Original news and analysis on international IP policy
While exceptions and limitations for librarians and archives are under negotiation at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week, librarians and archivists called on WIPO delegates to address an issue of contract licences for digital content, which they say often override such exceptions and limitations.
Today, the European Commission adopted two communications on intellectual property rights enforcement, one within the single market, the other in relation to third countries. Focusing on commercial scale infringement activities, the Commission will consider other measures later, including legislative ones.
The World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee has agreed to split its week between work on a proposed treaty to protect broadcasters’ rights and efforts to provide copyright exceptions for libraries, archives, and research and educational institutions. It also has lined up many side events throughout the week.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could compete with national currencies in the long term, but still face many challenges, according to panellists at a recent event in Geneva. Furthermore, the blockchain technology – the open source software which underpins those cryptocurrencies – could have innovative applications in other sectors, including intellectual property protection, they said.
To coincide with the International IP Enforcement Summit held on 11-12 June in London, the United Kingdom (UK) Intellectual Property Crime Group produced a preliminary version of its annual report to showing actions taken by several organisations to fight counterfeiting products.
As the global internet governance landscape started without states in the foreground, the multistakeholder model and the participation of governments in it is still evolving, a recent panel of experts said.
This week, governments and stakeholders have been taking stock nearly 10 years after 2005 UN-led World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), and working to set new goals for the future. One thing seems clear: a full information society has not been achieved yet, and these issues may form part of the post-2015 development agenda at the UN.
LAUSANNE - Community-driven innovation and technologies could be a solution for developing essential technologies to achieve sustainable development, according to a range of expert panels at a recent event. And in some cases, they already are.
LAUSANNE - Using their own experiences, a panel of technology industry representatives last week identified factors that could accelerate technology flows to developing countries.
The internet is expected to reach 3 billion people globally next year, but “much development work still remains to bring the economic and social benefits of the internet to all people and to make sure everyone has quality access” Kathy Brown, president and CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC), said on today’s release of ISOC’s first annual report on the state of the internet.