ACTA: Negotiations Concluded

See the final version and the joint statement from all the negotiating partners of the agreement

Dynamic Efficiencies and Technological Progress in EC Merger Control

C.Allmendinger, here.

Entwicklung des Urheberrechts in der digitalen Gesellschaft

29. November 2010, öffentliche Expertenanhörung veranstaltet von der Enquete-Kommission Internet und digitale Gesellschaft. Video  und Stellungsnahmen zur Anhörung hier.. 

BT and TalkTalk win Digital Economy Act review

Here (Marketing Week).

Linksetzung, technisch unwirksame Schutzmaßnahme und Urheberrechtsverletzung

Bundesgerichtshof (BGH), Urteil des I. Zivilsenats vom 29.4.2010 - I ZR 39/08

Deins, meins, unseres. Kulturen des Urheberrechts

Vortrag von Reto Hilty auf dem Netzpolitischen Kongress der Grünen live gebloggt

The 2010 Merger Guidelines: Do We Need Them? Are They All We Need?

G.Leonard, here.

Italian Competition Authority to Investigate Sky's World Cup Sport Rights Exclusivity

Press release (in Italian only), from the Authority's website.

Validité d'une licence CC reconnue en Belgique

Tribunal de première instance de Nivelles, ici.

On promoting cultural diversity and content adapted to the digital age

Neelie Kroes, here.

Including Exclusion in the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines

D.Hoffman, D. Francis, here.

WIPO SCCR/21

Closed captioning (stream text) at the following link: http://streamtext.net/text.aspx?event=WIPO (pw: wipo4me). Final Conclusions (from KEI)

A comprehensive approach on personal data protection in the European Union

European Commission, here.

Judicial Review in European Union Competition Law: A Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment

D. Geradin, N. Petit, here.

Ofcom: Guidance note for public interest test on the anticipated acquisition of British Sky Broadcasting plc by News Corporation

Here.

Of Omissions and Commissions: India's Competition Laws

A.Bhattacharjea, here.

ICN Unilateral Conduct Working Group's teleseminar on unilateral conduct in the pharmaceutical industry

Recording of the program and accompanying slide deck.

2010 Merger Guidelines: Empirical Analysis

J.Hausman, here.

Oracle raises price of an entry-level MySQL subscription significantly

Computerworld, here.

Cameron on reviewing IP laws to make them fit for the digital age

From the speech:
"The founders of Google have said they could never have started their company in Britain.

The service they provide depends on taking a snapshot of all the content on the internet at any one time and they feel our copyright system is not as friendly to this sort of innovation as it is in the United States.

Over there, they have what are called ‘fair-use’ provisions, which some people believe gives companies more breathing space to create new products and services.

So I can announce today that we are reviewing our IP laws, to see if we can make them fit for the internet age."
See also the IPO's press release on the scope of the review.

Review of barriers to entry, expansion and exit in retail banking in the UK

OFT, here.

Canadian Bill C-32: digital burning in education debated

Here.

"It's the ad-text stupid" - Erkenntnisse und Fragen aus den Google France Entscheidungen

M. Schubert, hier.

Kein wettbewerbsrechtlicher Leistungsschutz für Amateurfußballspiele

"www.hartplatzhelden.de", Urteil des I. Zivilsenats vom 28.10.2010 - I ZR 60/09 (noch nicht veröffentlicht, nur Pressemitteilung).

Vince Cable on Competition Policy in the UK

From the Speech given to the Confederation of British Industry - 25 October 2010:

"What business does however need to know to promote growth is that there are clear, consistent rules to govern business behaviour. Which brings me on to competition policy. Competition is one of the great drivers of growth, keeping prices low for consumers, driving innovation, experimentation and investment.

When I used my party conference speech to suggest the need for a more active competition policy, this was interpreted as some kind of modern Marxism. Far from it – this is a defence of capitalism, not an assault.

And the UK’s competition regime is regarded as one of the best in the world – particularly because of its independence and the transparency of decision making. And the EU regime on top of it – including the system of state aid rules that helps to prevent subsidy wars - is one of the Community’s most successful activities.

But there is scope for improvement. In particular, there are difficulties in successfully prosecuting anti-trust cases and a paucity of market investigation cases. I would also like to question whether our current system of sector-specific regulation is ideal, or could we achieve something better through cross sector regulation.

A system that is too slow imposes unacceptable costs on the regulated, and is an insufficient deterrent for would-be abusers of a dominant position. Competition Act cases have taken on average three and a half years between the investigation to a final decision. This is too slow – hardly the “efficient and timely processes” that the CBI has called for.

I also want to ask if we are making enough investigations. Our rate of three or four a year looks odd compared to 15 in France and even more in Germany.

In the New Year, the Government will consult on proposals to deliver more streamlined and consistent processes - including bringing the Competition Commission and the competition functions of the Office of Fair Trading together to form a single competition authority, which I hope will be more proactive in addressing problems."

The real thing? Coke sues Pepsi over bottle shape mark

Class 99, here.

Competition policy for an open and fair digital economy

J.Almunia, here.

Apple faces legal action over iPad name

FT.com, here.

Google s'engage à rendre plus transparentes et plus prévisibles pour les annonceurs les règles appliquées par son service de publicité en ligne AdWords

Autorité de la concurrence, ici

India's Intervention to the WTO TRIPS Council Concerning ACTA

Here, from KEI.

Compliance and Competition policy

J.Almunia, here.

Leniency programs for multimarket firms: The effect of Amnesty Plus on cartel formation

Y. LEFOUILI and C. ROUX, here

The 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines: A Static Compass in a DynamicWorld?

J.Ezrielev and J. Ordover, here.

Is IP Good or Evil? A Vatican's Perspective

Statement by H.E. Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva (from KEI)

Facts and Figures on Copyright Three-Strike Rule in South Korea

Heesob Nam, here.

Stellungnahme des Bundeskartellamtes zum Energiekonzept der Bundesregierung

Hier.

2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines: The View from the Technology Industry

S.Creighton, here.

KEI Letter to the European Parliament regarding ACTA, October 25, 2010

Here. See also the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure's analysis

Stakeholders’ Platform Launches Project to Facilitate Access by VIPs to Published Works

WIPO's press release

IPKat Patent Limerick Competition

The winner has been announced, here. My pick:
A crafty inventor called Fred
Built an aircraft entirely from lead
When they cried "Why Fred Why?"
"You know it won't fly!"
"Not obvious for patent" he said.

