Category Venues

Kenya Works To Identify IP Rights In Its Medical Research

By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch NAIROBI – One of Kenya’s most prestigious research institutions, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), has begun an extensive intellectual property audit to try and identify any discoveries that should be protected. The audit…

Les discussions sur le nouveau plan des Nations Unies concernant l’accès à la santé publique et l’innovation s’annoncent difficiles

Par Paul Garwood Le cycle de négociations qui s’ouvre le mois prochain sur le plan des Nations Unies visant à améliorer l’accès aux médicaments pour les plus pauvres s’annonce difficile, les États et les régions étant divisés sur des sujets…

Battle Rages Over WIPO DG As Staff Dissents, Africa Cries Racism

By William New Hundreds of employees at the World Intellectual Property Organization, a prominent United Nations agency, have signed a petition calling on WIPO Director General Kamil Idris to put the organisation’s interests before his own in addressing allegations that…

EU Copyright Levies Extend To New Media As Harmonisation Lags

By Alicia Martin-Santos and Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
European Union countries are imposing copyright levies on a whole new range of digital media, including digital music players, USB flash sticks, hard drives and, potentially, mobile phones and wireless connections, as efforts to harmonise Europe's heterogeneous copyright landscape continue to languish.

Copyright levies are imposed on blank material (such as blank CDs, DVDs or paper) or digital recording media (used to store digital content) in order to compensate authors for end-users' private copying. They first appeared in the 1960s and were charged on paper, photocopying equipment and tapes. New recording media, such as mp3 players (like iPods) or even mobile phones are being examined for potential levying.