Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Microsoft has claimed victory in its high-profile trial asserting that phone maker Motorola failed to licence its standard-essential patents under internationally recognised fair and reasonable terms. And the hand-marked jury card from the outcome in federal court in Seattle, Washington shows the unanimous decision.
They may be fading from consumers' minds, but former telecommunications giants such as Nokia hold huge swaths of core technology patents, a new report shows. The companies are positioned to shift roles from manufacturers to so-called patent trolls, or patent assertion entities. Nokia this week announced a large, non-exclusive licensing deal with Microsoft.
The United States State Department has made a one-time contribution of US$350,000 to the perennially cash-strapped Internet Governance Forum, a multi-stakeholder discussion forum established by the 2003-2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
United Nations independent experts on freedom of expression and on human rights and counter-terrorism today announced that they have requested information from the United Kingdom government on the recent detention of David Miranda, partner of the Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald at Heathrow Airport, London, and the reported destruction of computer hard drives by British officials at the Guardian newspaper.
A new book by a United States law professor offers an intricate look at the historical relationship between literacy, copyrights and the public domain in the US.
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, responsible for the European Digital Agenda, today launched the Future Internet Labs in London with a vision of what the internet could look like in the coming years. Her vision? Massive changes, millions of things talking to things, European technological independence, and a greater degree of security and privacy for people online.
The World Intellectual Property Organization later this month will hold a forum on innovation featuring four "world-renowned pioneers from the fields of medicine, architecture and industrial design," as a way to bring common insights to intellectual property policymakers and stakeholders working to achieve a "balanced, inclusive" IP system.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has issued a report analysing emerging trends in today's global information environment.
World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry last week issued a call for a redefinition of the functions of the IP system in the context of a fast-changing and globalised world.
The World Intellectual Property Organization has scheduled a workshop in December to teach indigenous peoples the value of the intellectual property system in protecting their knowledge and resources.
In a common move for Washington officials who work to protect industry interests while in office, the first-ever United States intellectual property enforcement coordinator has been named to lead a large US software industry group that lobbied her office up until she left two weeks ago.
The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) has released a user guide to the recently adopted “Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled.” LCA is an organisation representing three major North American library associations.