Second Life Copyright Case: New World, Same Old Laws? 13/07/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Far from being a bizarre by-product of the online society created by Second Life, a recently launched US intellectual property (IP) infringement case against one of its “avatars” is very much grounded in the real world, legal experts say. However, the fact that the first-of-its-kind case involves a “virtual” product raises interesting legal and social questions, they say.
Parliament Delays WTO IP Health Deal Till EU Boosts Bilateral Drug Access 12/07/2007 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have voted to delay approval of a World Trade Organization agreement on patents for medicines, pending European Union governments giving greater political and financial support to poor countries seeking to boost the supply of affordable drugs. The 785-strong Parliament adopted a resolution […]
Nokia Patent Case Against Qualcomm Reinvigorated 10/07/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch A patent infringement case brought by US technology firm Qualcomm against Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia at the US-based International Trade Commission (ITC) has been reinvigorated, with a hearing scheduled for 10 September.
Belgian Court Orders ISPs To Install Filters To Stop P2P Piracy 09/07/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Belgian Internet service provider (ISP) Scarlet Extended Ltd. (formerly Tiscali) must filter infringing music downloads, the Brussels Court of First Instance ruled recently. The decision, the first of its kind in Europe, dismissed ISPs’ concerns about filtering and could lead to more such lawsuits or changes to European […]
German Parliament Reforms Copyright Law, Leaves Unfinished Work 06/07/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch After four years of evermore controversial debate the German Parliament late Thursday passed another reform of the German Copyright Law intended to make updates for the digital age. But some are already planning for the next round of changes to the law. Referred to as the “second basket” […]
China, India Discuss National IP Strategies, Local Innovation 06/07/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Officials from the governments of China and India discussed challenges in developing national strategies for intellectual property and innovation at a recent colloquium, but common to both countries were aims to boost local innovation by stressing research, and build on technology transfer. Patent applications seem to be on the rise […]
Window May Be Closing For EU Patent Harmonisation 29/06/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch MUNICH – After years of debate, the window of opportunity could be closing for the proposed next step for harmonising the European patent system by creating a centralised European patent court, judging by comments from officials. German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries, at a two-day symposium on the Future of the European Patent Jurisdiction in Munich this week, said that if European governments were unable to agree on an overall concept, “we should have the courage to put an end to the discussion and stay with the status quo.”
Battle Looms In US Over Royalty Fees For Internet Radio 26/06/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Webcasters across the United States fell silent on 26 June in an effort to influence the passage of legislation reversing royalty rate increases many say will kill radio delivered over the Internet. The “Internet Radio Equality Act,” introduced in the Senate and the House of Representatives, responds to […]
Regulators Wrestle With Data Exclusivity For Pharmaceuticals Worldwide 18/06/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch A debate over how long to give exclusive rights over data submitted by pharmaceutical companies to governments in order to receive approval to sell a drug in their markets is controversial not only in India, but worldwide.
Imperfect Compromise Seen In India Data Exclusivity Report 18/06/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch When the Indian government published its report recently on yet another pharmaceutical patent-related issue predicted to split the industry, the Indian newspapers were divided as to whether brand name producers, generics producers or public health advocates had won. The reason for the confusion is that the report is an exercise in appeasement, said Shamnad Basheer, a law professor at George Washington University Law School, and expert on this latest controversial subject, called data exclusivity, which is the rights drugs producers have over the data used to obtain marketing approval in a country.