US Promotes Multilateral System Of Internet Governance In Geneva
Betty King, United States Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, has declared US support for a multilateral system of internet governance and an open internet.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Category Access to Knowledge/ Education
WIPO Goes To Bat For Trademark Owners At ICANN
The World Intellectual Property Organization has urged the organisation responsible for the internet domain name system to step back from revising its procedures for judging disputes about cybersquatting. WIPO said a 6 May letter that ICANN has not sufficiently taken trademark owners' concerns into account.
World Information Society Summit Assessment: ICT Services Deemed Less Costly
More than five years since the last UN-led World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and less than five years before the 2015 target date of the Millennium Development Goals, experts and representatives of needy countries are in Geneva to assess how it is going. One thing they are being told: the price of information and communications technology services has dropped in the past two years.
Challenge To Apple’s EU Trademark On ‘App Store’
Several large technology companies such as Microsoft and Sony Ericsson have filed applications at the European Trademark Office seeking to invalidate Apple’s obtained rights to the trademarks ‘App Store’ and ‘Appstore.’
Sounding The Alarm: Return Of US Legislation Against Global “Rogue” Websites
Intellectual property rights holders, access to knowledge proponents, presumably online scam artists, and possibly governments and international organisations interested in internet governance heard the call of the introduction this week of the “Protect IP Act” in the US Senate. The bill is aimed at strengthening US law enforcement’s ability to stop international websites offering counterfeit goods or unauthorised copyrighted content.
New EU-Industry Agreement Against Counterfeits
The European Commission recently signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at boosting cooperation between rights holders and internet platforms in the fight against counterfeit products sold online.
Indigenous Peoples Won’t Be “Wished Away” In Traditional Knowledge Treaty Talks
Colonial history says that indigenous peoples were in the past sometimes asked to sign treaties that may not have been in their best interest or that were not honoured. Now, under the aegis of the United Nations, some indigenous peoples fear it may be happening again, only this time they are fighting to be at the table as the subject is their traditional practices, and the outcome would apply on a global scale.
WIPO Members Tee Up Negotiation On Traditional Knowledge, Cultural Expressions
World Intellectual Property Organization members this week set the stage for text-based negotiations for an international instrument on the protection of traditional knowledge, folklore and genetic resources.
Brazil’s Copyright Reform: Are We All Josef K.?
Discussions are heating up as never before on Brazil's copyright reform, and controversies involving the new administration as well as the collecting society (ECAD)'s alleged wrongdoings are jeopardising the last eight years of Lula's administration, according to an updated timeline and analysis by Pedro Paranaguá.
Panel: Indigenous Rights Integral To Treaty On Knowledge, Folklore and Genes
Although indigenous peoples’ rights are recognised in a number of international declarations, the implementation of those rights is difficult to achieve, according to panellists at an event opening this week’s World Intellectual Property Organization negotiations toward a treaty to protect traditional knowledge, folklore and genetic resources.
ACTA Still Open To Interpretation, Legal Experts Say; Transparency Fight Ongoing
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is open for interpretation, perhaps too much so, legal experts on both sites of the Atlantic are warning.
US Senator Introduces ‘Do-Not-Track’ Legislation
The chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has announced he will introduce legislation that would allow consumers to control the collection and use of their personal information by online companies. The bill would include the possibility of enforcement action against non-complying companies.