Category North America

US, WIPO Training Programme On IP Rights In Africa Comes Under Fire

For years, some developing countries have insisted that developed countries – which own the vast majority of intellectual property rights – take a singular focus when it comes to offering technical assistance on IP rights: the protection of “northern” property. In recent years, negotiations in venues like the World Intellectual Property Organization have sought to ensure that such assistance also highlight the creation of local IP rights as well as the availability of flexibilities developing countries have under international rules for IP.

US Copyright Industries Call For Action On Piracy; NGOs Call For Scrutiny

The major US copyright industries today issued a list they said “documents rampant online and physical piracy of copyrighted works and severe market access barriers.” Public interest groups will be watching closely to see if the list submitted to the US government is incorporated wholesale into a package of government assertions of inadequate protection of US intellectual property rights by trading partners.

In 2012: Are Biotech, Ethics And Biodiversity Friends or Foes?

With food demand and prices rising as the world crosses the threshold of 7 billion people, the need to find new medicines, concerns about the shrinking biodiversity and the effects of climate change may designate biotechnologies as the main response. Opinions differ on the way to address those issues, in particular about intellectual property rights attached to biotechnologies.

Legislative questions are being discussed on both sides of the Atlantic around the scope of patentability, and intellectual property rights on plants, seeds, molecules or methods, as well as exemptions that some think should be applied. The year ahead will see some decisions that might impact the biotechnology industry both in the United States and in Europe.

Will The Old Music Industry Giants Be Exchanged For New Ones?

CANNES, FRANCE--The red carpets were still there at the Midem, the world’s largest music fair, but they have become shorter. The industry shattered over the years by the decline in physical sales and fighting fiercely against digital piracy this year praised the revenue from digital sources which have overtaken physical sales in some countries. But it remains to be seen - can the old giants partner with the new, digital platform giants, and survive?

WIPO Report Shows Strong Economic Contribution Of Copyright

The World Intellectual Property Organization has prepared a report on the economic contribution of copyright industries in various large and small countries around the world, and industry supporters hailed it as evidence that the impact on GDP and jobs is significant, if surprisingly varied.

SOPA Blackout Was Biggest Online Protest In History, Backers Say

The online protest yesterday against the bills in the United States Congress aimed at stopping internet piracy was the biggest yet, according to statistics being circulated by the protestors. More than 115,000 websites - including four of the top 10 in the US - and over 13 million internet users participated. There were 10 million petition signatures, 3 million emails sent, 100,000 phone calls, and some 3 million messages on Twitter.