Category IP Policies

Office Open XML Officially Approved As International Standard

By Kaitlin Mara The much-debated open document standard Office Open XML (OOXML) has been approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), according to a document obtained by Intellectual Property Watch. The result of the voting showed 24 supporting votes…

New National-Level Programmes Echo WIPO Patent Treaty

By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch
NEW YORK - The Japanese Patent Office in April will introduce a new policy called JP-First, which aims to release patent examination results of applications first filed with the JPO to major patent offices throughout the world, including in some developing countries. The initiative and others could be steps toward allowing patent filers to bypass an established international treaty on patents, sources said. Also at the event, government officials and academics also discussed copyright developments in Canada. US experts argued that Canada is not doing its part to crack down on piracy, while the Canadians said they are actually setting the bar in some areas in terms of protecting copyrighted works.

Faible mouvement de protestation contre la révision de la loi suisse sur le droit d’auteur

Par Catherine Saez Les nouvelles dispositions adoptées par la Suisse pour renforcer les droits des artistes interprètes, des producteurs et les diffuseurs en ligne apparaissent moins strictes que celles adoptées dans d’autres pays, selon certains observateurs. Pour certains activistes, toutefois,…

WIPO: Cybersquatting Cases Rise To Record Levels

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Cybersquatting is on the rise, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which published statistics last week on case filings under its international Internet domain name dispute settlement system. The WIPO Arbitration…

Revision of Swiss Copyright Law Raises Moderate Protest

By Catherine Saez
Switzerland has adopted a new copyright law strengthening the rights of performers, producers and copyright owners online that appears less stringent than similar legislation adopted in some peer countries, according to observers. Nevertheless, some activists still see the Swiss law as jeopardising users' rights.

Débat sur la neutralité du Net aux Etats-Unis : des implications sur la gouvernance mondiale de l’Internet

Par Liza Porteus Viana pour Intellectual Property Watch NEW YORK – Le débat sur la neutralité du réseau Internet fait rage aux Etats-Unis. Certains observateurs estiment que l’adoption d’une loi dans ce domaine pourrait permettre de définir des principes généraux…