Category Access to Knowledge/ Education

E-Commerce: Some Developing Countries Push Back On Idea Of New WTO Rules

While the profile of electronic commerce is rising in diverse international fora, some developing countries are saying they do not want to discuss a new negotiating mandate for e-commerce rules at the World Trade Organization. The current work programme on e-commerce is still adequate, they find, and the WTO Ministerial Conference in December should address more pressing issues, such as agriculture, or completing the Doha Development Round negotiations.

New EU Commission Guidelines On Illegal Content Online Clarify Liability For Online Platforms

The European Commission today issued guidelines for removing illegal content online, largely following the lines of existing rules and guidance, but hinting at a possible future move to harmonise practices in this area. Technology companies breathed in relief as the communication did not appear to reduce their protection against liability for content carried on their networks and devices, though it did provide extensive clarification on the liability exemption.

G7 ICT Ministers: Free Data Flows, More Access To Data, But IP Protection Nevertheless

Openness, security and the support for innovation through the empowerment of small and medium companies are the three core points of the joint statement of the G7 ICT Ministers after their two-day meeting in Turin, Italy ending today. While the host, Italian Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda, heavily underlined the need to avoid in digitalisation policies the mistakes made in globalisation, many topics of the final statement point to highly familiar commitments, with better protection of intellectual property being one.

Infojustice: Ottawa NAFTA Round Turns To Copyright

Infojustice writes: It was being reported among various observers of NAFTA over the weekend that the talks in the IP chapter are progressing toward Copyright. The US appears poised to table the first set of its demands for that portion of the IP chapter. But it is also rumored that that the US demand may exclude the issue of copyright balance.

US Copyright Agenda Stalling In Congress

NEW YORK -- The music community in the United States has a wide copyright agenda covering various business issues and stakeholders. While it had entertained the notion that a new President with its new administration and Congress would be more sympathetic to the complex needs of the industry, it is still waiting for the Trump administration to act on copyright issues, judging from comments made by various stakeholders in the legislative process during an industry panel in New York this week.

UN Assembly Tackles Role Of Technology And Innovation In Sustainable Development

Governments and the private sector must work more closely together in the area of technology and innovation to make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality by 2030, government and major tech company officials said at today’s UN high-level event in New York. Today’s development problems won’t be solved with yesterday’s solutions but by all stakeholders – governments, civil society, youth, businesses and academia – working together, said General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák. Everyone must have “fair access to technologies and innovations” and to training, he said.

The Many Layers Of Best Practices In The Fight Against Counterfeiting, Piracy

Landlocked Switzerland never had to face pirates in seafaring days, but these days Stop Piracy – the Bern-based Swiss anti-counterfeiting and piracy platform - is actively united in fighting this 21st century threat that lurks in cyberspace everywhere. At a recent conference in Neuchâtel, a range of experts, including from the European Union IP Office, explored the issues.

EU Copyright Reform Meets Resistance From Stakeholders, Some Governments

With a vote in the lead European Parliament committee imminent on European Commission plans to revamp copyright rules, industry stakeholders, digital rights activists and even some EU member states are troubled by various legislative amendments and EU Presidency compromise proposals.