Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The role and responsibility of internet intermediaries in the protection of copyright is under debate in several policy fora and often brings up issues such as privacy, access to knowledge, and freedom of expression. A panel was organised last week at the World Intellectual Property Organization to explore the viewpoints of several but not all stakeholders on this issue.
A high-level meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is expected to pass a set of "principles on internet policymaking" tomorrow. But over 80 non-governmental groups have announced they will not sign on to the communiqué.
The Mexican Senate this week approved a resolution rejecting the secretly negotiated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, citing absence of inclusion in the negotiations, potential negative impact on internet users' access to knowledge, freedom of expression and other concerns.
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch European Commission Vice President and Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes is not satisfied with the decision of the ICANN Board in Singapore this week to open up the domain name space for new…
The Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today approved the Applicant Guidebook for new generic top-level domains, opening the door to potentially hundreds of new internet domains, like .africa, .music, .gay or .nyc.
At the last session of the World Trade Organization Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council, the Dominican Republic challenged an Australian draft law requiring plain packaging for tobacco products as being incompatible with its WTO obligations, eclipsing other agenda items. The TRIPS Council also addressed other regular agenda items such as related to biodiversity and public health, according to sources.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced the appointment of a new deputy commissioner for trademarks, with oversight of examination and processing of applications.
The 2007 World Intellectual Property Organization Development Agenda instituted an evaluation process at the UN agency, and now WIPO is seeking best practices for evaluating the impact of intellectual property rights on development. The WIPO Evaluation Section has issued a call for papers for a seminar to be held in October.
A recent drive against the use of mobile phones without valid International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers in terrorism-struck Pakistan has given respite to established brands and authorised dealers. The proliferation of copied and smuggled cell phones in the country, with little intellectual property rights enforcement, had resulted in a decrease in their sales volumes, industry representatives said.
In addition, the government is moving to restore an intellectual property law that industry thinks could help its efforts.
Governments should refrain from restricting the flow of information on the internet, and the private sector should not be in charge of policing it, a United Nations adviser on freedom of opinion and expression said last week in a report. He also criticised disconnection of users on intellectual property rights grounds.
Negotiators at the UN World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva will have a new conference hall in which to debate in 2013, with construction starting this summer, according to a press release.
Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised countries today concluded their annual meeting, this year held in Deauville, France, with a communiqué bearing extensive discussion of the internet, intellectual property rights, and innovation - and a call for the World Intellectual Property Organization to step up work. In fact, it had a lot more to say about these issues than it did about the global economy or trade.