Chris Torrero

ICN 2010 Cartel Worshop

Materials becoming available here.

ECJ on "fair compensation" in Article 5(2)(b) of Directive 2001/29 (the Information Society Directive)

Padawan SL v Sociedad General de Autores y Editores de España (SGAE),  Case C‑467/08.

Director General of the Swedish Competition Authority on the resolution of cartel cases

Here.

The Economics of Collective Brands

A. Fishman, A. Simhon, I. Finkelshtain, Nira Yacouel, here

The Federal Court of Canada on "1-Click Patent"

Here.

The European Antitrust Review 2011

Here.

3 Fragen zum Datenschutz in Social Bookmarking-Diensten

F.Pierer, hier.

In praise of copying

M.Boon, here.

Google Books: Wonder or Threat in the Digital Age?

LawTech Seminars 2010, University of Trento, Law Department, Program here (in Italian). My presentation here.

Revision of the EIF: FSFE responds to BSA's claims re standardisation, patent licensing

Here.

DG Competition publishes the results of a comprehensive stakeholder survey about its activities

Here.

Pub sector in the UK working well for consumers

CAMRA super-complaint – OFT final decision

EU Consultation on Audit Policy

Here.

Exclusions from Patentability and Exceptions and Limitations to Patentees’ Rights

L.Bently et al., Experts' Study on Exclusions from Patentable Subject Matter and Exceptions and Limitations to the Rights. The WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents agreed to include a number of key substantive issues relating to patent law and practice in its future work.

Common standards for group claims across the EU

Joaquín Almunia, here

Deutsche Telekom's Margin Squeeze Confirmed by the ECJ

C-280/08 P Deutsche Telekom v Commission 

Revising the Horizontal Merger Guidelines: Lessons from the E.U. and the U.S.

Richard J. Gilbert and Daniel L. Rubinfeld, here

A Single UK Competition and Markets Authority.

The Competition Commission (CC) and the competition functions of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will possibly merge.

Aides d'État: la Commission donne son feu vert à la «carte musique» française pour encourager les téléchargements légaux de musique

Ici.

OLG Düsseldorf: Zum Verhältnis der GPL zu Markenrechten - xtCommerce

OLG Düsseldorf, Urteil v. 28.09.2010, Az. I-20 U 41/09, Telemedicus und ifrOSS ausführlich zum Fall.

The Size and the Value of the EU Public Domain

R.Pollock, P.Stepan (here), and R.Pollock, P.Stepan, M.Välimäki (here) respectively.

Gates Foundation announces $20M for Next Generation Learning Challenges; CC BY required for grant materials

Here.

When the Going Gets Tight: Institutional Solutions When Antitrust Enforcement Resources are Scarce

Michal Gal, here.

A Library Without Walls - A US National Digital Library?

Robert Darnton, The New York Review of Books, here.

Network Neutrality: What a Non-Discrimination Rule Should Look Like

Barbara Van Schewick, here.

Un signe qui identifie un site et non une marque n’est pas une contrefaçon

Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris 3ème chambre, 2ème section Jugement du 01 octobre 2010
Place des Tendances / Promod, (Legalis.net)

European Antritrust Deal With Microsoft Barely Affects Browser Market

NYT, here.

Expertenanhörung zum Thema "Netzneutralität - Kapazitätsengpässe, Differenzierung, Netzwerkmanagement"

Bericht.

From "Radical Extremism" to "Balanced Copyright": Canadian Copyright and the Digital Agenda

Michael Geist, Introduction. From October 14th the book will be available in both paper and as a Creative Commons licenced download.

Kompendium Internetrecht aktualisiert

Prof. Thomas Hoeren, hier.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has authorised Liquor Stax Australia to collectively bargain with a range of wholesale suppliers

Final detemination.

US Department of Transportation Proposes to Approve Antitrust Immunity for U.S.-Japan Aviation Alliances

Here.

Heizstrom – Marktüberblick und Verfahren

Bundeskartellamt, s. Bericht.

Der dritte Korb im Interesse von Bildung und Wissenschaft

NEUREGELUNG DES URHEBERRECHTS: ANLIEGEN UND DESIDERATE FÜR EINEN DRITTEN KORB (Wissenschaftsallianz) und Stellungnahme  des Börsenvereins. Heise online berichtet über ein lebhaftes Fachgespräch der SPD-Bundestagsfraktion insbesondere zum formatgleichen Zweitveröffentlichungsrecht.

Council of Europe: Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on network neutrality

Here.

La BNF préfère Microsoft à Google

Le Figaro, ici.

The Prizewinners of the Plagiarius-Competition 2010

Here.

17 producers of prestressing steel fined a total of € 458 410 750 in the EU for two-decades long price-fixing and market-sharing cartel

Press release, here.

Public Policy and Market Competition: How the Master Settlement Agreement Changed the Cigarette Industry

Ciliberto, Federico and Kumino , Nicolai, here.

Copyright Futures?

James Boyle et al, here.

ACTA Draft Released/2

• October 2, here.

Netzneutralität: Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten ..

Thomas Hoeren, hier.

Oracle v. Google

See this groklaw's post

Misbehavioral Economics: The Case Against Behavioral Antitrust

Joshua Wright, Judd Stone, here.

US Department of Justice to Litigate Against American Express

Here and here.

WIPO Symposium on Intellectual Property and Competition Policy

Enforcing Antitrust Law with Reference to Intellectual Property Assets: New Developments and Perspectives, October, 25, Geneva. Program.

Digitale Medien in Wien Online verliehen

Virtuelle Bücherei Wien, hier.

IP Rights and Competition

Italian Competition Authority's 20th Anniversary Celebratory Event, Rome October 8, 2010, Program. My presentation on Google Books (in Italian).

Red Hat's reading of Bilski submitted to the US PTO

Here.

The First Decade: Challenges Facing New Competition Agencies

William Kovacic, U.S. Federal Trade Commission, here.

JOINT STATEMENT FROM ALL THE NEGOCIATING PARTIES TO ACTA

Here. Read also ECIS' position paper on ACTA.

