Category Access to Knowledge/ Education

Should The EU Rethink Copyright Law For The Digital Music Age?

By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Europe’s copyright rules are ill-suited to an age when millions of music files can be accessed at the click of a mouse, a Brussels conference has been told. About eight million…

David Cronin
November 25, 2008
2 Comments

IP Model Proposed For North-South Nanotechnology Divide

By Wagdy Sawahel for Intellectual Property Watch Developing countries need to pool resources to ensure access to scientific and technical knowledge about nanotechnology in order to narrow the “nano-divide” – similar to the digital and genomics divides – resulting from…

Wagdy Sawahel
November 19, 2008

Controversy Over Internet Governance: ITU Families And ICANN Cosmetics?

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The Council of the UN International Telecommunication Union is set to talk Wednesday about the Union’s contribution to follow-up of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the third Internet Governance…

Monika Ermert
November 18, 2008
3 Comments

Korea Close On “Graduated Response” Bill Aimed At Copyright Infringers

By Catherine Saez Korean legislation might be getting tougher on copyright infringers as a new bill is expected to be considered by the National Assembly as soon as this month, according to a Korean official. Following France, the United Kingdom…

Catherine Saez
November 10, 2008

WIPO Committee Advances Agenda On Copyright Exceptions, Broadcasting

By William New As the senior staff of the World Intellectual Property Organization gathered outside its headquarters Friday to set the foundation stone of a new office building, WIPO member governments were struggling inside to agree on the foundation for…

William New
November 9, 2008

User-Created Content Shows Uncertainty In EU Copyright Law

By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Uncertainty surrounds the application of European Union copyright rules to material uploaded onto the internet by private individuals, a new study has found. Recent years have seen a proliferation of websites…

David Cronin
November 7, 2008

EU-Africa Partnership Aims At Knowledge Access, Technology Transfer

By Wagdy Sawahel for Intellectual Property Watch The European Commission and African Union Commission have agreed to launch six projects in science, space and information technology in a bid to strengthen African scientific capacity, promote technical cooperation, facilitate technology transfer…

Wagdy Sawahel
November 7, 2008

Participants Ready Agendas For New-Look WIPO Copyright Committee

By William New World Intellectual Property Organization members gather in Geneva next week to take up old and new agenda items targeting international policy on copyright and related rights. Emerging agenda items are limitations and exceptions to copyright – including…

William New
October 31, 2008

Google Books Settlement A Possible Path To Resolution Of Digital Content Disputes

By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Google’s groundbreaking settlement of copyright infringement claims by authors and book publishers this week resonates beyond the United States, the European Commission and a UK copyright lawyer said. While the agreement affects only…

Dugie Standeford
October 30, 2008
3 Comments

Blind Readers Seek Guarantee Of Access Under EU Copyright Law

By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Exceptions to European Union copyright rules designed to allow blind people access to publications should be made legally binding, according to disability rights organisations. In July, the European Commission opened a…

David Cronin
October 27, 2008

World Customs Organization Publications Copyright Policy Questioned

By William New In an unusual policy for an international organisation, the World Customs Organization imposes copyright over every document its bodies produce, even agendas, which means that no document can be reproduced without the organisation’s express consent. But now…

William New
October 21, 2008
1 Comment

Islamic Strategy: Knowledge Access, Local Innovation And IP Protection

By Wagdy Sawahel for Intellectual Property Watch Islamic states have declared 2009 “the year for renewal and innovation” and will launch a project to prepare a landmark map of science, technology and innovation to promote science and technology investment and…

Wagdy Sawahel
October 20, 2008