Council Of Europe Holds Consultations On Draft Internet Freedom Text
A committee of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe is drafting a recommendation on internet freedom and is requesting public comments until the end of the month.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
William New
Don’t Keep The Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks Secret
[From the New York Times Opinion pages, by Margot Kaminski:] COLUMBUS, Ohio — WHEN WikiLeaks recently released a chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, critics and proponents of the deal resumed wrestling over its complicated contents. But a cover page of the leaked document points to a different problem: It announces that the draft text is classified by the United States government. Even if current negotiations over the trade agreement end with no deal, the draft chapter will still remain classified for four years as national security information. The initial version of an agreement projected by the government to affect millions of Americans will remain a secret until long after meaningful public debate is possible. [Note: article mentions a US FOIA case by IP-Watch]
Clinical Trial Transparency, Medicines Access On Agendas Today
The World Health Organization today issued a call for disclosure of results from clinical trials for medical products, no matter what the results of the trials were. And a variety of events and publications are addressing medicines access today.
A Global Digital Magna Carta? Maybe, But First Identify Needs, Panel Says
NEW YORK - A recent panel of internet governance experts was divided on whether a primary global set of principles protecting the balance of power on the internet is needed.
Yale Conference Looks At Innovation “Beyond IP”
NEW HAVEN – Intellectual property is not the only driver of human innovation. A two-day conference held here recently brought together a range of leading academics and others to share ideas on innovation occurring outside of, or in spite of, intellectual property rights.
Whistleblowers: Little UN Protection For Exposing Wrongdoing
From AP: High-profile whistleblowers have joined forces for the first time in demanding that the United Nations change a global system they say deters its thousands of staffers from exposing crime, corruption and other wrongdoing.
In a letter sent to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday, nine current and former U.N. workers say current policies offer "little to no measure of real or meaningful protection" from retaliation that can include firing, harassment and intimidation.
IP Rights Get A Good Look At Fashion Law Conference
NEW YORK – A daylong event on fashion law devoted significant time to ways intellectual property rights are increasingly providing protection in the fashion world – including with the advent of 3D printing.
Manila Principles On Intermediary Liability Offer Vision For Balance
A new set of principles launched this week by a range of global non-governmental organisations attempts to set out guidelines for internet intermediaries’ liability for content of communications. The six principles, which are seeking endorsement from organisations and individuals worldwide, address freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right to privacy.
Cuba, Large Friends, Trying To Corner US Into Compliance With WTO Rum Trademark Ruling
Better relations may be on the way for Cuba and the United States, but the thaw has yet to be seen in a longstanding World Trade Organization dispute over a Cuban rum trademark. As it has done for years, the United States today casually reported that there are several pieces of legislation in the US Congress that might bring it into compliance with a longstanding WTO ruling that found it in violation of WTO rules for a 1998 measure blocking a Cuban trademark from receiving due legal process in the US, where a US-friendly firm is using it.
Slifer Named USPTO Deputy Director
A veteran technology industry and innovation patent attorney has been named the new deputy director has been named at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
CJEU Renders Landmark Decision On Private Copying Levies
From Hogan Lovells: Private copying levies in the Member States have occupied the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) quite a few times, previously for example in decision C‑521/11 from 2013. With the current decision in Nokia vs.…
Are Generics Companies Using Inter Partes Review To Overturn Patent Court Cases?
NEW YORK - Will generics companies use a win under the new inter partes review mechanism in the United States to overturn pharmaceutical patents in court? A top attorney for a pharmaceutical innovator company says they could indeed. Meanwhile, a new analysis of the inter partes review so far shows it may not be as much of a cause for alarm as previously thought.