Original news and analysis on international IP policy
In the past two years, China has acted to improve the protection of intellectual property rights with a need for continuing effort, a World Trade Organization report has found, but the country came under criticism this week from key trading partners such as the United States and the European Union for not providing adequate enforcement and for self-serving innovation practices.
The United States and China are strengthening their relationship on innovation and intellectual property rights as the global economy is slowly taking an upward turn. Those may come as signs of positive collaboration on the delicate issue of IP rights in the face of ongoing questions by US industry and government about the impact of China’s IP rights infringement on American jobs.
Google's ambitious plans to make published books available for download on most internet-connected electronic devices by leveraging its position as the world's largest search engine could have far-reaching repercussions on electronic publishing and book file-sharing in the near future.
The past year’s expert working group process at the World Health Organization on solutions for financing of research and development into diseases afflicting poor nations was flawed and led to an unsatisfactory result, representatives of non-governmental organisations said this week. But innovation and access can both be provided, and the issue of IP protection can be de-linked from the way innovation is done, speakers at a side event to this week’s World Health Assembly said. Meanwhile, NGOs and industry also offered their views on WHO counterfeiting efforts this week.
The international policy debate over counterfeit medicines and legitimate generics escalated today. Brazil and India took the first step in the World Trade Organization dispute settlement process for treatment of generics medicines falsely labelled counterfeit in Europe, and non-governmental organisations from both sides of the issue issued new releases stating their positions on the issues at the neighbouring World Health Organization.
The second edition of the Consumers International IP Watchlist has been published, with the conclusion that consumers are bearing collateral damage to the enforcement push by entertainment and media lobby groups encouraging stringent national legislations. Copyright laws and enforcement are changing, but mostly for the benefit of right holders, said the advocate group which encourages copyright exceptions.
BRUSSELS - Negotiations on the EU-India free trade agreement continue tomorrow in Brussels amid warnings from non-governmental organisations from India and Europe about possible negative consequences for the public health of poor citizens in India. But European negotiators sought to assuage fears.
计算机巨人IMB正面临一家公开渠道信息软件公司在欧洲委员会提出的违背反托拉斯法的控告，该软件公司声称IMB阻止客户使用其软件。与此同时，公开渠道信息业界担心，IBM作为一家公开渠道软件制作的领军企业将运用知识产权来阻止竞争者，而这将危及自由和公开渠道的软件，并有可能打开其他公司纷纷声张知识产权的阀门。就此，IBM再次表示对公开渠道信息业界的支持，并要求竞争公司解释其软件如何不会侵犯到IBM的知识产权。
تواجه شركة أي بي إم العملاقة لإنتاج الحواسيب دعوى بانتهاك قوانين مكافحة الاحتكار قدمتها إلى المفوضية الأوروبية شركةٌ للبرامجيات المفتوحة المصدر التي تزعم أن شركة أي بي إم تمنع العملاء من استخدام تلك البرامجيات. وفي غضون ذلك، يساور القلق مجتمع البرامجيات المفتوحة المصدر من أن استخدام أي بي إم لحقوق الملكية الفكرية -وهي شركة رائدة في مجال تصميم البرامجيات المفتوحة المصدر- لمنع شركة ما من منافستها سيعرّض البرامجيات الحرة والمفتوحة المصدر للخطر وقد يفسح المجال أمام مطالبة الجهات الفاعلة الأخرى بحقوق الملكية الفكرية. وأكدت أي بي إم من جانبها مجددا دعمها لمجتمع البرامجيات المفتوحة المصدر وطلبت من الشركة المنافسة أن تشرح كيف أن برنامجها الحاسوبي لا يتعدى على حقوق الملكية الفكرية لشركة أي بي إم.
El gigante de la computación IBM enfrenta una reclamación fundada en las disposiciones antimonopolio, presentada ante la Comisión Europea por una empresa de programas informáticos de código abierto que alega que IBM impide que los clientes usen tales programas. A la comunidad de programas informáticos de código abierto le preocupa que el uso que IBM (un fabricante líder de estos programas) haga de los derechos de propiedad intelectual (PI) para bloquear a un competidor ponga en peligro los programas informáticos de código abierto gratuitos y pueda destapar otras reclamaciones por derechos de PI de otros agentes. IBM, por su parte, reafirma su apoyo a la comunidad de programas informáticos de código abierto y ha solicitado a la empresa competidora que explique de qué modo su programa informático no infringe los derechos de PI de IBM.
IBM fait l’objet d’une plainte pour concurrence déloyale portée devant la Commission européenne par l’éditeur d’un logiciel open source, qui accuse le géant de l’informatique d’empêcher les consommateurs d’utiliser ce logiciel. Au même moment, la communauté open source craint que le fait qu’IBM, développeur de logiciels open source de premier plan, revendique ses droits de propriété intellectuelle pour barrer la route à un concurrent ne représente une menace pour les logiciels libres et open source, et ne conduise à anéantir les revendications de propriété intellectuelle émises par d’autres acteurs. IBM, pour sa part, réaffirme son soutien à la communauté open source et demande à l’entreprise concurrente d’expliquer dans quelle mesure le logiciel en question n’enfreint pas ses droits de propriété intellectuelle.
While the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is getting a lot of attention with its draft consolidated version just published, there is another convention dealing with one major aspect it was always said ACTA would tackle. The Medicrime Convention of the Council of Europe sets the first international standard for criminalising the manufacturing and distribution of counterfeited medicine risking public health. And Medicrime will overtake ACTA, as the draft convention text is ready to be signed by the Committee of Ministers in May and be opened for signature in November.