Category Regional Policy

US Court Finds Open Source Licences Enforceable; Big Impact Seen On US Copyright Law

By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
The ruling has no precedential value. Nevertheless, the recent decision in Jacobsen v. Katzer will have a major impact on US copyright law, according to IP experts.

Jacobsen held that open source licences can be enforced under US copyright law. "It is first time that a US court of appeals has directly addressed issues about the enforceability of open source licences," said Jim Thatcher, Of Counsel in the Seattle office of Woodcock Washburn. "There isn't anywhere else for [US] courts to turn for guidance on this issue, so they will turn to this case and its logic for the enforceability of open source licensing terms."

"[T]rust me, this is huge," Lawrence Lessig, a copyright expert at Stanford Law School, wrote in his online blog.

Traité ACTA : inquiétudes concernant le caractère secret des négociations

Par Monika Ermert pour Intellectual Property Watch Des représentants des milieux industriels et gouvernementaux, ainsi que des experts dans le domaine du droit de la propriété intellectuelle se sont déclarés surpris par le secret qui entoure les négociations sur le…

ACTA: las negociaciones progresan “detrás del telón”; muchas preocupaciones

Por Monika Ermert para Intellectual Property Watch Los representantes de la industria y del público y los especialistas en derecho de propiedad intelectual están desconcertados por el permanente secreto en el cual se están llevando a cabo las negociaciones sobre…

Brazil Probes Pharmaceutical Industry For Building High-Cost Drug Demand

By Claudia Jurberg for Intellectual Property Watch RIO DE JANEIRO – An investigation was conducted recently by the civil police in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, against multinational pharmaceutical companies, in which the prosecution affirmed that laboratories pay lawyers to get…

Renouvellement du mandat de la CNUCED et renforcement de la collaboration dans le domaine de la propriété intellectuelle

Par Catherine Saez Les questions liées à la propriété intellectuelle apparaissent comme un objectif clé des politiques mises en oeuvre par la Conférence des Nations Unies pour le commerce et le développement (CNUCED) au regard de la décision prise lors…

Aumentan las actividades de PI de la UNCTAD gracias al mandato renovado; mayor colaboración

Por Catherine Saez Las cuestiones relacionadas con la propiedad intelectual (PI) parecen ser un claro enfoque de políticas de la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre Comercio y Desarrollo (UNCTAD), ya que la 12.va conferencia cuatrienal de la UNCTAD celebrada…

ACTA: Negotiations Advance ‘Behind The Curtain’; Many Concerns

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Representatives of industry and the public as well as intellectual property law experts are puzzled by the ongoing secrecy under which negotiations on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) are being held. The…

US: We Will Not Give Up Oversight Of Internet Domain Name Root Zone

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The Bush administration has no intention of giving up United States oversight role of the management of the central root zone of the internet domain name system (DNS), the essential database storing information…

Nokia-Qualcomm Settlement Boosts Sharing, Ends Costly Patent War

By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Nokia and Qualcomm, the two mobile phone equipment manufacturers engaged in a costly patent war that spanned three years and three continents settled their differences last week. However, questions still remain over the…