Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Advanced cyber espionage tools are readily available for use by foreign governments and organised criminal groups to coordinate cyber attacks on US computer networks, a United States law enforcement official said today in a prepared statement to a congressional panel.
The World Trade Organization today announced that the three facilitators charged with consulting WTO members have recommended Brazilian Amb. Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo become its next director general.
Cape Town, South Africa - Amid growing calls for the controversial Protection of State Information bill to be referred to the Constitutional Court of South Africa, open data activists are fighting a separate but related battle for government to release its data to the public.
Internet users who merely read or view copyright-protected webpages enjoy a temporary copying exception under European Union and United Kingdom law and do not need permission from rights holders, the UK Supreme Court said in a 17 April ruling.
Three media standards bodies have formed a Joint Task Force on Networked Media (JT-NM) to define a strategy to develop a packet-based network infrastructure for the professional media industry.
Cape Town, South Africa - The draft intellectual property policy of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has put IP rights at the centre of the region’s competitive growth strategy.
Sangeeta Shashikant writes: "Developed countries, particularly the United States and the European Union, have offered a poor and impractical deal of an incredibly short extension of 5 years with restrictive conditions to least developed countries that are entitled to be exempted from implementing the WTO TRIPS Agreement. Particularly problematic is their demand that the LDCs agree to a 'no-roll-back' clause, a TRIPS plus condition that will prevent LDCs from rolling back (i.e. providing a reduced degree of IP protection) their current laws, even if they adversely impact their development concerns."
Cuba has joined several other World Trade Organization members in filing a dispute settlement case against Australia over its new rules requiring tobacco products to be sold in plain packages. The measure was instituted this year as a means of reducing use of tobacco products.
Geographical indications might rise to the same status as appellations of origin in a World Intellectual Property Organization treaty, which member states are seeking to amend in order to attract wider membership. After a week of negotiations on a draft revised treaty, member states have decided to recommend the convening of a high-level negotiating meeting in 2015 to approve the revision of the current instrument.
Just days after the celebration of 20 years of an open WorldWideWeb, more than two dozen advocacy group are circulating a petition to prevent the World Wide Web Consortium from accepting a proposal to allow restrictive new copyright measures on the key technology for accessing the internet.
Istanbul - Counterfeiters are using legitimate supply chains, and shipping companies are unknowingly allowing it and need to take steps to crack down, rights holders’ representatives said at a recent anti-counterfeiting conference. Meanwhile, Europe is undertaking a study of the benefits of IP-intensive industries, and new customs and protection measures.
The US National Research Council has issued a report that looks at copyrighted works in the age of the internet, and finds a need for objective data and independent empirical research on copyright protection and the limits it can place on innovation and free speech. This comes as efforts are underway to review US copyright policy.