Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Today, United States President Barack Obama sent two signed multilateral copyright treaties negotiated at the World Intellectual Property Organization to the US Senate for ratification.
Well-known performer Lady Gaga successfully gained ownership of a web address in the name of her foundation, according to a World Intellectual Property Organization document released today. Image Credits: Michael Spencer
An anti-counterfeiting regulation on a unique identifier for medical products to ensure their authenticity was published today in the European Union.
Senior Swedish official Göran Marby today (8 February) was announced as the new president and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, succeeding Fadi Chehade who leaves the ICANN to join the World Economic Forum in mid-March. Marby will be the first European to lead ICANN, the internet domain system technical oversight body.
Nearly 200 organisations, companies and others from 42 countries have signed an open letter to the international community demanding that stronger encryption tools be allowed to be developed and used. The letter describes encryption tools and services as vital components of maintaining a secure digital environment, where if users are allowed to use the strongest forms of encryption it can allow for the safest and most efficient ways to communicate across borders.
The United Nations will fund 60 startups to create open source technologies to improve the lives of children in developing countries. Unicef, the children's charity run by the UN, will channel more than $9 million into startups based on venture capital-style investing. But it isn't concerned if the companies fail.
A day after the European Commission announced an agreement with US authorities for a “Privacy Shield” as a follow-up mechanism for the invalidated Safe Harbour Agreement, the Article 29 Working Party of European Union data protection officers said they need to see the written text before making their final assessment.
In mid-January, Netflix announced a ban on the use of proxies, unblockers, and virtual private networks (VPNs)—all technical work-arounds to view movies and TV programs unavailable in the subscriber’s country. This announcement coincided with the company’s global service launch into more than 130 new markets.
A new report from the World Health Organization says there will be 45 million new jobs in the health workforce worldwide by the end of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2030. But most of the new jobs will be created in upper-middle and high-income nations.
The provisional programme for an international conference on intellectual property and development at World Intellectual Property Organization taking place in April is now available.