Text of H.R. 3101: Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009

Here

WIPO's Medium Term Strategic Plan 2010-15

Here.
Concerning the SCCR, strategies include:

–               "continuing to support the work of Member States on copyright limitations and exceptions, with a particular focus on improving access for visually impaired and other persons with print disabilities, while accelerating work with respect to access for persons with other disabilities, educational institutions, libraries and archives;

–                continuing to support the work of Member States on the protection of audiovisual performances and on the protection of broadcasting organizations;

–                exploring the scope for discussion of new issues with important global consequences, such as orphan works or the need for increased cooperation between copyright owners and Internet intermediaries in the making available of legitimate creative content, and encouraging consideration of self-regulatory, as well as formal solutions".

Using Competition Law to Promote Access to Knowledge

Sean Flynn, here.

Making the Grade? A Year at the FTC

Jon Leibowitz, here.

Video game piracy: Is it good for business?

CNN tech, here.

Online "catch-up" TV and advertising: EU Commission refers planned online joint venture between ProSiebenSat.1 and RTL to German and Austrian competition authorities

Here.

(American) Football, Copyright, and Innovation

NYT, here.

Copyright law needs a digital-age upgrade

Pamela Samuelson, here, and by the same author et al.  THE COPYRIGHT PRINCIPLES PROJECT: DIRECTIONS FOR REFORM

Derechos de retransmisión de acontecimientos futbolísticos en España

Apertura de un expediente sancionador por posibles prácticas restrictivas de la competencia, por vincular la reventa de derechos de retransmisión de acontecimientos futbolísticos a la contratación de los servicios de producción y transporte de la señal de partidos de fútbol, Comunicado de Prensa.

Competition for High Tech Employees

US JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REQUIRES SIX HIGH TECH COMPANIES TO STOP
ENTERING INTO ANTICOMPETITIVE EMPLOYEE
SOLICITATION AGREEMENTS, Press Release.

Koexistenz, keine Konkurrenz: Gedruckte Bücher und E-Books ergänzen sich

Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, hier.

EU Commission's Statement on Apple's iPhone policy changes

Google Suggest : le directeur de la publication condamné pour diffamation

TGI de Paris, 8 septembre 2010, ici. 

WIPO's IP Case Studies

IP Advantage

Gemeinsame Erklärung zum Vorhaben eines „Leistungsschutzrechts für Presseverleger“

Der Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI) zusammen mit anderen Verbänden, hier. 

Privacy Commissioner of Canada: Facebook investigation follow-up complete

Here.

Fernsehmitschnitte und Urheberrechtsschranken für Bildung und Wissenschaft

Vernichtungsanordnung als vorauseilender Gehorsam, Aktionsbündnis Urheberrecht für Bildung und Wissenschaft e.V.

Spain Court Dismisses Telecinco Copyright Charges Vs YouTube

The Wall Street Journal, here. A quick French perspective here. Spanish press news here. Unofficial English translation of the decision here. See also E.Bonadio, D.Mula, Madrid court confirms YouTube's host status

International Cooperation: Preparing for the Future

Christine Varney, here.

New Zealand: Guidelines for Trade Associations Released

Sammelklagen nach US-Vorbild in Brüssel "nicht mehr auf der Tagesordnung"?

FTD Interview mit Viviane Reding. 

Fair Use and Fairness on Campus

Deborah R. Gerhardt, Madelyn F. Wessel, here.

VIACOM V. YOUTUBE: A PROVING GROUND FOR DMCA SAFE HARBORS AGAINST SECONDARY LIABILITY

Brett White, here.

Entry and Incumbent Innovation

Philipp Weinschenk, here.

WIPO Assemblies: Stevie Wonder Calls for International Action to Enhance Accessibility for Visually Impaired Persons

WIPO Press Release, here. Video from YouTube. A song we don't want to hear? Stevie Wonder on what the WIPO didn't do...

Antitrust Karma, the Microsoft-Google Wars, and a Question for Rick Rule

Josh Wright, here.

Canadian universities and copyright: "Significant new costs loom for students"

Michael Geist, here.

Antitrust in the Digital Age: How Enduring Competition Principles Enforced by the Federal Trade Commission Apply to Today’s Dynamic Marketplace

Richard Feinstein, FTC, here.

Open Source and Merger Policy: Insights from the EU Oracle/Sun Decision

Simonetta Vezzoso (this blog's author), here. International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law (IIC), Forthcoming.

Abstract:

In Europe the merger between Oracle and Sun raised a series of substantial competition concerns, especially related to the acquisition by Oracle of MySQL, an open source business, and its impact on the database market. In the end, the acquisition was unconditionally cleared by the Commission. The open source nature of MySQL played a decisive role in the competition assessment of the merger conducted by the European competition authority according to the "significant impediment to effective competition" legal test. In this Article we will review the Commission’s decision with the specific aim of determining to what extent the open source nature of MySQL’s business model actually affected the scrutiny of Sun’s acquisition by Oracle under the relevant test. In particular, it will be questioned whether Oracle’s public announcement concerning its future behaviour on the database and related markets can be expected to duly address the concerns voiced by the Commission in the course of the merger proceedings. We will conclude that Judge Easterbrook’s much quoted conclusion that «[t]he GPL and open-source software have nothing to fear from the antitrust laws» may possibly need some qualification.


Content:

I. Introduction
II. The EU Oracle/Sun Merger Decision
1. The legal background
2. The SIEC test in the context of the Oracle/Sun case
3. The SIEC test and MySQL’s open source nature
III. The competition assessment of open source in the context of merger policy: in search of a
balanced approach
IV. Conclusion

EU Stakeholders Dialogue Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on access to works by people with print disabilities

Here. See also the EU Commission's press release (thanks to Antonella De Robbio for pointing it to me).

UK Joint Merger Assessment Guidelines Released

From the Press Release: "The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Competition Commission (CC) have today for the first time published joint Merger Assessment Guidelines (...) The publication revises and expands guidance previously contained in several publications issued separately by the two Authorities after the introduction of the Enterprise Act 2002".

When Do Generics Challenge Drug Patents?

C. Scott Hemphill and Bhaven N. Sampat, here.

Competition in the Evolving Digital Marketplace

US House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy, Thursday 9/16/2010.


