Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Two top international organisations in Geneva are working to adapt to trends in global intellectual property systems with an eye toward contributing to a positive economic impact, officials told a private sector conference this week. But they heard a complex message about the role of IP in addressing public policy concerns.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) yesterday released a business guide to key intellectual property policy issues worldwide.
In the annual State of Union address last night, US President Obama announced a new Trade Enforcement Unit that includes anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting.
A high-level, highly technical UN meeting that occurs about once every four years at which key decisions are made about wireless communications opened today in Geneva. The meeting comes as devices such as smart phones and tablets are devouring many times more spectrum than mobile phones of the past.
The blog Monday Note has an analysis today on digital piracy in light of the media frenzy over the US Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill last week. The analysis suggests that anti-piracy measures like France's Hadopi are not working, but there is evidence that offering competitive legitimate download sites does work.
French online rights group La Quadrature du Net this week announced an analysis asserting that in more than half of European Union countries, telecommunications operators engage in "illegitimate" restrictions of their users' access.
Industry profits from digital music are on the rise as industry-owned music download services expand and gain acceptance, anti-piracy efforts take hold in some countries, and internet intermediaries join in, music industry representatives said today.
Online piracy, patent reform and intellectual property issues relating to pharmaceuticals are among the top legislative and regulatory priorities for many stakeholder groups in the United States this year, but given that 2012 is an election year, chances are slim that Congress will push through anything that isn’t a top priority or that could cause too much partisan rancour.
In the midst of the global flare-up over draft anti-piracy legislation in the US Congress this week, several heavy-hitting actions were taken in the United States against websites said to be supporting unauthorised content.
It may be too much, too late for content providers finally trying to tame the internet, and a fresh approach is needed, writes Bruce Berman.
The new age of lobbying through online public engagement showed its effectiveness today as the Senate announced the postponement of next week's vote on controversial anti-piracy legislation that led to unprecedented protests on the internet.
"Idea Rights: A Guide to Intellectual Property" is a new book that looks at the major statutes and cases in intellectual property law with experienced, yet fresh, eyes.