Original news and analysis on international IP policy
This week’s ratification of the European Union Lisbon Treaty by the Czech Republic put in place the treaty and and with it a new Parliament member from the Swedish Pirate Party. The second Pirate Party seat will be occupied by…
A bipartisan group of 42 of the 100 United States senators sent a letter to US negotiators in global climate talks in Barcelona this week urging the protection of intellectual property rights over any technologies developed to address climate change.…
BARCELONA – As a global climate change convention is being discussed in Barcelona, the US House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology scheduled a hearing on 5 November about the implications of large-scale climate intervention, also called geoengineering. Geoengineering…
US federal district court ruled yesterday that patents on human genes can be challenged in court. This unlocks a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT). The lawsuit was filed against the…
Concerns are rising among activists about the impending spread to the rest of Europe of French HADOPI-like legislations punishing alleged copyright infringers on the internet with a suspension of internet connection after three alleged violations (“three strikes”). The Conciliation Committee…
[Editor’s Note on 3 November: the report appears to be restricted access] Canada’s National Bureau of Economic Research today released a report on the relationship between patent protection for pharmaceuticals and investment in development of new drugs since the negotiation…
Betty Eileen King of New York has been nominated next United States permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, an ambassador-level posting, the US Mission announced. The nomination has been sent to the US Senate…
The United States Chamber of Commerce industry group has issued a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice against a ‘parody’ website that mocked the Chamber, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Earlier this week, a fake press briefing purportedly from…
The French Constitutional Council yesterday gave its ruling about the constitutionality of a French bill aiming to protect literary and artistic intellectual property rights online, and decided that the bill was in conformity with the French Constitution, asking only for…
The European Commission on 22 October published a “reflection paper,” available here (pdf), highlighting the challenges of creating a European digital single market for creative content, according to a press release. The paper was released at the same time as…