Written testimonies:
Richard Feinstein (Federal Trade Commission), here.
Geoffrey A. Manne (LEWIS & CLARK LAW SCHOOL),  here. 
Edward J. Black (Computer and Communications Industry Association), here.
Mark Cooper (Consumer Federation of America), here
Morgan Reed (Association for Competitive Technology), here
Scott Cleland (Precursor LLC), here.

The Rise of the News Aggregator: Legal Implications and Best Practices

Kimberley Isbell , here.

On Great Inventions (and Bad IP?): Plumpy'nut

The Peanut Solution, NYT.

Facilitating Access to Culture in the Digital Age - WIPO Global Meeting on Emerging Copyright Licensing Modalities

November 4 and 5, 2010 – WIPO, 34, chemin des Colombettes, Geneva. Audio recording  of the meeting now available.

Industry-Specific Antitrust Policy for Innovation

Mark Lemley, here.

Access to Knowledge, a Guide for Everyone

Consumers International, here.

A Dynamic Analysis of Resale Price Maintenance: Inefficient Brand Promotion, Higher Margins, Distorted Choices, and Retarded Retailer Innovation

Warren Grimes, here.

Antitrust and the Close Look: Transaction Cost Economics in Competition Policy

Herbert Hovenkamp, here.

On establishing the leader of a cartel

General Court, T-29/05 Deltafina / Commission, in particular paras 332-336

Software licenses and first sale doctrine

US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Vernor v. Autodesk. See also this comprehensive post on Groklaw.

The web's new walls

The Economist, here.

On Copyright in Headlines

Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Reed International Books Australia Pty Ltd [2010] FCA 984 (7 September 2010), Federal Court of Australia.

ACTA's draft agreement (reflecting August 2010 changes)

From KEI, here.

Antitrust Formalism is Dead! Long Live Antitrust Formalism!: Some Implications of American Needle v. NFL

Judd E. Stone II, Joshua D. Wright, here.

WIPO Seminar Series on “The Economics of Intellectual Property”: Hal Varian (Google) on Copyright and Transaction Costs

Program, Geneva, September 14, 2010. Presentation and Video of the Seminar.

Thwack!! Take That, User-Generated Content!: Marvel Enterprises v. NCSoft

Carl Michael Szabo, here.

Revenue Streams and Safe Harbors: How Water Law Suggests a Solution to Copyright's Orphan Works Problem

Joel Sage, here.

A Peek Behind the Curtain of the Texas Antitrust Complaints against Google

Groklaw, here.

Rachat par la coopérative agricole Sodiaal du groupe Entremont autorisé

D'après le Communiqué "Avec l'acquisition du groupe Entremont, Sodiaal deviendra le numéro 2 sur le marché de la collecte de lait en France, derrière le groupe Lactalis. Les fournisseurs auxquels cette coopérative fera face sur ce marché seront cependant ses propres adhérents et l'Autorité a rappelé que ce contexte assurait un équilibre des relations entre vendeurs et acheteur, les éleveurs bénéficiant de leur position de sociétaires et de la sécurisation de leurs débouchés."

Movies on Pay TV: Statement of Issues

UK Competition Commission, here.

Price fixing in the air transportation industry

From the US Department of Justice Press Release: "Polar Air Cargo LLC has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $17.4 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the air transportation industry".

AT&T on “paid prioritization” of Internet traffic and Internet standards

Open letter to the FCC.

Advocate General Ján Mazák on (the absence of) margin squeeze

Opinion, Case C-52/09, Konkurrensverket v TeliaSonera AB.

Social rights and economic objectives: The importance of competition at supra national level

M. Ojo, here.

Behavioral Economics and Abuse of Dominance – A Fresh Look at the Article 102 TFEU Case-Law

N.Petit and N.Neyrinck, here.

Scoring Unilateral Effects with the GUPPI: The Approach of the New Horizontal Merger Guidelines

CRA Competition Memo, here.

Regulating Dynamic Markets: Progress in Theory and Practice

L.Evans and R.Hahn, hier. 

Internet Archive: Over 1 Million Digital Books Available to the Print-Disabled

Those books are available for free, in a format called DAISY, either open or protected. Open DAISYs can be read by anyone in the world on many different devices. Protected DAISYs can only be opened using a key issued by the Library of Congress NLS program.

Estimating the Economic Impact of Mass Digitization Projects on Copyright Holders: Evidence from the Google Book Search Litigation

Hannibal Travis, here.

Netzneutralität aus deutscher Sicht: "Wettbewerb ist Garant für Netzneutralität"

Matthias Kurth, Präsident der Bundesnetzagentur, hier.

ACTA negotiations: joint statement released

Here.

ICN Members' Market Studies

ICN Market Studies Information Store

The OFT consults on a proposal to introduce new guidance on how it conducts investigations

Read the Consultation paper.

Competition and Mergers Among Nonprofits

J.Prufer, here.

2010 US Horizontal Merger Guidelines Released

Here.

Nurturing the Accumulation of Innovations. Lessons from the Internet

Shane Greenstein, here.

Post Oracle-Sun Merger: OpenSolaris' fate revealed (and what about Oracle's public announcement)?

Here.
From the Oracle-Sun merger decision, para 182:
"Although, with the exception of points 1, 2 and 3 (see below paragraph 184), Oracle's
public announcement is not legally binding on Oracle, the Commission considers that
the strong specificities of open source software and the vibrant ecosystem surrounding
MySQL provide for a self-enforcing mechanism ensuring that Oracle would not have
the ability and incentives to deviate from its announced future conduct. Reputation and
trust is of utmost importance for the sponsor of an open source project which depends
on contributions by a large ecosystem of users, developers and customers. After the
merger Oracle will become the sponsor of a number of significant open source projects
of Sun, including Java, MySQL and OpenSolaris, and will as such need to gain and
retain the trust from the open source community. In this respect, it can be expected that
all of the public pledges made by Oracle to reassure MySQL users, developers and
storage engine vendors will be subject to close scrutiny from the open source
community."
Was the EU Commission somehow slightly too optimistic?

Oracle v. Google

See this post by Groklaw. See also this, on en.swpat.org and this from techrights.org. More from zdnet.de. Here also about Google's first reaction. More from FAZ.net. Reactions from  German Java users' groups.

