Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Starting on 1 December, the central root zone of the internet domain name system (DNS) will be given digital signatures based on the protocol DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) in an effort to make the internet more secure. Once signed with…
A variety of industry and non-governmental groups today applauded the Obama administration’s announcement that Victoria A. Espinel would be nominated to be the first White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator. Espinel is a former assistant US Trade Representative for intellectual…
The US Patent and Trademark Office today announced a bilateral agreement with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the mainly English-speaking regional IP group in Africa. The agreement is focused on enforcement and protection, along with ease of filing…
The final fairness hearing of a class action lawsuit against Google related to its book-scanning project will likely be adjourned at the request of the plaintiffs, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. A memorandum in support of…
America’s “economic growth has rested for too long on an unstable foundation,” and it is now necessary to “redouble our efforts to give our world-leading innovators every chance to succeed,” reads the text of a White House innovation strategy that…
A French court recently decided to exclude domain name registrars from liability for trademark infringing domain names registered by their customers in a case involving 13 large French companies against Luxembourg domain name registrar EuroDNS. The Third Chamber of the…
The 18th of September will mark the last shipment of lower-cost HIV/AIDS medicines from Canada to Rwanda under a World Trade Organization-sanctioned arrangement. The first shipment of the antiretroviral combination drug manufactured by Canadian pharmaceutical company Apotex was sent in…
[Correction: Before the bill can become law, the National Assembly and Senate must combine their passed bills, according to sources] French legislators today approved, by a vote 285 to 225, a pioneering bill (in French) allowing authorities to cut off…
The United States, often seen as toughest on other nations for their perceived failure to protect US intellectual property rights, was itself 19th [note: corrected from earlier version] in the world in such protection last year, according to the latest…
Over twenty thousand people today marched through the German capital of Berlin protesting against the rise of surveillance legislation in their country and the European Union in recent years. Under the motto “freedom not fear,” 167 organisations, including major trade…
The United States State Department has received requested funding to operate 11 projects totalling nearly $4 million in fiscal year 2009 “combat transnational crime and promote the protection of intellectual property rights worldwide,” according to State. The funds enable US…
Structural reforms within the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that altered the representation of non-commercial interests of internet users in ICANN policy development are “seriously flawed,” according to the body’s non-commercial users’ group. ICANN is the non-profit…