Eleven states to move on single EU patent

EUobserver.com reports that France, Germany, the UK and eight other countries will go ahead and implement a single EU patent aimed at lowering costs across the bloc to protect inventions, after talks with Italy and Spain over translation rights foundered.
Hailing it as "the cherry on top of the Belgian EU presidency cake," Vincent Van Quickenborne, Belgian acting minister for entrepreneurship and simplification said the move was "an important step for EU integration."

Not integrated in the deal, however, are Spain and Italy, who pressed to have their own languages recognised as well, not just English, French and German as the current decision entails.

Read more here: http://euobserver.com/9/31479/?rk=1

Brussels in fresh push to end EU patent saga

EUobserver.com reports that in a bid to bring down translation costs for European businesses and help them compete on the world market, the European Commission has suggested EU governments should accept patents in English, French or German.


Reade more here: http://euobserver.com/9/30402/?rk=1

Internet Companies Voice Alarm over Italian Law

Internet companies and civil liberty activists are concerned about a proposed new Italian law that “would make online service providers responsible for their audiovisual content and copyright infringements by users, an article from the Reuters wire stated. The EU Commission might "open an investigation into the decree for infringing EU norms" if the law is passed. The draft legislation has also raised concerns from Italian groups dedicated to freedom of speech.
Further, the new decree could postpone the development of the web even further in a country that already significantly lags behind other Western European nations in terms of Internet usage. As an example, "Only around 10% of Italians buy online compared with around 55% of Britons and Germans," the articles stated.

from the ARMA International International Policy Brief, February 2010
Full International Policy Brief

EU to tackle digital book copyright in 2010

According to Eurocativ.com, the European Commission will establish "simple and cost-efficient rights clearance systems" on the digitisation of published works and their availability on the Internet, it announced this week (19 October).

The legal implications of digitisation en masse and the potential costs for rights clearance are the two main issues that emerged from a consultation with libraries, publishers and other stakeholders.

The Commission says it will deal with the copyright aspects of digital publishing in the context of a new strategy on intellectual property rights in 2010.

Read the entire article here: http://www.euractiv.com/en/infosociety/eu-tackle-digital-book-copyright-2010/article-186586

EU firms voice fears of trade secret 'leakage' in China

Euractiv.com reports today that Confidential data provided by European companies to the Chinese authorities as part of patent applications and environmental impact assessments are being leaked to local competitors, according to the European Union's Chamber of Commerce in China.

There is a growing concern amongst European companies about the "leakage of confidential information," with Chinese government agencies demanding detailed data on the products and practices of foreign firms.

"It is unfortunately not uncommon for such proprietary knowledge to be leaked to Chinese competitors," according to a new position paper published by the EU Chamber of Commerce 's office in Beijing

Read the full article here: http://www.euractiv.com/en/enterprise-jobs/eu-firms-voice-fears-trade-secret-leakage-china/article-185148#

European Commission to Investigate Google Book Deal

A European Commission hearing on 7 September will investigate whether a US legal settlement concerning Google breaches EU copyright law, the European Voice reports.

The settlement, which is still being studied by the US courts and justice department, would allow Google to use in-copyright material scanned in libraries in its Book Search service, which allows people to read extracts, and in some cases the full text, of digitised books. An agreement was reached last year between Google, the US Authors' Guild and the Association of American Publishers.

It covers out-of-print books which are either in- copyright or have uncertain copyright status, and works whose copyright holder cannot be found (known as orphan books). Such books account for around 75% of an average library's collection. Books by European authors are included in the settlement's remit.

Read the entire article here: http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/google's-books-deal-under-scrutiny/65779.aspx?lg=1

The settlement is opposed by a coalition of companies (including Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo), as well as some authors and publishers, who argue that it would give Google an unhealthy dominance over other digital library services.

The opponents announced last week that they had formed a lobby group, the Open Book Alliance (OBA), to campaign against the deal. According to an OBA statement, “a digital library controlled by a single company and a small group of colluding publishers would inevitably lead to higher prices and sub-par service for consumers, libraries, scholars and students”.

Swedish Pirate Party support soars after file-sharing verdict

Support for the Pirate Party, a political party running in the European elections, has soared in the wake of last week's conviction of the four Swedish founders of the file-sharing site.

Backing for the Swedish Pirate Party has now leapfrogged that of the domestic Green Party. While it may be a blip of anger after the verdict and opinions may change come election day, almost 50 percent of young men under 30 say they intend to vote for the new faction in the June 2009 elections to the European Parliament.

http://euobserver.com/9/27969/?rk=1

Cheaper and easier EU trade mark protection

The fees for EU-wide trade mark rights are to be reduced by 40% from 1 May 2009, saving businesses some €60 million a year, and the registration procedure will also be simplified. Instead of paying €1750 for the application and registration of a Community trade mark, businesses will be charged only an application fee of €1050 in future. Those who file their applications via the Internet will benefit from a greater reduction and will be charged merely an application fee of €900 in place of the total amount of €1600 to be paid at present. This means that in future businesses will pay 40% less for obtaining a Community trade mark – and as much as 44% less when using electronic means. The fee reduction and simplification of procedure essentially consist in setting the registration fee for Community trade marks to zero. Businesses will therefore pay only an application fee, and will no longer have to pay a separate fee for registration. As a result, the processing time for the registration of a Community trade mark will also become significantly shorter. In addition, the individual fee for international trade mark applications and registrations designating the European Community under the Madrid Protocol will go down from €1450 to €870, which also corresponds to a 40% decrease.The EU agency responsible for registering trade marks and designs that are valid in all 27 Member States is OHIM, the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market, located in Alicante, Spain.
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