With the proliferation of open source software, the risks of unknowingly infringing a third party’s intellectual property have become alarmingly large. For example, infringing code produced by Developer A (and released under an open source license for distribution, such as the GNU General Public License (‘GPL’)) may be found and innocently used in a project by Developer B, who then delivers the finished product to Client C.  Read more »

This interesting article on Prospect explores the possibility of state-sanctioned seizure of private intellectual property rights for the purpose of lowering pharmeceutical costs:  Read more »

Cambridge, Mass.-based biotechnology companies Genzyme Corp. and Biogen Idec Inc. have settled their lawsuit against Columbia University over the school's rights to royalties on drug-making research from the 1970s. Genzyme and Biogen Idec, which claimed that the university tried to illegally extend lucrative patents that had expired, said the agreement will allow them to continue selling drugs to treat multiple sclerosis and Gaucher disease based on Columbia-developed technology.  Read more »

Alan Wexelblat writes, 'Most of us, particularly in the high tech biz, sign agreements regarding intellectual property with our employers. Simple versions of these agreements state that whatever the employee develops that is related to the company's business is assumed to be company IP. More restrictive agreements may lay claim to anything developed on company time or equipment. Since this includes email discussions, such a clause can be far-reaching.  Read more »

tcd004 writes 'Lawrence Lessig, in an article on the Foreign Policy site, predicts that the public domain will die a slow death at the hands of anti-piracy efforts.'

The danger remains invisible to most, hidden by the zeal of a war on piracy. And that is how the public domain may die a quiet death, extinguished by self-righteous extremism, long before many even recognise it is gone.

Originally by Zonk at Slashdot: Your Rights Online, 8:38 PM  Read more »

The following letter was sent from a K12 school account in a southern US state. It illustrates the problems facing both paid legal download services, such as Apple's iTunes Music Store and Napster, and the RIAA's attempt to combat the illegal download services.…

Originally by The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs, 9:52 PM

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Let's keep things civil

The British government is trying to use its presidency of the EU to push through a European directive would give police more powers to act against copyright infringers than they currently have to deal with suspected terrorists, according to the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR).…

Originally by The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs, 9:52 PM  Read more »

Our heritage, but whose net?

Google's internet library project will face competition from Yahoo!, but also from a less predictable rival: the European Commission announced its own plan on Friday. And it has an advantage: if copyright laws interfere with its plans it can change the laws.…

Originally by The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs, 9:52 PM  Read more »

Copyrights and responsibilities

UK quango the National Consumer Council (NCC) has called on European Commission legislators to take a fairer stance on consumer intellectual property rights.…

Originally by The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs, 9:52 PM

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No explosions, yet

Unlike Google, Yahoo! has set off into the book scanning minefield without detonating any explosions. But that might be because it hasn't, as yet, gone near a mine. Yahoo!'s own book scanning plans went public today with the announcement of the Open Content Alliance, of which it is a founding member.…

Originally by The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs, 9:52 PM  Read more »

Small and midsize businesses are rapidly waking up to the potential of IP convergence to deliver cost savings and boost business efficiency, newly published research claims.

Originally by NewsFactor Network, 10:01 PM

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The term "nano" has come to signify quick, tiny and cutting-edge. Similarly, nanotechnology represents science at the cutting edge, as it converges with biology, medicine and information technology. One area of research expected to generate revolutionary contributions is cancer nanotechnology. The application of convergent technologies to cancer is creating more effective methods of detection, treatment and prevention, as well as raising a host of intellectual property issues.  Read more »

An anonymous reader writes "This week's Economist has a number of stories in its survey of the state of IP (link to lead article), written from a balanced, business-oriented perspective.  Read more »

A gamer has paid $100 000 for a virtual space resort in the massive multiplayer online role-playing game Project Entropia. The "real estate" was sold in a three-day auction.

Originally by NewsFactor Network, 9:56 PM

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'Chancellor Gordon Brown announced on Friday that he has commissioned an independent review into intellectual property rights in the UK. Andrew Gowers, former editor of the Financial Times, will lead the review.'

Originally by The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs, 2:33 PM

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The Microsoft Windows XP End User Licence Agreement (‘EULA’) is a classic example of abstruse drafting. In being so generalised, and endeavouring to cover all possible uses and jurisdictions — from Australian high school students to Chinese nuclear power plants — it isn’t the most accessible document to the general public.  Read more »

Apple Computer (maker of the Macintosh computer systems) and Apple Corp (the music publisher founded by The Beatles) have been fighting over the right to use the Apple name and logo since about the mid 1980s. At the time, the companies reached a settlement that permitted Apple Computer to maintain its name and logo, providing it did not enter the music business or conduct any record sales or distribution.  Read more »

IP Australia in conjunction with the Australian Innovation Festival are running free intellectual property commercialisation seminars in Brisbane (on 30 May 2006), Melbourne (on 31 May 2006) and Sydney (on 1 June 2006).

Originally by CCH Australia, 2:23 PM

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A Senate committee reviewing proposed changes to Australia’s intellectual property laws has urged the federal government to reconsider the section that adds a competition test as another ground on which a compulsory patent licence can be obtained.

Originally by CCH Australia, 9:22 PM

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