Category Access to Knowledge/ Education

US Rightsholders Seek Narrower Scope Of ACTA, Clarity On Trademark Infringement Vs. Counterfeiting

Many of the 11 negotiating partners of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) for years have underlined that the new anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy agreement will not change their national laws, with the United States and the European Union especially firm on this point. Yet the Washington, DC-based Intellectual Property Owners' Association (IPO) in a recent letter, here,
to the US Trade Representative stated concern that ACTA “potentially change(s) United States law by transforming what are the commonly occurring non-counterfeit-types of civil action infringements into activity that is to be punished under federal criminal law.”

ACTA Negotiators Vow To Mesh With National-Level Rights; Withhold New Text

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND - There was progress during the ninth round of negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) this week in Lucerne, negotiators said over the last day, and in their final press communiqué they made promises that “ACTA will not interfere with a signatory's ability to respect fundamental rights and liberties,” it would be consistent with World Trade Organization agreements and certainly “not hinder the cross-border transit of legitimate generic medicine.”

ACTA Risks Long-Term Damage To Democratic Public Policymaking, NGOs Say

An agreement on international intellectual property rights enforcement now under negotiation in Lucerne, Switzerland runs the risk of ushering in a new and undemocratic precedent for international policymaking that could have long-term damaging effects on critical public policy issues, non-negotiating government representatives and civil society advocates said this week.

ACTA A Sign Of Weakness In Multilateral System, WIPO Head Says

The plurilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and other such regional negotiations are a “bad development” for multilateral agencies, the World Intellectual Property Organization director general has told Intellectual Property Watch.

Scope Of Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement Again A Big Issue In Round Nine

MUNICH - The staid little Swiss town of Lucerne this week sees round number nine of the negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). While the 11 negotiating parties gather in the Palace Hotel, the Swiss Pirate Party together with their Pirate colleagues from Germany and Switzerland will organise a rally at the Lucerne train station.

No Decision On WIPO Treaty For Blind Persons Misses ‘Golden Opportunity’

Member states at the World Intellectual Property Organization late Thursday night were unable to reach agreement on a draft chair’s conclusions text summarising a four-day WIPO copyright committee meeting, crashing the prospect of swift progress on improving international access to literary material for the visually impaired.

New US IP Enforcement Plan May Have International Impact

The Obama administration’s release of its national intellectual property strategy yesterday was welcomed by many groups representing businesses and intellectual property holders who said it could serve as an example to other countries.

High Expectations This Week For Progress On Exceptions And Limitations At WIPO

Limitations and exceptions are once again a major topic at the UN intellectual property organisation’s meeting on copyrights and related rights. Delegations this week are discussing several draft proposals to improve access, in particular for visually impaired people, each with their own set of recommendation. With a fourth and new proposal from the African countries on the table, delegates are meeting to try to find common ground, raising the expectations of civil society.