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by andy
What does the “automatic copyright” concept refer to?
The current legislation in the field mandates that any form of intellectual property created by an individual that has been stored on a physical device is automatically protected by copyright. It is important to note that until the intellectual property has been recorded on a form of readable or reproducible storing environment, it cannot fall under the category of intellectual property eligible for automatic copyright. In essence, it is not the concept that is covered by the legislation, but rather the palpable form in which the idea has been put into practice.
Moreover, the similarities between the physical form of the intellectual property and other products in the same category will determine the originality. For better understanding, let’s use the example of Walt Disney’s trade mark character, Mickey Mouse. While an individual may draw and animate his very own talking mouse, the differences between it and the well-known Mickey Mouse will be the grounds for deciding the originality of the newborn cartoon character. In case the new cartoon persona and aspect of the mouse are not strikingly similar to the Disney trademark character, then the creator holds the right to automatic copyright without having to register it at the authorities. However, even though the registration is not mandatory, this action still has some benefits.
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Tags: automatic copyright, copyright notice, intellectual property, public domain Posted in Articles
by andy
Pamela Samuelson is a Professor at the University of California at Berkeley with a joint appointment in the School of Information and the School of Law. She is also Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. Her principal area of expertise is intellectual property law. She has written and spoken extensively about the challenges that new information technologies are posing for public policy and traditional legal regimes and is an advisor for the Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic.
She selected several papers which are worth to be read by everyone interested in property rights issues. We report them here for our readers:
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Tags: Pamela Samuelson Posted in Guides
by andy
The Pirate Party, for the first time in history, will enter into European Parliament, having gained in Sweden 7.4 percent of the votes. A turning point which tells how nowadays the popular feeling around the topics of copyright on the Internet has changed. The main purpose of the Pirate Party is in fact to change the laws on the protection of copyright and they promit: “We’ll Defend freedom on the web”
This success is probably partially due to the process against the Swedish Pirate Bay, but there is more. It is a sign that young people want that the rooted habit to exchange music, films and games with their friends is recognized as a right and governments have to deal with that, without moving roughly against peer to peer and other forms of free distribution of knowledge.
Tags: europian parliament, peer tp peer, pirates Posted in News
by andy
China and Japan, in the effort to constrain the economic crisis, agreed to start a working group on protecting intellectual property rights.
“If an issue related to intellectual property rights occurs, we’d like to consider solving specific problems using this working group,” Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said after meeting Japanese cabinet ministers at the countries’ High-Level Economic Dialogue.
Sachiko Sakamaki and Takshi Hirokawa report in an article published on Bloomberg.com on June 7, 2009, that China is Japan’s largest trading partner, and Japanese companies have complained about the mainland’s lack of copyright and patent protection.
The slump in China’s exports led to the nation’s slowest economic growth in almost a decade last quarter. China-Japan trade dropped 23 percent in the first four months from a year earlier and Japan’s direct investment in China shrank by 15 percent, according to Chinese data.
Japan is China’s third-largest trading partner after the European Union and the U.S.
Tags: china, japan Posted in News
by andy
Wolf Greenfield Seminar, June 11, Boston
IP Communication Strategies and Protection Tools
BOSTON, MA — (Marketwire) — 05/08/09 — A free seminar on how to share intellectual property while preserving rights will be held by Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C., an IP law firm, on June 11 in Boston.
To generate ideas and investment, organizations need to share proprietary information internally and externally. But this can lead to loss of intellectual property exclusivity or even effectively relinquish ownership rights to others.
How does an organization disclose and leverage its intellectual property while preserving rights and keeping competitors and infringers at bay?
This seminar will detail IP communication strategies needed during the life of an invention from inception through commercialization. The panelists will cover
– Identifying and minimizing disclosure risks that can destroy IP rights
down the road
– Communicating safely with investors, universities, partners, and
consultants
– Using protection tools like attorney/client privilege, confidentiality
agreements, employee contracts, and trade secrets effectively
– Balancing the legal risks and business benefits of disclosure
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Tags: intellectual property sharing Posted in News
