Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By William New The World Intellectual Property Organization may be the biggest United Nations agency in Geneva working on IP issues, but another body also has taken up the effort. And in a recent conference held by the UN Economic…
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch After four years of evermore controversial debate the German Parliament late Thursday passed another reform of the German Copyright Law intended to make updates for the digital age. But some are already planning…
By William New World Intellectual Property Organization members on Friday recommended to move talks on a proposed broadcasters’ and cablecasters’ treaty back to committee level for further consideration, a day after rejecting a proposal to elevate the issue to formal…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Concerns that a new treaty on broadcasting being discussed at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) this week will be unbalanced, providing extra protection rights for broadcasters and further limits to users, was the topic…
By William New World Intellectual Property Organization members are engaged in a critical weeklong meeting that will determine the fate of a proposed WIPO treaty on broadcasters’ rights. At the end of a second slow day, it was unclear which…
By William New Members of a World Intellectual Property Organization committee addressing proposals for a WIPO Development Agenda last week potentially rewrote the UN body’s mandate, pending approval. Negotiators concluded a weeklong meeting with agreements on a wide range of…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A ruling by the Helsinki, Finland, District Court could have far-reaching implications for the use of technical protection measures (TPMs) in Europe, according to legal experts. The 25 May decision held that the…
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch German public broadcasters at a recent hearing of Germany’s Supreme Court warned against state interference with the funding of their programmes. The appeal by Germany’s large public broadcasting organisations ARD, ZDF and radio…
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch International organisations should step in to prevent the “tasting,” “kiting” and “spying” related to Internet domain names, say representatives from the US telecommunications and trademark industries. These new activities are dramatically altering online…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A European Commission proposal to criminalise intentional, for-profit intellectual property counterfeiting and piracy won backing from the European Parliament on 25 April. The 374-278 first-reading vote on an amended version of the IP…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Problems related to digital preservation, orphan works and out-of-print materials must be resolved if European Commission plans to digitise and make accessible Europe’s cultural heritage are to succeed, copyright experts said in an…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are moving quickly on negotiating draft texts aimed at improving the organisation’s development focus, as a week-long meeting nears its end. Four days into the 19-23…