Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Draft rules on intellectual property rights in publicly financed research are stirring significant debate in South Africa between those who say the rules may stifle innovation, breach WHO commitments and be unconstitutional, and others who say concerns are overblown and the measures are needed to boost the country's economy.
While rightsholders hailed a “landmark” recent high-profile verdict against the operators of Swedish online file-sharing site The Pirate Bay (TPB), legal and digital rights analysts say it was no surprise. While the law of secondary liability for copyright infringement is by no means settled everywhere, TPB’s attitude toward intellectual property protections means the same decision could have happened in other countries as well, they said.
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.
The effort to tackle digital piracy is likely to remain the most contentious intellectual property issue in Europe this year. It will be joined by debates on copyright term extension, IP provisions in trade agreements, and an ongoing discussion of patent policy in Europe.
The Year Ahead: Copyright has taken centre stage again this year as the battle over internet service provider (ISP) responsibility for digital piracy intensifies and spreads around the world. 2009 will also feature growing global pressure for a more harmonised system of copyright limitations and exceptions, and continuing controversy over the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
Before a packed audience, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) Friday tackled the highly controversial dispute between the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and much of the patent bar over rules capping the number of continuation requests and claims patent seekers can submit without incurring additional expenses and paperwork.
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
Trademark owners are not likely to benefit from the approval by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) of a predicted 500 new generic top-level domain names (gTLDs), industry speakers said at a 25 November Web seminar on protecting and promoting brands online. Potential risks include the need for defensive domain-name registrations in many TLDs and the lack of an effective procedure for resolving disputes, they said.
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - The American Intellectual Property Law Association faces profound political, legislative and administrative challenges in coming months, new Executive Director Q. Todd Dickinson said in a 13 November interview in The Hague. Key among them are major changes at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the new Obama administration, the fate of patent reform in the new US Congress, and the impact, if any, of the global economic downturn on patents, he said.
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS – Patent offices are facing heat from industry to make good on promises to coordinate global processing of patent applications. Despite years of talk of streamlining the handling of applications,…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Google’s groundbreaking settlement of copyright infringement claims by authors and book publishers this week resonates beyond the United States, the European Commission and a UK copyright lawyer said. While the agreement affects only…