EU trade news
An interesting news just got out of Europe. There will be an emphasis on the research and financing of nanotechnology, web services and something that is called the ‘future internet’. Particularly, the internet has been targeted as the EU seems not to be able to catch up with the US in this area. There is also no major services from the EU that can rival Google, Yahoo and MSN in spite of millions of dollars poured into developing web services. It is anticipated that investments into such areas will top 2 billion Euros by 2013, as Europe is the world’s largest consumer of ICT. If financing has to be diverted from other sources, so be it as the future of EU’s progress will highly depend on ICT development.
Information and media commissioner of the EU, Viviane Reding cautioned that the competitiveness, efficiency of public services, and quality of life will depend on the progress of ICT developement in the near future. Member states are encouraged to pump in more financing into such sectors. Of deep concern is that the EU consumes about a third of the world’s ICT products, yet it only supplied 23 percent of it. It could not afford to lack under such circumstances as the other countries, especially China, India, Japan and Korea is catching up fast. As for intellectual property sector, especially the filing of patents, there had been a long time suggestion that the EU legislate a single structure so that IP protection and registration becomes easier for registrants. One of the main barriers is the common accepted translation of technical terms.
March 2009
As the recession bites deeper into the EU’s economies, there has been a motion to look at areas that can provide a respite. The 27 EU member countries have agreed to take steps to improve education and training systems, with a view to bringing about co-ordinated schemes on research, its financing, intellectual properties, ethical aspects, communications and entrepreneurships.
They have agreed to adopt a ‘strategic framework’ to reform national education platforms. Instead of each country taking control of its own education system, the new thinking is that with a co-ordinated system, the EU countries will better be able to overcome the recession. Also sectors that will come under review are things like skills deficits, competition from the fast rising economies of China and India as well as an ageing population.
Separately the European Commission has invited research organizations in the public and private sectors in the EU to submit proposals to take part in the commission's 2009 research work programs.
May 26 2009
Just what are the things that don’t get through EU’s borders?
For the year 2008, the EU custom’s officials have confiscated a record amount of pirated items numbering over 170 million items. It was only 80 million for the previous year. And the largest amount, almost 40% constituted pirated compact disk, with videos making the bulk of it. Just where did the illegal disk come from?
Apparently, most of them came from China, where intellectual property enforcement is weak on the part of the authorities. There were plenty of confiscation in China, but it seems that illegal production of these pirated items was just too fast for the authorities to stop. Anyway, it is one up for EU’s enforcement authorities, and there was no doubt that co-operation among different countries had succeeded in countering cross border trafficking in intellectual assets.
July 10, 2009
Should it be ‘first to file’ rather than ‘first to invent’?
The European Commission recently released a report on intellectual property issues that seems to be targeted at the US, especially on those differences of views on the administration of IPR (intellectual property rights). For a starter, the US deems fit for patents to be issued to the ‘first to invent’ concept, whilst it is ‘first to file’ for the EU and the rest of the world. The report, entitled ‘United States Barriers to Trade and Investment 2008’ also mentioned such topics like the administering of trademarks, copyrights and geographical indications. It seems that the report is the EU’s answer to the contentious annual US Special 301 report that is used to malign trading partners that it deemed to be not adhering to standard US intellectual property rights protection.
At contention is the granting of equal copyright protection by the US on European performers. EU’s stance is that the US only pays lip service to granting protection to European works. A recent case was that of the so called ‘Irish music case’ where EU is accusing the US of not according IPR by allowing US bars and restaurants to play the music without having to pay any royalties. Another case for mentioned is the so called ‘Havana case’, where there was a legal dispute over the ownership of the Havana Club rum trademark in the U.S. Also cited in their differences was the continuing ‘difficulties’ to protect GIs on food and drink products, especially on a number of wine brands that the US has labeled ‘semi-generics’.
July 29, 2009.
In Spain, they think differently.
In May 2009, Spanish website Elrincondejesus.com was brought to court by music group SGAE (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores) for abusing copyrights of music files. In June 2009, Judge Raul N. García Orejudo threw out the case for an early injection requested by SGAE because according to Spanish law, P2P file sharing is legal. At another full hearing of the case, the judge indicated that offering an index of links and or linking to copyright materials is not the same as distribution of those files and under the Spanish Law, there is no provision that this is illegal. Perhaps SGAE might win the case if there is an amendment to the intellectual property law, but that will be another matter all together.
March 17, 2010.