President Obama Backs RIAA In Online File-Sharing Case 07/04/2009 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment President Obama’s US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a legal brief in support of damages sought by an affiliate of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), prompting some observers to speculate on the Obama administration’s impartiality in the RIAA’s file-sharing litigation campaign.
People: Kean Out At WHO; US Trade Team In Place 06/04/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The latest news on people in the international IP community.
Special Interests Seeking Power In ICANN’s New Stakeholder Group 04/04/2009 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which coordinates the global domain name system, is in the process of reforming its core bodies, and consumer representatives and others see a possibility to inject more balance into the international organisation’s stakeholder groups long dominated by a range of private sector representatives.
High Level Task Force On Human Rights Turns Eye To Health And IP 03/04/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch and James Leonard for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization global strategy on health and intellectual property includes powerful and potentially paradigm-shifting elements, but it also has notable shortcomings for human rights, says a new document prepared for the United Nations group responsible for the right to development.
“Burning The Ships” — IP And The New, Open Microsoft 03/04/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments An interview with Marshall Phelps, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for intellectual property policy and strategy and a mastermind behind IBM’s and Microsoft’s massive IP valuations, and David Kline, journalist, author and intellectual property consultant, on their new book, “Burning The Ships,” which looks inside Microsoft’s IP strategy.
Les États-Unis se débattent avec la question de la transparence et l’Europe appelle à une divulgation des textes de l’ACAC 03/04/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Les parlements suédois et de l’Union européenne appellent actuellement la Commission européenne à rendre publics tous les documents liés à un traité international anti-contrefaçon gardé confidentiel, après que les États-Unis ont affirmé que ces textes relèvent de la sécurité nationale et donc du secret d’État. Cependant, ces derniers ont aujourd’hui décidé de revoir leur politique de transparence.
Compromise US Patent Reform Legislation Clears First Hurdle 02/04/2009 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Sweeping patent reform legislation cleared a key United States Senate committee Thursday and is now headed for a vote on the Senate floor after compromises were reached on key sticking points in the bill.
US Trade Team Responds To Protectionist Pressure In Reports On Trading Partners 31/03/2009 by William New and Dirshaye Abate for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Obama administration’s new trade team has quickly come under pressure to focus on protecting United States interests, including enforcement of intellectual property rights, at a time when multilateral institutions urge governments to remain open for the sake of the global economy.
Industry Gets European Union Buy-In At Event Against Piracy, Counterfeiting 30/03/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Commission this week will launch a forum for coordinating attacks against counterfeit and pirated goods, to be announced at a daylong event featuring representatives from a wide range of industries. No representatives of the public interest or consumers appear to be included in the event or related initiatives.
Germany Opts For ISP Filtering Of Child Pornography; NGOs Warn Of Unintended Impact 30/03/2009 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments Several German ministries seem to be in a footrace to draft legal text for a filtering regime blocking child pornography from German users’ personal computers agreed by the government last week.