Auf der Suche nach dem Patentrezept

U.Froitzheim, here.

Innovate, Yes, but Make It Practical

NYT, here.

Behavioral Economics: Observations Regarding Issues That Lie Ahead

J.Thomas Rosch, here.

Software Patents Post Bilski: A Look Ahead

Michael A. Spiegel, here.

Online markets: discussion paper

A report for the Office of Fair Trading, Phillipa Marks, Stephen Adshead and Brian Williamson of Plum Consulting, Yali Sassoon of Keplar LLP and Ian Jewitt

Is the European Commission joining the FTC probe into whether Apple's business practices harm competition?

Read this from the New York Post.

Methodologische Grundlagen einer Evaluation von Wettbewerbspolitik,

Kai Hüschelrath, here.

Spiegel: Explosion des Wissens

Hat Deutschland im 19. Jahrhundert einen industriellen Aufstieg erlebt, weil das Land kein Urheberrecht kannte? Hier (Deutsch) and here (English)

Access to Knowledge in Africa: The Role of Copyright

C Armstrong, J De Beer, D Kawooya, A Prabhala, T Schonwetter, here. 

Final report of the 14th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on the Universal Copyright Convention

Here.

Unilateral Refusals to Deal in Intellectual and Other Property

Howard Shelanski, here

On incentives to engage in designing around patents and standards for triggering a summary contempt proceeding

FTC Amicus Brief in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Matter of TiVo, Inc., vs. EchoStar Corporation (Commissioners William E. Kovacic and Edith Ramirez dissenting)

Transcript of DOJ's Varney's Keynote Address to AAI Annual Conference

Here.

More Competition in the Computer Chip Industry? FTC-Intel Settlement

Press release, Decision and Order,  Analysis of Proposed Consent Order.

Unsurprisingly: Google-Chefjurist Arnd Haller gegen ein Leistungsschutzrecht für Presseverleger

Here.

UK Ofcom asks the Competition Commission to investigate concerns regarding the sale and distribution of subscription premium Pay TV movies

Ofcom press release and Reference Decision

Optimal Antitrust Enforcement, Dynamic Competition, and Changing Economic Conditions

Keith N. Hylton, Haizhen Lin, here

Some Optimism About Fair Use and Copyright Law

Michael J. Madison, here.

The Case for Rebalancing Antitrust and Regulation

Howard Shelanski, here

Anticompetitive e-book deals with Amazon and Apple?

The Connecticut Attorney General investigates.

Voluntary Competition Compliance Code launched in Pakistan

Downloadable from the Competition Commission's website.

Restoring competition in herbicides: FTC and Canadian Competition Bureau's divestment entente

FTC Press Release, 28/07/10,  Competition Bureau Press Release, 28/07/10

Jail time in the US for participating in global price fixing of TFT-LCD panels,

Department of Justice Press Release, 28/07/10

Collective Antitrust Damages Actions in the EU: The Opt-In v. The Opt-Out Model

Charlotte Leskinen, here.

Bilski Guidance?

USPTO's Interim Guidance for Determining Subject Matter Eligibility for Process Claims in view of Bilski v. Kappos.

AdWords: French Competition Authority

Interim measures' decision and Google's proposed commitments.

The Proposed Google Books Settlement: Copyright, Rule 23, and DOJ Section 2 Enforcement

Gregory K. Leonard, here.

Assessing the Economic Impact of Competition

Overseas Development Institute, here.

Consumer benefits from the OFT's work

Here.

Librarian of Congress: New DMCA Rules on Anti-Circumvention Exceptions

Here and here. See also LCA's press release and Groklaw's coverage. Another interesting comment from Opensource.com. The EFF expresses also clear satisfaction.

On the causes for the enforcement problems in merger control and possible solutions

An Institutional Analysis of the Enforcement Problems in Merger Control, Oliver Budzinski

Non-Price Considerations in Merger Policy

Some very inspiring insights by FTC Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch, "The Next Challenges for Antitrust Economists." See also D.S. Tucker, "Seventeen Years Later: Thoughts on Revising the Horizontal Merger Guidelines"

Technology and competition, Contributions in honour of Hanns Ullrich

Technology and competition - Technologie et concurrence. Contributions in honour of / Mélanges en l'honneur de Hanns Ullrich - Laurence Boy, Reto M. Hilty, Josef Drexl, Christine Godt, , Bernard Remiche, Editeur : Larcier, ISBN : 978-2-8044-3521-9, 746 pages

My book review (to be published in Revue Internationale de Droit Economique, 2010/2). 

"On ne doute pas que les lecteurs découvriront avec beaucoup de plaisir et d’intérêt le liber amicorum Technology and Competition – Technologie et concurrence, dédié avec admiration et affection à Hanns Ullrich, rédacteur en chef de cette revue,  Professeur au Collège d’Europe, Professeur émérite à l’Université de Munich et à l’Institut Européen de Florence, par des amis, des collègues et des anciens élèves à l’occasion de son 70ème anniversaire. Apparu sous la direction de Josef Drexl, Reto M. Hilty, Laurence Boy, Christine Godt et Bernard Remiche, cet ouvrage riche et passionnant rend un hommage sincère à cet éminent juriste au rayonnement européen et plus vaste encore.

Au cœur de la réflexion scientifique de Hanns Ullrich figurent la promotion du progrès technologique et la sauvegarde de la libre concurrence, deux enjeux juridiques et économiques majeurs annoncés par le titre même des Mélanges qui viennent de lui être offerts. Généralement, c’est le système de propriété intellectuelle, et plus particulièrement de propriété industrielle, qui est censé promouvoir le progrès technologique. La tâche de protéger le jeux de la concurrence dans toutes ces dimensions revient en revanche au droit de la concurrence. Toutefois, comme l’a rappelé dernièrement Hanns Ullrich dans les pages de cette revue, les deux corps de droit sont loin d’être parfaitement indépendants l’un de l’autre. Bien au contraire, l’octroi de droits exclusifs de propriété intellectuelle se doit d’être reconnu et éclairé avant tout par son intégration dans l’ordre concurrentiel de marché.  Il n’est donc pas surprenant que le droit de la concurrence soit régulièrement appelé au secours, dans le but de corriger une insuffisance éventuelle du fonctionnement du système de protection de la propriété intellectuelle, surtout de « surprotection » allégée. Cependant c’est avant tout en formulant des limites intrinsèques à la protection qui soient efficaces et appropriés que le système de propriété intellectuelle est censé assurer sa fonctionnalité et songer à son acceptation.

