Category Inside Views

How To Reboot WIPO

By this point, I’m sure the entire intellectual property community knows that WIPO has problems, from an investigation of sanctions-busting in its technical assistance programmes going back years to allegations of vote-buying through abuse of the hiring process. It harkens back to the dying days of the term of the last Director-General, Kamil Idris, who left office early under a cloud, writes Nick Ashton-Hart.

An Anthem To Ignorance: South Africa’s Case Of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika

The South African national anthem comprises the works Nkosi Sikelela’ iAfrika and Die Stem, which was formerly the national anthem. Nkosi has passed into the public domain and contrary to various claims cannot be used as the basis for royalty claims arising out of its use. The music of Die Stem is however still under copyright but its ownership has reverted from the State to the heirs of the composer in terms of the reversionary interest provisions of the British Imperial Copyright Act and is thus the subject of private ownership. In principle royalties can be charged in respect of its use as part of the current national anthem.

Golden Oldies? South African High Court Looks At What Is “Traditional”

The question of the use of material in the public domain for the inspiration of new works has been complicated in South Africa by legislation which purports to grant retrospective perpetual protection to so-called “traditional works”. A case pending in the South African High Court highlights the question of what is “traditional” and raises the question of to whom music companies will have to look in the future to obtain permission to use anything that smacks of a traditional flavour. Prof. Owen Dean asks: Could this be a disincentive to use traditional material belonging in the public domain and thus slow cultural expression?

Call For Transparency In The Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiation

In this post, three US law professors explain a recent call by over 30 legal scholars for the US Trade Representative to increase transparency for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement intellectual property chapter, and their response to Ambassador Kirk’s response that he is “strongly offended” by the suggestion that the negotiation is not adequately transparent already.

Interview With Vladimir Nika: Enforcing IP Rights In Albania 2010 – 2015

In 2010, institutions in Albania created a strategy to help enforce intellectual property rights within five years. Intellectual Property Watch recently conducted a written Q and A with Vladimir Nika, Albanian office director for the Eastern European law firm PETOŠEVIĆ, on the progress and prospects for the Albanian legislature’s implementation of the 2010 IPR enforcement strategy.

WHO / EU “Bad Medicine” Plans: Flaws, Coordination Gaps

The latest World Health Organization / European Union plans to counter the trade in counterfeit and substandard medicines aim to ensure that medicines in the developing world are safe. As such, though both plans appropriately address quality issues, they fall short of adequate coordination and collaboration with each other, and also present substantial flaws, Daniele Dionisio writes.

Nigerian Courts Step Up Against Copyright Piracy: 18 Convicted

The last year has witnessed a series of convictions of copyright pirates by the Federal High Courts in Nigeria. Information provided by Afam Ezekude, the Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the government agency responsible for copyright matters, shows that the courts have convicted copyright infringers in 18 cases within the last 5 months (October 2011 to February 2012).