Copyright

In January this year Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan called for more efforts to fight copyright infringement and counterfeit products. Following a campaign against online piracy the authorities investigated more than 2,800 cases and withdrew certificates from at least 36 websites and companies. And earlier this month a man was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined 2,000 yuan ($320) for illegally publishing copies of the works of Mo Yan, winner of last year's Nobel Prize in literature.

NOAPIP released further details of 36 important copyright cases that it had fought in 2012. The most serious punishment handed out was an 11 year prison sentence while the highest fine was for 3.2 million yuan. The office said that in 2012, 5,331 copyright infringement cases had been solved and more than 40 million pirate items confiscated or destroyed.

For further information, please click here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

Many people confuse the concepts of the ownership of intellectual property (IP) and the inventorship or authorship of creations, or sometimes they are simply not aware of their different nature. Yet, it is crucial to understand how to manage these rights as their improper handling could cause real problems, such as the validity of IP rights (IPR) granted or the risks of legal disputes.

This fact sheet aims to clarify the ownership, inventorship and authorship concepts by explaining the different characteristics and shedding some light on the way they should be dealt with in order for any person involved in the creation of intangibles to properly identify them and avoid encountering serious problems.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

“Technology and copyright can go together”, said Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission (EC) responsible for the Digital Agenda in a speech given earlier this week in Brussels in the framework of a “stakeholders” dialogue. In that occasion she announced the EC initiative called “Licences for Europe” aimed at promoting copyright licences, as a next step in maintaining traditional copyright in light of new digital technologies.

For more information on the EC initiative, please click here and here; to read the full speech of Commissioner Kroes, here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

In 2012, António Vitorino, former Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, had discussions with key stakeholder on private copying and reprography levies. These dialogues had two main objectives:

1. to identify how to tackle issues of disparate levy systems in the Single Market; and
2. to assess the functioning and scope of the private copying and reprography exceptions.

Last week Mr. Vitorino presented its recommendations following the discussions held in the previous months, which are available here. In summary, Mr. Vitorino recommends the folowing actions:

1. clarification that "copies that are made by end-users for private purposes in the context of a service that has been licensed do not cause any harm that would require additional remuneration in the form of levies."
2. collection of "levies in cross-border transactions in the Member State in which the final customer resides";
3. "shift the liability to pay levies from manufacturers and importers to retailers provided that the tariff systems are simplified and that manufacturers and importers are obliged to inform collecting societies about their transactions concerning goods subject to a levy; or, alternatively, establish clear and predictable ex ante exemption schemes for those operators that should in principle not bear liability";
4. "place more emphasis, in the field of reprography, on operator levies than on hardware-based levies";
5. "make levies visible for the final consumer"; and
6. "ensure greater consistency with regard to the process of setting levies, notably by defining "harm" (i.e. caused to right holders by acts of copying made by virtue of the private copying and reprography exceptions) uniformly across the EU and by simplifying the procedural framework in which levies are set, guaranteeing its objectiveness and ensuring the observance of strict time-limits".

Further information is available here and here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

The European Commission has adopted a Communication which sets out parallel tracks of action to be undertaken during the Commission's term of office to ensure that the EU's copyright framework stays fit for purpose in the digital environment.

A structured stakeholder dialogue, jointly led by Commissioners Michel Barnier (Internal Market and Services), Neelie Kroes (Digital Agenda) and Androulla Vassiliou (Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth), will be launched in 2013 to seek to deliver rapid progress in four areas through practical industry-led solutions.

In parallel, the on-going review of the EU framework for copyright legal will be completed, based on market studies, impact assessment and legal drafting work, with a view to a decision in 2014 on whether to table legislative reform proposals.

Issues to be addressed by the stakeholder dialogue will be:

• Cross-border access and the portability of services
• User-generated content and licensing for small-scale users of protected material
• Audiovisual sector and cultural heritage institutions
• Text and data mining

For further information, please click here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

The Single Market is full of opportunities, in particular to doing business in another EU country than your own. It is essential that in this process you are aware of your rights. The website Your Europe can certainly help you get the important information on the Internal Market that you need, as Commissioner Barnier explains here.

In this website, you will also find a webpage dedicated to Intellectual Property Rights, with information concerning the European Union and also each Member State. In Your Europe you will find the main Intellectual Property rules in each country, as well as information on further resources and organizations dealing with Intellectual Property at national level.

In Your Europe you will also find a useful catalogue of available online tools and services for business concerning Intellectual Property Rights.

The information is available in all the languages of the European Union.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

During an orientation debate on content in the digital economy, the European Commission upheld the objective to ensure that copyright stays fit for purpose in this new digital context. Good progress has been made in implementing the May 2011 Intellectual Property Rights Strategy, but there remain a series of issues which need to be addressed to ensure an effective single market in this area.

The Commission will therefore work for a modern copyright framework that guarantees effective recognition and remuneration of rights holders in order to provide sustainable incentives for creativity, cultural diversity and innovation; opens up greater access and a wider choice of legal offers to end users; allows new business models to emerge; and contributes to combating illegal offers and piracy.

To this end the Commission has agreed on two parallel tracks of action:

• Immediate issues for action: launch of stakeholder dialogue
• Medium term issues for decision-making in 2014

For further information, please click here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group