CEIPI Celebrates 5oth Anniversary With Major Conference 25/11/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The highly esteemed Center for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) in Strasbourg will mark its 50th anniversary this week with a conference featuring the top names in the European IP community. Below is the press release announcing the event: Conference CEIPI / 27-28 November 2014 Council of Europe, Strasbourg “Perspectives for the Intellectual Property System […]
Keyword Advertising: The Next Instalment In The Interflora v M&S Saga 25/11/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A few days after the first South African case to consider the issue of internet keyword advertising (Cochrane Steel Products (Pty) Ltd v M-Systems Group (Pty) Ltd & Another Case 39605/13, 29 October 2014), we had the next instalment – from the English Court of Appeal – in the dispute between Interflora and Marks & Spencer (Interflora Inc & Another v Marks & Spencer plc [2014] EWCA Civ 1403). Yes, it is, indeed, not just any dispute concerning keyword advertising. It appears that these two litigants have taken it upon themselves to definitively settle the law relating to keyword advertising, through the various judgments their dispute is yielding.
WIPO: New Proposal On Disclosure Requirement In Design Applications 25/11/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment On the first day of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on trademarks and designs the focus was on a proposal from the African Group to include a disclosure requirement in international industrial design applications. Up to now the stumbling block preventing delegates from moving to a high-level treaty negotiation has been technical assistance. This additional parameter might come in the way of swift agreement.
USTR Froman Presses India On IPR Regime 24/11/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments “Nearly one-third of all Silicon Valley start-ups have an Indian-American co-founder,” United States Trade Representative Michael Froman said in remarks on India today. The country of India is also innovating, but it must do more to have and enforce a world-class intellectual property rights regime, he said.
US Courts Recognise New Performers’ Rights 24/11/2014 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment For performers and record labels in the United States, it is terrific news. They possess previously unrecognised rights in audio recordings, according to three recent court rulings. But not everyone is pleased about this. The decisions not only upend 75 years of US copyright law, they create big problems for broadcasters, webcasters and many other internet firms, all of whom now face hefty liability for copyright infringement.
Threats To IP Call For A Risk-Based Approach 24/11/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Pamela Passman Economic globalization and digitization of information have revolutionized business and allowed for efficiency that was unimaginable a few decades ago. The ability to share information remotely means companies can coordinate with partners remotely, integrate suppliers, track shipments and communicate in real time with customers in distant markets. These trends represent a seismic […]
UK High Court Orders ISPs To Block Trademark-Infringing Websites 20/11/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In what may be a test case for trademark owners battling counterfeiters, the UK High Court has ordered five internet service providers (ISPs) to block websites that were advertising and selling bogus goods. The ruling could have implications beyond Britain, the court said. ISPs, meanwhile, said the best way to handle infringing websites is to remove them at source rather than blocking.
Australia Accuses Tobacco Industry Of ‘Regulatory Chill’ In WTO Plain Packaging Case 20/11/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Australia this week at the World Trade Organization said the tobacco industry is applying a “well-known tactic” of instilling a “regulatory chill” on WTO members’ efforts to implement plain-packaging anti-smoking strategies. It also said pro-tobacco countries should not keep putting the issue on WTO committee agendas while their dispute settlement cases are running their course.
Geneva Conference Looks At Internet Governance ‘At A Crossroads’ 20/11/2014 by Elena Bourtchouladze for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment “Internet Governance at a Crossroads” was the title of the Geneva Internet Conference, which took place in Geneva this week for the first time.
ITU Looks Into Issues Of Counterfeit, Substandard ICT Products 18/11/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week, the International Telecommunication Union is holding an event highlighting the UN agency’s entry into what it describes as the growing problem of counterfeit and fake information and communication technology (ICT) products. Officials from the neighbouring World Intellectual Property Organization and World Trade Organization remarked during the meeting that counterfeit relates to an intellectual property right infringement, which is a different issue from substandard products.