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1 November 2013Copyright

Conference call AIPPI: tech issues and copyright in the spotlight

More than 700 IP professionals spent five days in Helsinki, Finland, discussing the most pressing issues in the IP sphere while the Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI’s) executive committee outlined several recommendations for changes in IP law.

This year’s conference, which paid special attention to the relationship between technology and IP, began with two days of forum discussions on issues from around the globe.

Among the most discussed topics included the new generic top-level-domains (gTLD) programme, currently being rolled out the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

The conference heard from Bruce Tonkin, vice-chair of ICANN’s board of directors who explained how brands could use the programme to their advantage.

“When you consider how we use Internet addresses today it becomes clear why a TLD would be beneficial,” Tonkin told delegates.

“As a gTLD owner you want people to find you directly. By having a recognisable short name people can then type that into the search engine and be taken directly to the link without the risk of competitors showing up.”

Delegates were told about the potential benefits the programme could bring to brand owners, including geographic gTLDs to link customers directly to services in that country.

Due to the forum’s focus on technology and with Helsinki playing host, special exposure was also given to one of Finland’s most famous technological exports, the Angry Birds smartphone game, created by videogame developer Rovio.

Lawyers heard from the company’s businesses development manager, Peter Vesterbacka, who revealed that the Angry Birds model had increasingly been the target of copycat imitations on its brand and game-play method and that there was little that could be done.

“If Rovio has trademark and copyright protection that’s all very well, but unless they have a patent for the gaming method they can’t stop someone producing similar games,” Richard Beem, of Beem Patent Law in Chicago, explained.

The forum was told that, under US and EU law, in order to get patentability, an invention needs to represent a technical effect.

“What Rovio has done is something very smart,” said Beem, who described the slingshot game’s graphics and ability to detect trajectory as being sufficient.

“It’s my contention that now is the time to change this ruling to get eligibility for a game such as this,” Beem told the conference.

Despite the heavy focus on technology there was time to discuss other pressing issues.

Almost inevitably, the latest situation on Europe’s unitary patent and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) did not go unnoticed and a special two-part workshop dedicated to the plans yielded lively discussion from lawyers, particularly on the issue of language barriers at the courts.

Kevin Mooney, partner at Simmons & Simmons LLP in London, added that despite the UPC’s intention of increasing homogenisation, language barriers could still prove problematic.

Mooney referred to Article 42 of the UPC agreement, which states that if a regional division has more than one language, proceedings should be undertaken in the language in which the division “normally conducts its business”.

Indicating that he would like to see the rule disappear, Mooney said: “How on earth do you decide that? A country such as Belgium has more than one language and it’s very difficult to determine how business is usually done.”

ExCo

Every second year, the forum is followed by meetings of AIPPI’s Executive Committee conference (ExCo), which outlines recommended reforms to IP legislation.

The topics discussed included establishing a harmonised year-long grace period for patents and imposing a maximum term of 70 years on copyright protection.

The discussion on patent harmonisation was the fourth time the ExCo has considered the topic, having previously held discussions in 1980, 1982 and 2003.

A resolution, pre-prepared by an AIPPI working committee, claimed recent changes in national laws, including the America Invents Act in the US and revisions to the grace period law in Japan had made the topic “ripe for discussion”.

Margot Fröhlinger, principal director for patent laws and international affairs at the European Patent Office, told the meeting it was a “longstanding and controversial debate”.

“What is very clear from reports in Europe is that the issue of grace period has divided, and continues to divide, users and businesses,” Fröhlinger said.

The proposals, which more than 92 percent of the ExCo voted in favour of, say that the grace period “shall be 12 months preceding the filing date of the patent application” and added that it shall have no effect on the date of publication of the patent application.

One of the more controversial topics to be passed through was a proposal calling for a maximum term of copyright protection.

"The EXCO coneeded that over the years the term of copyright protection had been 'constantly extended' in almost all countries."

A draft resolution supplied to the committee, said there had been continuing political discussion about copyright protection and that there was a need to address the adequacy of existing terms.

Copyright protection is governed by international treaties including the Berne Convention, the 1994 TRIPS Agreement and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty of 1996, which have all set minimum terms for protection.

The Berne Convention sets a minimum term of 50 years after an author’s death, which was also adopted by TRIPS and the WIPO treaty.

However, the ExCo conceded that over the years the term of copyright protection had been “constantly extended” in almost all countries.

Despite the ExCo admitting the need for a maximised term it took two meetings and lengthy discussions before it agreed to the recommended 70-year term.

When a resolution is passed by the AIPPI it is then presented to the WIPO and international non-governmental organisations for their consideration.

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