De toute évidence, la tâche qui revient au droit de la propriété intellectuelle n’est pas facile à accomplir, comme en témoignent plusieurs des contributions rassemblées dans la première partie de l’ouvrage, intitulée «Trop de protection de la propriété intellectuelle?».  Pour ce qui est par exemple du droit des brevets, face à un élargissement excessif de la définition d’invention brevetable, on aurait délaissé l’intérêt général au maintien du domaine public du savoir, c'est-à-dire de la source principale de nouvelles connaissances protégeables et non protégeables. Il en serait pas moins inquiétant pour les critères d’exception à la protection, trop souvent conçus d’une façon insuffisante et interprétés trop rigidement  pour pouvoir offrir un remède efficace aux risques de « surprotection ». Par ailleurs, ainsi que la jurisprudence communautaire en matière de droit des marques l’a maintes fois accompli en s’appuyant sur le concept de « concurrence non faussée », dans plusieurs cas il suffirait probablement d’interpréter et d’appliquer le droit de la propriété intellectuelle dans une véritable perspective de libre concurrence. Mais il est aussi indéniable que depuis quelques années, comme soulignent  plusieurs contributions, les technologies et de leurs besoins de protection changent plus rapidement que dans le passé et qu’il y a eu une transformation non négligeable des modes d’exploitation des droits de la propriété intellectuelles, il suffit de penser à la commercialisation de l’invention en tant que telle et à la exploitation sous forme immatérielle des œuvres protégés, par exemple les programmes d’ordinateurs. En outre, des nouveaux modèles économiques d’innovation ont émergé, voir par exemple le mouvement open source dans l’industrie de l’informatique. Par conséquent, le législateur pourrait être appelé à corriger les déficits systématiques de protection par modification de la réglementation-cadre avec plus de fréquence, mais aussi peut-être moins d’assurance, qu’auparavant.

Les contributions de la deuxième partie, intitulée « Protéger la concurrence », s’accordent pour souligner que le droit de la concurrence non plus n’est épargné par profondes mutations et tensions. D’une part, on assiste à une convergence assez poussée entre régimes nationaux de concurrence au sein de la Communauté Européenne, même si des différences, parfois « regrettables », résistent, par exemple le maintien, si ce n’est accentuation, du caractère politique du contrôle des opérations de concentration en France. De l’autre, on peut douter que l’approche dite  « plus économique » du droit de la concurrence, affichée depuis plus d’une décennie par la Commission européenne,  ait véritablement amené à une analyse des pratiques restrictives plus cohérente, rigoureuse et efficace. Ce qui est évident, en revanche, c’est que la nouvelle approche a servi parfois à légitimer une démarche « pro-active » de politique industrielle en vue d’objectifs préétablis. Or, il n’est pas surprenant de remarquer que parmi les amis et collègues de Hanns Ullrich plusieurs seraient favorables à une renaissance du concept de la « liberté de concurrence », si cher à la doctrine économique dynamique allemande et à l’école autrichienne.

La rencontre annoncée entre droit de la propriété intellectuelle et droit de la concurrence a enfin lieu dans la troisième partie de l’ouvrage (« Propriété intellectuelle et droit de la concurrence »). Traditionnellement, la politique communautaire de la concurrence s’est beaucoup intéressée aux pratiques d’exploitation par contrat des droits de propriété intellectuelle.  Mais c’est surtout l’analyse de l’exercice unilatéral de ces droits au service de la position dominante, notamment pour la défendre ou pour la renforcer, en particulier par des pratiques d’éviction du marché, qui est très controversée de nos jours.  Relativement sous-développée au contraire est l’analyse des enjeux que pose la propriété intellectuelle au contrôle des opérations de concentration. Les contributions réunies dans cette partie de l’ouvrage, s’attachant donc directement au rapport entre droit de la propriété intellectuelles et droit de la concurrence, offrent des éclairages très utiles sur des questions clés, à la fois juridiques et économiques. Or, il se peut que sur ces thèmes les insuffisances de l’approche économique actuelle, enracinée comme elle l’est dans la pensée économique néoclassique, se fassent davantage ressentir, comme on le montre très justement dans l’étude dédié aux restrictions au commerce parallèle des produits pharmaceutiques.

Le miroir scientifique de Hanns Ullrich qui sont ces Mélanges, n’auraient pas pu s’achever sans une partie consacrée au « Droit International », autre thème sur lequel s’est penché ce savant aux talents et aux intérêts multiples. La « protéiforme » mondialisation des pratiques commerciales, comme le savent très bien les lecteurs de cette revue, présente des enjeux aussi difficiles que cruciaux. Les contributions ici regroupées, tout en témoignant de cette complexité, invitent à se ressourcer à la dimension intimement éthique de toute réflexion juridique engagée, ce qui n’est pas le moindre mérite de l’ouvrage".

The UK Competition Commission has published its Annual Report

Here.

Copyright law's impact on teaching and research in the digital age: a survey from the UK

Driving UK Research – Is copyright a help or a hindrance?,  a new report from the research community, compiled by the British Library

IP and refusal to deal: balancing consumer interests

Intellectual Property and Refusal to Deal: 'Ad Hoc' v. 'Categorical' Balancing, Francesco Denozza

Consumer choice approach to competition law

Consumer Choice as the Best Way to Recenter the Mission of Competition Law, Robert H. Lande

ACTA: Privacy Implications

Concerns expressed by the EU Article 29 Data Protection Working Party

Changes in Competition Policy over the Last Two Decades, 2010

20th anniversary of the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, an impressive work.

Settlement In DRAM Case

From the Maryland Attorney General press release: “The settlement provides restitution for consumers and state and local government agencies who paid more for computers and other electronic devices because of the price-fixing scheme.”

