Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Thirty-three research institutions, associations and foundations in North America last week signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, committing to support open access research in the future. The signing brings the total signers to nearly 300, including many of the top research institutions in the world.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is undertaking to explain the apparent contradiction in the strong enforcement of intellectual property rights and efforts to ensure freedom of expression on the internet. And she said the State Department will keep saying it in the future.
Trade associations from various copyright-intensive industries have released a report showing they account for nearly $1 trillion in value to the United States economy, and provide some 5 million jobs.
India has stirred some discussion with its recent proposal to create a new United Nations body for global internet-related policies. The proposal comes within the context of efforts by developed countries to build support for an open internet and by the UN to address gaps in global internet governance and increased unilateral moves to block content online.
A meeting on trademarks and industrial designs at the World Intellectual Property Organization was cut short by an electrical fire last week. Before the unexpected interruption, delegates advanced work on a possible treaty on industrial designs and discussed the role and responsibility of internet intermediaries in the field of trademarks.
The United States Copyright Office has released a preliminary analysis and discussion document on the intersection of copyright law and the mass digitization of books.
Legislation giving new powers to the government and copyright holders in the United States to unilaterally block payments to or take down websites deemed by US courts to be infringing intellectual property rights has been introduced into the House of Representatives. Now the policy fight begins.
The US Copyright Office today issued its priorities and projects for the next two years, targeting studies, legislation, trade and foreign relations, and administrative law.
It is often said the internet was created in the United States, though techies around at the time are quick to point out the international efforts that were involved. Since its creation, US management of the internet domain name system has been internationalised through the creation and gradual independence of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). But the US has always kept its hand on one critical aspect of the internet - and is now putting it up for bid.
A global meeting entitled “Enabling Creativity in the Digital Environment: Copyright Documentation and Infrastructure” was held at the World Intellectual Property Organization 13-14 October. Gathering representatives of governments, business leaders, academics, and other stakeholders, the conference was organised in the framework of the Development Agenda Thematic Project on Intellectual Property and the Public Domain.