Original news and analysis on international IP policy
On 13 February, the United States and Japan will deposit their instruments of accession to the Geneva Act of July 2, 1999 (the Geneva Act) of the WIPO’s Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (the Hague Agreement). A ceremony will be held at the World Intellectual Property Organization, which manages the agreement.
This year is shaping up to be a busy one for the World Trade Organization, and intellectual property issues are among those coming up.
Experts gathered in Geneva recently to review past projects on intellectual property and private international law, and look toward the future. Now, through efforts to draft a set of guidelines, headway is being made on finding ways to manage the legal uncertainties in this area.
The celebration late last year of the 50th anniversary of the Centre de Études Internationales de la Propriété Intellectuelle (CEIPI) at the Université de Strasbourg, France, brought together leading figures in the European IP community. Speakers hailed the origin and successes of the IP system in Europe, and had suggestions for what do better going forward.
The World Intellectual Property Organization this week issued its 2014 edition of the World Intellectual Property Indicators report, finding growth in intellectual property filings in China and the United States, and decline in Europe and Japan.
World Intellectual Property Organization members continuously work to ensure international copyright policy is as responsive and helpful as possible to global changes. One thing they don’t lack is outside opinions on what they should do.
A number of side events were organised during the 8-12 December WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). Topics addressed in these events ranged from international cooperation in film production (IPW, WIPO, 8 December 2014), to access to copyrighted works in libraries and educational institutions, to a proposed treaty on broadcasters’ rights, as well as the interface between copyright and competition.
Gender differences persist in the field of intellectual property, but there are signs of change, and new proposals are emerging for bringing greater balance, a US professor told a gathering at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week.
The Association of European Performers’ Organisations (AEPO-ARTIS) has released a study showing that EU legislation does not provide adequate protection to performers for the legal exploitation of their performances on the internet.
“Internet Governance at a Crossroads” was the title of the Geneva Internet Conference, which took place in Geneva this week for the first time.