Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) today announced it would start publishing briefing papers on the issues surrounding the revision of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR) and explain the "processes as well participation rights and opportunities to comment."
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2012 was hailed as a success at its closing ceremony today by the secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Yet sharp debates about the reluctance of the UN to hire an executive secretary for the Internet Governance Forum, the reluctance of the ITU to allow the global public to see and contribute to the coming International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR), and the need for a new UN platform for enhanced cooperation clearly illustrated that the global internet governance ship is cruising through rough seas.
Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) advises developing countries against signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, BMZ official Frank Schmiedchen said during a meeting of the Committee of Petitions of the German Parliament today.
Eben Moglen, a professor of law and history at Columbia University, made a haunting appeal to participants of the 6th re:publica conference that opened in Berlin this morning: Do not to fail in completing the fight for freedom of thought.
As the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) treaty comes under review, some observers are warning that it could change the rules of the game in internet governance. Others are trying to give reassurance that the new ITRs aim at enabling better access to telecommunications everywhere.
Opponents and proponents of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in the European Parliament have positioned themselves in meetings of several committees preparing opinions.
The US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Monday re-issued a request for proposals to manage the sensitive IANA contract. IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority function, includes the management of the central root zone of the internet domain name system, the allocation of internet protocol addresses to the Regional Internet Registries and other core parts of the internet infrastructure.
The Committee of International Trade of the European Parliament today voted against referring the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
In passing a comprehensive Internet Governance Strategy, the Council of Europe (CoE) today laid claim to a front runner position in the human rights dialogue for the internet.
Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla opened the 43rd meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in San Jose with concern about “attempts to regulate the network among which we have the Stop Online Piracy Act seeking protection of intellectual property by restrictions on the addressing and the Protect intellectual Property Act seeking to extend some national jurisdiction towards the entire cyberspace.”