Original news and analysis on international IP policy
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – A conference here this week elicited a robust debate amongst intellectual property stakeholders in South Africa about the objectives of the far-reaching draft Copyright Amendment Bill.
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The publication for public comment of the much-anticipated South African draft Copyright Amendment Bill has cautiously been welcomed by some stakeholders, who believe that parts of the draft are unworkable.
It may be an open access initiative, but Ukrainian writers and authors are on the verge of massive protests, due to a recent initiative of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) to conduct digitalisation and online publishing of all of the books and documents stored in the national archives and libraries.
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC -- International Telecommunication Union Secretary General Houlin Zhao today called for more cooperation between his organisation and other standardisation bodies, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
The ambassadors for the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) have endorsed a deadline of notifying any additional new annexes by 31 July, and submitting completed offers by 15 September. This is the result of the most recent meeting of negotiators of the 25 TISA parties, according to a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australia hosted the TISA round from July 6-10 in Geneva.
A conference on jurisdiction and dispute resolution in the age of the internet raised topical issues of concern to internet-based public policy, such as the notion of how jurisdiction and internet governance is a question of power, and an update on the International Law Association guidelines project. In addition, a debate arose as to the state of the patent system.
The European Parliament during its last plenary meeting before the summer break today adopted a non-legislative report on copyright reform prepared by Pirate Party Member Julia Reda. The report calls for an adaptation of the EU 2001 Copyright Directive to the digital market.
People are becoming increasingly mobile. With that, there are new expectations and needs. Video-on-demand industry experts told a recent event at the World Intellectual Property Organization that this represents a “change of paradigm,” requiring new models for financing and distributing films.
With the veil of secrecy lifted a little more on the strictly secret talks of the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) after Wikileaks published large chunks of negotiating text, delegations gathered for negotiations of the trade deal this week in Geneva face some noisy opposition.
A new report released today shows how mobile technology has fundamentally transformed internet access and use. The report gives forecasts and makes recommendations for policymakers going forward. Among the findings is the rapid rise in dependence on apps, which can raise security, privacy, competition, and cost concerns, as well as issues of availability of locally relevant content online.
Copyright protection advances the public interest, and good public policy must properly consider “the role of intellectual property as a tool for economic emancipation, a catalyst for cultural diversity, and a powerful protector of individual dignity and fundamental human rights,” argues RIAA’s Neil Turkewitz.