ITU In “Urgent” Meeting On Global Spectrum As New Devices Gobble It Up

A high-level, highly technical UN meeting that occurs about once every four years at which key decisions are made about wireless communications opened today in Geneva. The meeting comes as devices such as smart phones and tablets are devouring many times more spectrum than mobile phones of the past.

Is Piracy Part Of The Digital Ecosystem?

The blog Monday Note has an analysis today on digital piracy in light of the media frenzy over the US Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill last week. The analysis suggests that anti-piracy measures like France's Hadopi are not working, but there is evidence that offering competitive legitimate download sites does work.

EU Telecoms Said To Be Unfairly Restricting Internet Access

French online rights group La Quadrature du Net this week announced an analysis asserting that in more than half of European Union countries, telecommunications operators engage in "illegitimate" restrictions of their users' access.

Government Anti-Piracy Measures Working, Music Industry Says

Industry profits from digital music are on the rise as industry-owned music download services expand and gain acceptance, anti-piracy efforts take hold in some countries, and internet intermediaries join in, music industry representatives said today.

Subscriber Alert: WHO Board Considers Key Reform Paper

The World Health Organization Executive Board today is being asked to approve a draft chair's summary of this week's Board discussions on the path to sweeping reform of the UN agency. But the document is unusual, according to some observers, in that it addresses major changes without being considered a negotiation or decision. [Update: this draft was approved by the Board with only the change of deadline for comments to 17 February.]

SOPA, Piracy, Pharmaceuticals May Dominate US IP Policy Discussions In 2012

Online piracy, patent reform and intellectual property issues relating to pharmaceuticals are among the top legislative and regulatory priorities for many stakeholder groups in the United States this year, but given that 2012 is an election year, chances are slim that Congress will push through anything that isn’t a top priority or that could cause too much partisan rancour.