Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published four notices of proposed rulemaking implementing provisions of the patent reform law signed last year. The issuance of the rules, which came ahead of schedule, opens a 60-day comment period on the draft rules.
The US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced its support for additional policies for new generic top-level domains on the internet, with conditions. The Commerce Department agency will stick to the 12 January start of the application period for new domains, but it has requested that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) take additional precautions when opening up the process.
The dates have been set for this year's high-level negotiation for a treaty on audiovisual performances at the World Intellectual Property Organization.
A "call for evidence" has been issued for an independent feasibility study on developing a Digital Copyright Exchange in the United Kingdom. Members of the "creative industries" are being asked to respond to the assertion made in a preceding study by Professor Ian Hargreaves that the current copyright licensing system is not fit for the digital age, as well as definitions used by Hargreaves.
The Geneva-based International Publishers Association today joined organisations demanding that the interim Egyptian government stop attacks on an Egyptian publisher, and uphold the internationally recognised right to freedom of opinion and expression, and freedom of assembly and association.
The World Intellectual Property Organization today released a report showing global filings for patents and trademarks turned upward in 2010. But there were some variations across the map.
The United Nations, International Monetary Fund and over 20 other international organisations have expressed concerns over the opening up of the internet domain name system for new generic top level domains (gTLDs) like .nyc or .news.
Taiwan may become the first new country to join the ranks of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes today presented details on the No-Disconnect strategy of the EU which aims to support human rights activists and freedom fighters in authoritarian regimes.
Two European-based organisations working in agriculture and development will launch a joint publication next week that will provide a guide for developing countries to consider geographical indications. The guide comes as the World Trade Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization hold meetings next week.
The Council of Europe today alerted its 47 member states “to the gravity of violations of Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights which might result from politically motivated pressure exerted on privately operated Internet platforms and online service providers, and of other attacks against websites of independent media, human rights defenders, dissidents, whistleblowers and new media actors.”
A four-day conference in Brussels next week involving numerous high-level decision-makers in intellectual property policy and practice will bring out the latest thinking on IP rights as a boost to innovation in Europe and around the world. There will be a special focus on open innovation, IP in industry, IP strategies, and IP in the largest emerging economies.