Category IP Policies

YouTube And Others Hide Behind Safe Harbours, Bigger Threat Than Piracy, Music Industry Tells WIPO

If piracy is still very much a concern of the music industry, the growing shadow of free online streaming platforms, in particular YouTube, has now become a bigger stinger, according to speakers from the industry at an event at the World Intellectual Property Organization on 2 May. Hiding behind safe harbour legislations originally designed to protect internet service providers from being responsible for unlawful downloading by users, YouTube and other such platforms are threatening the industry and the artists, they said.

New Text On Broadcasting May Open Way To Fresh Discussions On Treaty At WIPO

Years of discussions at the World Intellectual Property Organization on a treaty protecting broadcasting organisations against piracy of their signals have not been enough to reach consensus language on core principles, such as who and what to protect, and what kind of rights should be granted. This week the newly appointed committee chair suggested that an informal text prepared by the previous chair be made a formal document to serve as a basis for further textual discussions.

‘E-Commerce Offers Opportunities, But Many Challenges To SMEs’

E-commerce represents the micro and the massive in business. It offers tremendous potential for business enterprises to access global markets and is there for organisations such as sole traders through small and medium outlets to global giants such as Alibaba and Amazon.

For its third E-Commerce Week from 24-28 April UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development had the theme, "Towards Inclusive E-Commerce."

WIPO Copyright Committee This Week: Broadcasting, Exceptions, Resale Rights, Digital Environment

A packed week is underway for the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee. Delegates are hoping to find agreement on core principles of a treaty protecting broadcasting organisations' rights, and continue work on possible limitations and exceptions to copyright for education, libraries, and research. In addition, they will decide if they want to work on the issue of resale right, and will consider copyright in the digital environment.

Real IP Issues Surface In A Virtual World

As virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies emerge, so do legal questions arising from their use. While the issues are still mostly hypothetical, they implicate, among other areas, intellectual property rights, lawyers say.

New Open Source Licence For Seeds

The Germany-based OpenSourceSeeds initiative this month started to offer open source-licensed seeds in an effort to strengthen a form of “copyleft” for new plant varieties. The goal, according to the organisation established by academics, activists and breeders and establish a non-private seed sector as a second pillar alongside private plant breeding.

Polish Government Drafts New Authors’ Rights Collective Management Law

WARSAW – Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage is drafting a new law on collective rights management which is to implement the relevant European Union legislation into Polish law. However, a think tank with close ties to the government has released a report that points to the relatively high operational costs of the authors’ and creators’ organisations, and could pave the way for further modifications to the system.