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US Lawmakers Seek IP Enforcement Agency; Satellite Radio Royalties Set

By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
A bipartisan group of US legislators is calling for tougher civil and criminal penalties for copyright and trademark infringement through new legislation introduced last week. Meanwhile, the US Library of Congress Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has set royalties for satellite radio services, as webcast radio companies lobbied for rate parity.

The "Prioritising Resources and Organisation for Intellectual Property Act of 2007 (PRO IP)," introduced 5 December, would create an IP enforcement czar, establish a new IP division in the Department of Justice, and authorise the appointment of IP officers to help foreign countries combat piracy and counterfeiting.

Verizon Executive Discusses Telecom’s Move To Open Access

By Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch
NEW YORK - Verizon Wireless, in a surprise move for a company known to fiercely protect its network from outside use, announced on 27 November that it would adopt an "open-access" policy for the use of its wireless services. This means that third-party devices, including Google's still in-development mobile-phone operating system Android, will be able to use the Verizon network, and opens the way for a global expansion for the telecommunications company.

Speaking at investment bank UBS's Annual Global Media Conference in New York on 5 December, Verizon President and Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl explained the choice.

EU Online Copyright Bill Coming; Publishers Debate DRMs

By William New BRUSSELS – European publishers and copyright holders have a friend in European Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding, which she reinforced last week in describing efforts to push through a new bill on digital publishing copyrights. At the…

France’s Online Anti-Piracy Plan Comes Under Scrutiny

By Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch
Legal experts and consumer rights groups are questioning the feasibility of measures described in an anti-piracy pact that French media groups, government officials, and Internet service providers (ISPs) announced on 23 November.

ISPs also dispute the veracity of media reports that have since claimed that access providers will begin to actively monitor and block peer-to-peer file exchanges in France.

The anti-piracy agreement describes a number of possible measures that could prevent illegal distribution of copyright-protected digital media in France.

Members Seek To Raise TRIPs Amendments In WTO Negotiations

By William New World Trade Organization members seeking changes to international rules on trade and intellectual property rights moved this week to include the debate on their proposals in an upcoming deadline for the broader trade negotiations at the WTO.…

Film Industry Touts ISP Partners In Filtering Online Content

By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch
NEW YORK - Internet service providers are going to lead the monitoring of networks to ensure they are not being used for infringing purposes in the entertainment industry's seemingly endless battle to maintain control over where their content is distributed, and to whom, Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Dan Glickman said Tuesday.

Glickman, speaking at the 35th Annual UBS Global Media & Communications Conference on 5 December, said his organisation - which represents the motion picture, home video and television industries - is working with telephone, cable and Internet companies, most notably AT&T, to ensure their networks are not being used to illegally share or download content. The relationship is somewhat ironic given the entertainment industry's rocky history with the ISP community and its previous efforts to force telecommunications companies like Verizon to reveal the identities of customers who infringe copyrights on peer-to-peer filing systems.

Accord CAFTA : un Comité des Nations Unies questionne les dispositions de propriété intellectuelle relatives aux droits de l’homme

par Kaitlin Mara pour Intellectual Property Watch Lors d’une récente réunion, le Comité des droits économiques, sociaux et culturels (CESCR) de l’organisation des Nations Unies a fait écho aux préoccupations exprimées par les opposants costaricains à l’Accord de libre-échange entre…

The Proposed Reform Of Venezuelan Constitution: Cultural And Intellectual Property Issues

[Re: 2 December referendum on constitutional changes in Venezuela] By Rafael Carreño, SAPI External Advisor During the last few months across Venezuela at dozens of open forums -both on the streets and within institutions and in the media, there have…

Comite de Naciones Unidas cuestiona las disposiciones sobre propiedad intelectual del CAFTA por motivos de derechos humanos

Por Kaitlin Mara para Intellectual Property Watch En una reunión reciente, el Comité de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales de las Naciones Unidas (CESCR) se hizo eco de las preocupaciones planteadas por los opositores costarricenses del tratado de libre comercio…