Viacom v Google on the Interpretation of DMCA "safe harbor" provision

Here. As the U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton put it, "the critical question is whether the statutory phrases “actual knowledge that the material or an activity using the material on the system or network is infringing,” and “facts or circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent” in § 512(c)(1)(A)(i) and (ii) mean a general awareness that there
are infringements (here, claimed to be widespread and common), or rather mean actual or constructive knowledge of specific and identifiable infringements of individual items".
According to the judge, "if a service provider knows (from notice from the owner, or a “red flag”) of specific instances of infringement, the provider must promptly remove the infringing material. If not, the burden is on the owner to identify the infringement. General knowledge that infringement is “ubiquitous” does not impose a duty on the service provider to monitor or search its service for infringements."

Entflechtungen von Unternehmen als Instrument des allgemeinen Wettbewerbsrechts?

Zum Referentenentwurf eines Gesetzes zur Einführung einer Entflechtungsbefugnis vom 8. Januar 2010, Andreas Klees / Sebastian Max Hauser

Sobre la disuasión de conductas anti-competitivas

Massimo Motta, aqui.

Aplicación de las normas de competencia al sector agroalimentario

Informe de Comisión Nacional de la Competencia hecho publico. 

Competition and agriculture: potential competition concerns with respect to the breeding and commercialisation of sunflower seeds and sunflower seed treatment products in Europe?

The European Commission opens an in-depth investigation under the EU Merger Regulation into the proposed acquisition of the global sunflower seed business of US company Monsanto by Syngenta of Switzerland.

WIPO SSCR/20: More on Limitations and Exceptions

WIPO's Second Analytical Document on Limitations and Exceptions. See US' Draft Consensus Instrument on needs of persons with print disabilities. See also EU's Draft Joint Recommendation concerning the improved access to works protected by copyright for persons with a print disability.
US' declaration at SSCR/20: need to keep an holistic approach on L&E; need to move forward swiftly. US' draft consensus instrument as initial step.
In the meanwhile, the US distributed a Background Paper and FAQs (submitted as an information document) on the proposed consensus instrument.
See a comparison of the four proposals presently being discussed (limited to aspects concerning persons with disabilities, the "African Proposal" covers further matters). The wording of the Conclusions was so  controversial, that no agreement could be reached. As the WIPO bravely puts it, "(D)uring a late night discussion, agreed language for final conclusions proved elusive. Member states had divergent views on the wording for future work on the scope of an international instrument relating to exceptions and limitations, and on whether and when informal consultations should take place on the protection of broadcasting organizations. Discussion on all these issues will continue at the next session of the SCCR from November 8 to 12, 2010."

Berliner Rede zum Urheberrecht

Rede der Bundesministerin der Justiz Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. Mehr zum geplanten Leistungsschutzrecht für Verlage

FTC: Is There Life After Trinko and Credit Suisse? The Role of Antitrust in Regulated Industries

Here.

How the Federal Trade Commission Works to Promote Competition and Benefit Consumers in a Dynamic Economy

Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights

WIPO SCCR/20: Draft Treaty on Exceptions and Limitations Proposed by the African Group

Draft WIPO Treaty on Exceptions and Limitations for the Disabled, Educational and Research Institutions, Libraries and Archive Centers

UNESCO on Fighting Piracy with Non-Legislative Measures

PIRACY: CURRENT TRENDS AND NON-LEGISLATIVE MEASURES TO
COUNTERACT IT, Luis Villarroel (Corporacion Innovarte).

South Africa: Beyond Competition on the Pitch

"Unleashing Rivalry” 10 Years of enforcement by the South African competition authorities (1999-2009)

Toward An International Dialogue on the Institutional Side of Antitrust

Here, P.J.Weiser

Kartellrechtliche Schadensersatzansprüche: Strategische Überlegungen

Strategische Überlegungen bei der gerichtlichen Durchsetzung von kartellrechtlichen Schadensersatzansprüchen, T. Schreiber.

The “More Economic Approach” after 10 Years: Remarks by an Economist

Here, Justus Haucap.

Recent Developments in EU Merger Control

Here, Nadia Calviño ( Deputy Director General DG Competition, European Commission)

WIPO's scoping study on the public domain

Here.

On the anticompetitive use of the DMCA

ANTI-CIRCUMVENTION OF COMPETITION: AVOIDING CONFLICT BETWEEN THE DMCA AND ANTITRUST, J. Schroeder; see also Antitrust Law - A Stranger in the Wikinomics World? Regulating Anti-Competitive Use of the DRM/DMCA Regime, Rachel Aridor-Hershkovitz

More on Behavioral Antitrust

Behavioral Antitrust and Merger Control, G. J. Werden, L.Froeb, M.Shor.

EGEDA: tarifas abusivas en concepto del derecho exclusivo de autorizar la comunicación pública?

La Dirección de Investigación de la Comisión Nacional de la Competencia (CNC), ha acordado la apertura de un expediente sancionador.

Joaquin Almunia on "New Transatlantic Trends in Competition Policy"

Here.

New Zealand's Divestment Remedies Guidelines

Here.

Three-Strike in practice

UK Ofcom, Online Infringement of Copyright and the Digital Economy Act 2010: Draft Initial Obligations Code

Proposed Horizontal Merger Guidelines: "Some" Economists' Comment

Here, see also the list of all the comments received so far. Interestingly, also the Russian Competition Authority decided to express its view. 

The European Commission's 2009 Report on Competition Policy is out.

Here.

Google/AdMob: AAI'S Analysis

Here.

Tenth year anniversary of the International Competition Policy Advisory Committee (ICPAC) Report

Brown Bag Teleconference, ICPAC at Ten and the ICN, ABA.

On the Economics of Copyright

The Economics of Copyright and Digitisation: A Report on the Literature and the Need for Further Research, C. Handke.

What motivates businesses to comply with competition law?

Some possible answers: Drivers of Compliance and Non-compliance with Competition Law, OFT.

Bid rigging in the UK construction industry: assessment of the impact of OFT's recent investigation

Evaluation of the impact of the OFT's investigation into bid rigging in the construction industry, Europe Economics.

Predatory models of selective price cuts: the Italian aerated autoclaved concrete case commented

Anticompetitive vs Competitive Explanations of Unilateral Practices: the Identification Problem, Michele Polo

AAI on the US Proposed Horizontal Merger Guidelines

AAI Submits Comments to FTC and DOJ on Proposed Horizontal Merger Guidelines, Robert Lande.

