Category WIPO

International ‘Making Available’ Right Becoming Less Available In US Law

By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
The United States can't make up its mind. On one hand, the country has signed at least nine international agreements that explicitly provide a new digital right for copyright owners: the exclusive right to make their works electronically available to the public. On the other hand, the US courts are uncertain whether this "making available" right exists under US law.

US courts have split over this issue, with some recognising the right and others rejecting it. But a new trend may be emerging. In the last four months, four US federal district courts have ruled that "making available" is not a right recognised by US copyright law.

First Round Results Of Voting For WIPO DG

  Candidate Votes   Francis Gurry (Australia) 24   José Graça Aranha (Brazil) 16   Masood Khan (Pakistan) 13   Yoshiyuki Takagi (Japan) 6   Jorge Amigo Castañeda (Mexico) 4   Philippe Petit (France) 4   Alicja Adamczak (Poland) 3…

First Candidate For WIPO Director General Post Withdraws

By William New Just days before the election begins for the next director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the first candidate has withdrawn, according to official sources. Mauro Masi, a former chief of staff to Italian Prime…