Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Specific topics being discussed under the secretive negotiating process of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement were revealed Monday when the office of US Trade Representative Ron Kirk released a summary of the key elements under discussion. The summary is available from…
Several recent Obama appointees selected to oversee different aspects of IP policy had immediately before their appointments represented copyright industries, says a letter signed by 19 US-based public interest groups sent to the president last week [pdf]. There is a…
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has reported that Obama’s gift to the Queen of England, an iPod loaded with Broadway showtunes, may have come with some copyright questions. The issue is over where copyright law stands when music being gifted is…
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.
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.
The Obama administration recently nominated Larry Strickling assistant secretary of Commerce for communications and information, a post which would make him head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The NTIA is responsible for the US government agreement overseeing…
Five new studies on select patent-related topics and informal, open-ended consultations on global issues are the key elements of future work for a World Intellectual Property Organization committee that wrapped up its meeting late Friday.
The parliaments of Sweden and the European Union are urging the European Union to make public all documentation related to a secretive global anti-counterfeiting treaty, while the United States has claimed the papers are a matter of national security and therefore a state secret. But now the US has decided to undertake a review of its transparency.
Addressing the challenge of climate change will require technological solutions and the dissemination of those solutions to as many users as possible. A panel at the World Intellectual Property Organization Tuesday asked how intellectual property law might help or hinder that transfer, and what role the organisation might play in creating the right policy.
Regulatory caution on technology standards and intellectual property rights is increasingly necessary, as technology - and the need for interoperability between platforms - dominates the market economy as well as global communications, said a panel on patents and standards Monday.