10 Sep, 2008: Public-Interest NGO’s Express Concerns with Proposed Senate Bill on Intellectual Property Enforcement
Twelve Public Interest Organizations Send US Senate Judiciary Joint Letter on Concerns Regarding S.3325, the "Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008": "The undersigned groups write to express our concerns with S. 3325, the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008, soon to be marked up in the Committee on the Judiciary. While enforcing IP rights is necessary to ...

9 Jul, 2008: EFF Statement at WIPO Development Agenda Meeting in Geneva
"We support the call for WIPO to initiate discussions on how to facilitate access to knowledge and technology for developing countries and LDCs to foster creativity and innovation, and to facilitate IP-related aspects of ICT for growth and economic, social and cultural development. It is essential that national and international copyright and patent laws provide an environment that is ...

25 Mar, 2008: IP Justice White Paper on the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
In 2007 a select handful of the wealthiest countries began a treaty-making process to create a new global standard for intellectual property rights enforcement, the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA is spearheaded by the United States, the European Commission, Japan, and Switzerland -- those countries with the largest intellectual property industries. Other countries invited to participate in ...

25 Mar, 2008: IP Justice White Paper on the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
Anti-Consumer and Anti-Public Interest Treaty Proposed by Intellectual Property Industry, US, Europe, Switzerland, and Japan

12 Mar, 2008: “Privacy-Invasive” Domain Name Trademark Bill Before US Congress
Sign the Petition. A new bill (S. 2661) is currently before the US Congress that would once again expand trademark rights to domain names and threaten free expression on the Internet. The bill, introduced by US Senator Snowe (R-Maine), also contains a privacy-invasive provision over the revelation of "whois" data (ICANN's online database about website owners). The ...

2 Mar, 2008: USTR 2008 Trade Policy Agenda and 2007 Annual Report (Mar. 2008)
Annual Report from the Office of the United States Trade Representative on efforts to influence national laws of other countries to better serve US industry.

25 Feb, 2008: The Economist Loses Battle Over Domain Name (Folio)
An attempt by The Economist to gain rights to the domain name TheEconomist.com has been denied by the World Intellectual Property Organization. The Economist filed its claim with WIPO on November 9, 2007. The magazine’s Web site is registered as simply economist.com. In its decision, the WIPO concluded that, although it was “skeptical,” and “has some doubts,” ...

23 Feb, 2008: Background Information on the WIPO Development Agenda
Background Information on the WIPO Development Agenda Development Agenda in 2004...

20 Feb, 2008: Domain Names are Bigger than Trademarks: ICANN’s New Consumer Protection Role
The terminology “confusingly similar” lends itself to the expansion of trademark rights to domain names by commercial uses and governments to the disadvantage of non-commercial users. ICANN should refrain from taking on consumer protection type roles (such as preventing “confusion” in people) and only regulate issues related to the technical coordination of the Domain Name System.

7 Dec, 2007: NCUC Statement on “Domain Name Tasting” ICANN Policy Issue
"The Final Outcomes Report of the ad hoc group on domain name tasting suggests a growing trend of registrants exploiting ICANN’s Add Grace Period (the “AGP”) to receive a full refund on the cost of registration by canceling their domain name registrations within five days. The AGP may have been adopted upon the assumption that all commercial uses of ...

28 Nov, 2007: WTO Launches Probe On China Distribution; Reviews Thai IP Policies (IP-Watch)
The World Trade Organization has launched an investigation into allegations that China is unfairly limiting the flow of copyrighted material from the United States into the country. Meanwhile, the WTO issued the periodic review of Thailand’s policies including a discussion of intellectual property rights. US concerns in the new dispute are that China provides “less favourable distribution opportunities for ...

23 Nov, 2007: UN Economic & Social Council Report on COSTA RICA: “Draft Concluding Observations of the Comm. on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/CRI/CO/4)
"24. The Committee notes with concern the potential impact of the entry into force of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) on the State party’s obligations under the Covenant and, in particular, on traditional agriculture, labour rights, access to health, social security and the intellectual property regimes protecting, inter alia, access to generic medicines, biodiversity, water and the right of ...

5 Nov, 2007: US-Peru Trade Deal The First Test Of Renegotiated IP Provisions (IP-Watch)
The United States House of Representatives is poised to pass the US-Peru free trade agreement this week, in the first test of the new “bipartisan trade policy” that led to the renegotiation of trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, Peru and South Korea. The Peru pact includes new provisions that congressional Democrats negotiated with the Bush administration with the aim ...

30 Sep, 2007: Why Leadership Matters in Implementation of WIPO Development Agenda (Sisule Musungu)
There is no doubt that the adoption of the development agenda was one of the most important issues on the agenda of the 2007 WIPO General Assembly and the Members of the Group of Friends of Development rightly pointed this out. But there is also no denying that the development agenda and all other issues on the agenda of ...

25 Sep, 2007: WTO takes up US complaint against China patent regime (AFP)
""We strongly oppose the US attempt to impose on developing members through this case," China said in a statement. ... Beijing said the case went beyond what was prescribed in the "TRIPS" agreement among the 151 WTO members, which covers intellectual property and trade. ..."