Category Venues

Trade And Development With A Dash Of IP: Conference To Set Course For UNCTAD

The quadrennial conference of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) sets the course of the UN body work for the next four years. The mandate of the conference has evolved since its creation to become mainly a provider of research, policy analysis and technical assistance to developing countries. This time around, the conference will serve as a wide-ranging forum for trade and development issues, and intellectual property issues will haunt discussions in several areas.

EPO Response: No Tricks On Patents On Seeds And Plants

In response to a report published on 3 April by civil society group No Patent on Seeds alleging that industry and patent examiners in the European Patent Office are finding legal loopholes to grant patents on seeds and plants, an EPO spokesperson told Intellectual Property Watch the patent office does not "apply tricks" to grant patents.

Court Issues Decision On Intermediary Liability In Viacom v. YouTube

Today, a US appellate court released its decision in a key case in which rights holders asserted that online video site YouTube should be liable for copyright infringing content appearing on its site. According to a preliminary reading, the appeals court reversed the earlier decision, signalling that YouTube, owned by Google, could have known about infringing content and therefore may not fit under the safe harbor clause of the US Digital Millenniumn Copyright Act limiting the liability of online service providers.

Intellectual Property Strategy: A Wise Man’s Guide

A recently published book by Harvard Law School Professor John Palfrey offers a thoughtful and useful handbook for executives or just about anyone else to better understand and use intellectual property, in ways that encourage sharing and openness.

EU Copyright Levy Debate Rekindled; UK Needs Better Licensing, Study Finds

Stalled talks on Europe's broken system of private copying levies resumed on 2 April, with European Commission-appointed mediator António Vitorino laying out his goals and urging parties to move beyond their entrenched positions. Meanwhile, a report for rights owners found that abolishing levies will hurt them as well as device makers and, possibly, consumers. And in another copyright-related development, a UK government study identified problems with the country's copyright licensing regime.

Honduras Files WTO Dispute Case Vs. Australia Over Tobacco IPR

Honduras announced today it has requested formal consultations with Australia under the World Trade Organization dispute settlement procedures, charging that Australia's public health law requiring tobacco to be sold in plain packaging violates the WTO intellectual property agreement.

External Review Of WIPO Technical Assistance Stirs Debate

Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization are quietly but heatedly discussing how to address an external review of WIPO technical assistance in the lead-up to the next Committee on Development and IP (CDIP) meeting, according to sources. And some are watchful that there not be an effort to bury the substantive and at-times critical review, even as WIPO has issued a lengthy response to it.