Category Information and Communications Technology/ Broadcasting

What If There Were An Application For Dot Wikileaks?

What would happen if the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) received an application for a .wikileaks top level domain name (TLD) next year, under its new system of opening up the internet for domains? It could make an interesting example of how well the complex system to apply for new TLDs works and how much political intervention is possible in the system. At the 39th ICANN meeting in Cartagena, Colombia this week, the self-regulatory body is trying to finalise issues in the published Final Applicant Guidebook - and it is governments and trademark owners that are calling for more time and more procedures.

Monika Ermert
December 9, 2010
5 Comments

The Next Internet Revolution Will Not Be In English: New Multilingual URLs

This year marks the first time a website address may exist fully in Chinese, Russian, Arabic, or other non-Latin scripts. Ten years from now, the percentage of English content could easily drop below 25 percent. But there are still obstacles to this linguistically local revolution, writes John Yunker.

Should WIPO Lead Creation Of A Global Repertoire Database?

To solve many of the dilemmas facing copyright holders in the digital age, some say the World Intellectual Property Organization must create and administer an international repertoire database, compiling information about who owns what rights related to specific artistic works.

Kaitlin Mara, William New and Kaitlin Mara, William New
November 22, 2010
2 Comments

Global Copyright Licensing Doubts And What To Do About Them

What do the fearsome leader of France’s three-strikes agency, a top Microsoft counsel, Google’s copyright counsel, a free software activist, Egyptian and British librarians, a South American development-oriented academic, and a European music authors’ representative have in common? While one might be tempted to say, ‘very little’, a recent gathering showed one thing - they represent the very wide range of current views on the future of copyright licensing.

Kaitlin Mara, William New and Kaitlin Mara, William New
November 22, 2010

WIPO Copyright Committee Agrees To Extra Time On Visually Impaired Access

The World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee has reached an eleventh-hour agreement on a work programme that could help ease access to reading materials for the visually impaired.

Kaitlin Mara
November 15, 2010
4 Comments

WIPO Copyright Committee In Fight To Overcome Differences On Exceptions, Limitations

On the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on copyright’s final day of weeklong negotiations, the hopes of visually impaired readers and others - librarians, schools - looking for an agreement on copyright exceptions and limitations hang on whether delegates can resolve differences and create a plan for future work.

Kaitlin Mara
November 12, 2010
3 Comments

Global Copyright Reform — A View From The South In Response To Lessig

"Given that global copyright rules have acquired such a pervasive impact in many facets of our lives, their reform needs to take place through an open, inclusive and participatory consultation process where ‘all of us’ have a say," writes Ahmed Abdel Latif.

Panellists: Copyright Law’s ‘Byzantine Maze’ Stalling New Business Models

While piracy remains an oft-cited problem for the creative content industry, it is the 'Byzantine maze' of copyright law that is stalling monetisation of new business models better designed to deliver content in the digital age, panellists at the World Intellectual Property Organization said last week.

Kaitlin Mara
November 9, 2010
2 Comments

European Officials Eye Pan-European Passport For Collective Copyright Licencing

The European Commission is considering a proposal in the coming months to create a pan-European passport for collective music licensing intended to overcome stifling difficulties of 27 national collecting societies, a top official has told Intellectual Property Watch in the context of a meeting on copyright and competition.

William New
November 8, 2010

WIPO Copyright Committee Tackles Visually Impaired Access, Other Exceptions

The World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) is meeting this week in an attempt to advance proposals to improve global access to copyrighted works, following a disappointing summer meeting that ended without agreement. This week’s meeting also includes renewed discussions of proposed treaties on broadcasters’ rights and rights over audiovisual performances.

William New
November 8, 2010
4 Comments

Dawn Of WIPO Industrial Design Treaty Talks; Internet As Trademark Danger Zone

World Intellectual Property Organization members this week took early steps toward the possibility of a treaty to facilitate the registration of industrial designs, and urged WIPO to continue addressing potential new challenges to trademarks from the impending expansion of domain names on the internet.

Catherine Saez
November 7, 2010

Lessig Calls For WIPO To Lead Overhaul Of Copyright System

Influential copyright scholar Larry Lessig yesterday issued a call for the World Intellectual Property Organization to lead an overhaul of the copyright system which he says does not and never will make sense in the digital environment.

Kaitlin Mara
November 5, 2010
13 Comments