A common argument used by those opposed to maximalist copyright reform and excessive copyright enforcement is that the answer to the problem of illegal downloads is not to sue customers and enact more restrictive legislation, but to seek out new business models. While the industry has claimed that it has Read more
The UK government has been making some interesting noises with regards to net neutrality, broadband connection as a universal service, and most importantly, about enacting three-strikes-and-you’re-out legislation. The UK government is in the final stages of preparing the final version of its Digital Britain strategy for the next 10 years; Read more
Two pieces of news exemplify that IP maximalism is alive and well, and that the copyfight has just begun (cue Imperial March). The first is a piece in The Times regarding the term extension of sound recordings. The article informs us that those poor struggling artists, Cliff Richard and The Read more
After two days of presentations by governments and industry the last day begins with discussion on how the ACE should proceed. Different groups take the floor to make suggestions for the next agenda. CPTECH has taken the floor and offered a sobering message that there should be care with regards Read more
It may be because this is an enforcement meeting, but the feeling in the meeting is pretty much pro-owner. Seems like everybody is singing from the same sheet (with very few exceptions). The rhetoric seems to be quie stronger against all sorts of piracy. Some noteworthy comments: Malaysia: Counterfeiters must Read more
This is my first time at WIPO and Geneva, the experience as been extremely interesting, seeing at first-hand how an international organisation works. The place is very clean and sanitised, it does feel very multicultural, I have never heard so many languages spoken in hallways. Then there are the international Read more
I am representing Alfa – Redi at the 3rd meeting of the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement. This is my first time at WIPO, and it is proving to be quite an interesting and eye-opening experience on how international institutions actually work. I will be blogging more details as they Read more
The first case (as far as I’m aware) enforcing a Creative Commons licence has come out in the Netherlands. The case involves famous podcaster Adam Curry, who had a number of pictures in Flickr under an Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike licence. Some of the pictures were taken by Weekend, a Dutch tabloid, Read more
Creative is threatening to enforce a patent that they own on a system to navigate music on a digital player. Unfortunately the news source does not have the patent number. This seems like just another way of beating your competition. If their product is more popular, find a broad patent Read more
(First seen on IPKat). A new study from the Treasury on the impact of IP to the UK economy has been announced. While this has to be welcome, it is worrying that the people who drafted the report on the website are unaware that fair use is an American legal Read more