?
White House Issues Proposals For IP Legislation 15/03/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The Obama administration today issued a series of recommended legislative changes to further beef up domestic intellectual property rights protection, including boosting criminal punishment of pharmaceutical counterfeiters and those engaged in “economic espionage,” increasing wiretapping, making infringing online streaming a felony, and giving more powers to customs officials.
IP Enforcement Permeates ICANN, US Internet Policy 13/03/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The push for ever more far-reaching intellectual property enforcement in the domain name system was heavily criticised at a conference of the Non-Commercial Users’ Constituency (NCUC) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Friday. The NCUC conference on “Internet Governance and the Global Public Interest” took place one day before the first constituency meetings of the 40th ICANN meeting in San Francisco (13-18 March).
EU Takes Actions On Patent Law; ACTA May See Legal Fight 12/03/2011 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments In a flurry of patent-related developments in Europe this week, plans for a single European patent moved a step closer, efforts to create a European-wide patent court faltered, the United Kingdom sought guidance in a case with implications for medicinal research, and the EU high court may be asked to review the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
Caribbean IP: Establishing An Arbitral Tribunal For The Region 11/03/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The use of arbitration across the Caribbean has been largely within the context of trade union disputes and is still something of a novelty in resolving commercial and private disputes in the region, Abiola Inniss writes.
World Blind Union Won’t Be Sidetracked In Quest For Treaty On Reading Access 10/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments In a significant development for ongoing copyright negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Blind Union has distanced itself from initiatives it sees as distractions from a primary goal at the international level: To get agreement on a treaty promoting better access to reading material for visually impaired readers.
Governments, ICANN Still Deep In Negotiations Over New Internet Domains 07/03/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment BRUSSELS – In an arm-wrestling exercise, governments and the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) last week tried to reach common ground on intellectual property rights protection and governments’ ability to intervene with applications for new top-level domains that they see as “sensitive” or “vulnerable” like .nazi, .gay or .bank.
US Panel Puts Google, Facebook, Communications Platforms On Human Rights Frontline 05/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Recent events in the Arab region have brought the issue of access to the internet and social platforms sharply into the spotlight as governments have tried to block or limit internet access and cut millions of people from communication. A United States-hosted panel discussion in Geneva yesterday brought together representatives of Google, Facebook, and Access, a civil society group defending digital freedom.