Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The Obama administration has announced a decision to make a last step towards completing privatisation of internet core infrastructure oversight, namely the central root zone of the domain name system. But it is not clear what this will mean for international efforts to increase intergovernmental control over the internet.
Press conferences, stakeholder meetings and presentations as well as picture-tweets about consultations have become a habit of the negotiators of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Still, after this week's round of negotiations, answers to tougher questions like what are the chances of reconciling regimes on the protection of geographic indications or data flows and data privacy seem far from clear.
A huge majority of the European Parliament today called for a stop to mass surveillance and a digital "New Deal" to enpower European citizens and companies following a six-month inquiry into the US National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence service surveillance programmes by the Parliamen's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
On the eve of European Parliament's final decision on consequences from revelations of mass surveillance directed against citizens, several members of the Parliament heavily criticised EU governments for the lack of action.
The Snowden revelations have spurred yet another discussion on how to internationalise or globalise the oversight over the management of core infrastructures of the internet, namely the so-called IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) functions. Why not let the private sector decide?
After three rounds of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), European Union Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht this week welcomed the progress so far. But negotiators have to “step up a gear,” de Gucht said after a two-day stocktaking meeting with the United States Trade Representative Michael Froman in Washington, DC on 18 February. Meanwhile, USTR announced new steps to raise public participation in trade negotiations.
Over the revelations of mass surveillance of internet users and government officials, the topic of internet governance has risen to the mainstream political agenda. And a Communication on “Europe's role in shaping the future of Internet Governance” passed by the European Commission today would put “Europe in the center of the debate,” EC Vice President Neelie Kroes said in a press conference in Brussels.
With 640 of 680 votes, the European Parliament today passed a new directive on “collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online uses in the internal market.” Rarely before has the usually controversial subject of copyright rallied such broad agreement in Parliament.
32 farmer, breeder and environmental organisations from 26 countries gathered by the “no-patents-on-seeds” alliance today filed an opposition against a patent on an insect-resistant sweet pepper at the European Patent Office in Munich.
At the Munich Security Conference a year ago, there was a considerable first push for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Eight months after the start of official TTIP negotiations and with the Snowden revelations in between, the tone at the 50th edition of the high-level foreign policy event in Munich is somewhat changed.