Original news and analysis on international IP policy
US lawmakers this evening agreed to a manager’s amendment to the pending patent reform bill. The legislation could come to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote as soon as tomorrow (22 June). The Senate version, S. 23, was passed in March.
The Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today approved the Applicant Guidebook for new generic top-level domains, opening the door to potentially hundreds of new internet domains, like .africa, .music, .gay or .nyc.
A cross-cutting group of major World Intellectual Property Organisation members today produced a “non-paper” on limitations and exceptions to copyright for visually impaired readers at a WIPO meeting on copyright. The group had met in informal consultations for a few months and achieved consensus on the substance this morning, according to sources.
Copyright is necessary to allow authors to live from their trade and to guarantee their independence, and exceptions should be decided by authors and publishers, according to panellists on a copyright dialogue held at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week.
At the last session of the World Trade Organization Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council, the Dominican Republic challenged an Australian draft law requiring plain packaging for tobacco products as being incompatible with its WTO obligations, eclipsing other agenda items. The TRIPS Council also addressed other regular agenda items such as related to biodiversity and public health, according to sources.
A US judge ruled yesterday that copyright “troll” Righthaven lacked legal authorisation to bring an infringement lawsuit because it did not have ownership of the copyright in question, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The case could have an impact on the future prospects of so-called copyright troll cases, EFF said.
Potential international legal instruments will be discussed this week at the World Intellectual Property Organization where delegates will try to find common language to address the protection of audiovisual performances, the protection of broadcasting organisations and agree on a set of exceptions and limitations to copyright for visually impaired people.
In remarks that have raised questions among libraries and the information technology industry, World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis last week told a copyright industry gathering that it is time to move away from a “negative” agenda of limitations and exceptions to copyright. It may also be a time for more private-sector involvement in international policymaking, he said.
A new association is being launched this week in Brussels with the mission to promote the digital public domain. The move comes in the face of heavy lobbying for stronger copyright protection.
NEW YORK - The declaration from the United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS, which concluded today, set targets for responding to the disease and contained clear references to flexibilities to intellectual property law intended to assure needed medicines can be obtained affordably, according to Brazil's health minister.
The 2007 World Intellectual Property Organization Development Agenda instituted an evaluation process at the UN agency, and now WIPO is seeking best practices for evaluating the impact of intellectual property rights on development. The WIPO Evaluation Section has issued a call for papers for a seminar to be held in October.
A recent drive against the use of mobile phones without valid International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers in terrorism-struck Pakistan has given respite to established brands and authorised dealers. The proliferation of copied and smuggled cell phones in the country, with little intellectual property rights enforcement, had resulted in a decrease in their sales volumes, industry representatives said.
In addition, the government is moving to restore an intellectual property law that industry thinks could help its efforts.