A retrospective study on a non-consummated merger: FTC v. H.J. Heinz Co. and Milnot Holding Corporation

The Evolution of the Baby Food Industry 2000-2008, Viola Chen

Consumer Harm, Consumer Choice and Innovation

Real Knowledge is to Know the Extent of One's Own Ignorance: On the Consumer Harm Approach in Innovation-Related Competition Cases, Josef Drexl

Swedish Competition Authority: Ex-Post Agency Effectiveness Evaluation

Ex-post evaluations initiated by the Swedish Competition Authority,

Dan Sjöblom and Arvid Fredenberg. See also London Economics' Evaluation of OFT Competition Advocacy

ICN 2010: the Executive Summary is out

Here.

Orange/Sunrise: Rekurs zurückgezogen

S. NZZ Online: Orange und Sunrise lassen Fusion definitiv fallen

Trento's "Festival of Economics"

This year's topic: "Information, Choices and Development".

My personal choice from the extremely rich programme: M. Boldrin and D.K.Levine,

Against intellectual monopoly

Harm Quantification in Damages Actions: On the Three-Step Procedure in the German Cement Case

Quantification of Harm in Damages Actions for Antitrust Infringements: Insights from German Cartel Cases, H.W. Friederiszick, L.-H. Röller

Canadian Copyright Modernization Act (or Bill C-32) introduced

Here.

WIPO Gold: one-stop gateway to the organization’s global collections of searchable IP data

Here.

Remedies in the EU Microsoft Case

A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF REMEDIES IN THE E.U. MICROSOFT CASES, Nicholas Economides, Ioannis Lianos.

WIPO SCCR/19: the draft report is out

Here. Looking ahead for SCCR/20. Read also Key's post on WIPO SCCR open ended consultation on the treaty for the blind

Reflecting on the best antitrust regime: a view from the US

Rewriting History: Antitrust Not As We Know It . . . Yet, J. Thomas Rosch

Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission.

Almunia on the future of public services

The role of public services in “Europe 2020”, Madrid, 31 May 2010.

Apple's App Store and GPL

The Free Software Foundation was alleging non-compliance with sec. 6 GPL v.2. Apple reacted by removing the product from its store.

Fusion untersagt: Magna/Karmann (Cabriodach-Hersteller)

Pressemitteilung und Beschluss des Bundeskartellamtes.

Revised competition rules for motor vehicle distribution and repair in the EU

Commission Regulation (EU) 461/2010 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices in the motor vehicle sector. See also the press release.

On the United/Continental Airlines Merger

The United/Continental Airlines Merger: How Will Consumers Fare?, Darren Bush, before the

US Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommmittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer

Rights.

Discussing the Goals of Competition Law

The 5th ASCOLA Conference “Goals of Competition Law”, May 27-29, 2010

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

Bonn, Germany.

Open Access in Italy

Report 2009, Paola Gargiulo, Maria Cassella.

OFT's Market Study on Behavioural Advertising and Consumer Protection

Online Targeting of Advertising and Prices.

Sport Leagues: Single Entity Defence in Antitrust Revisited

US Supreme Court, American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League. See also AAI's Amicus Curiae.

Google AdMob Deal: FTC Closes its Investigation

Read Press Release and Statement. See also AAI's first reaction.

Competition and regulatory objectives in the framework of the financial crisis

Financial Crisis Remedies in the European Union: Balancing Competition and Regulation in the Conditionality of Bailout Plans, Damien Gerard.

On Competition Authorities and National Regulators

The Relationship between Competition Authorities and Sectoral Regulators: An International-Comparative Perspective, Maher Dabban

Intellectual Property Regimes in a Global Context

Winston Tabb (convener), Nancy Weiss and Michael Geist, Proceedings of the 156th Association of Research Libraries Membership Meeting.

WIPO: On-line Forum on Access to Copyrighted Works by Visually Impaired

Here. See also WIPO's announcement.

Joaquin Almunia on the first European Commission Cartel Settlement

Read the transcript of his (short) speech. See also OECD, EXPERIENCE WITH DIRECT SETTLEMENTS IN CARTEL CASES, 2009.

Bulgarian Competition Authority (Комисия за защита на конкуренцията - КЗК): independence at risk?

Read this from EurActiv.

On Banks and Competition Policy

St Gallen International Competition Forum, ‘Too big to fail, but not too big to be unbundled’, Peter Freeman, UK Competition Commission's Chairman.

A Digital Agenda for Europe

See the Communication.

Jane Ginsburg on Mandatory Copyright Formalities

The U.S. Experience with Mandatory Copyright Formalities: A Love/Hate Relationship, 33 Columbia Journal of Law and the Arts 311 (2010), p. 311.

DRAM producers fined € 331 million for price cartel

Press release. It is also the first settlement decision adopted by the European Commission according to Articles 7 and 23 of Regulation 1/2003 (Q&A) .

Filmmakers and the use of fair dealing in Canada

See the new guide released by the Documentary Organization of Canada.

Strategies for opening up content

See this special issue of Research Library Issues (RLI), Association of Research Libraries.

Italian Google Competition Case: Undertakings Made Public

Here.

On Behavioral Economics and Antitrust

Behavioral Antitrust, A. P. Reeves, M. E. Stucke. See also OFT's  What does Behavioural Economics mean for Competition Policy?

Google/AdMob: diminishing competition in the market for advertising on mobile phones?

S. this article from the NYT.

Fotos in Personensuchmaschinen

OLG Köln, Urteil v. 09.02.2010, Az. 15 U 107/09.

On E-Books, Copyright and DRM

S. Sara Bannerman's post.

DRM in motion

A motion infographic project about Digital Rights Management (DRM), Vancouver Film School.

EPO on computer-implemented inventions

Opinion of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of 12 May 2010, European Patent Office (here some background info; see also the amicus curiae brief of the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure). See here the list of all amicus curiae briefs.

Mario Monti: défendre le marché unique et la concurrence

Voir Le Monde, 10.05. 10.

India-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement - IPR Chapter

S. the Preliminary Consultation Draft reflecting interesting divergences.

On the concept of ‘fair compensation’ in the InfoSoc directive

Advocate General’s Opinion in Case C-467/08 Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) v PADAWAN S.L., from the press release: "Where a Member State, such as Spain, opts for a system of compensation in the form of a levy on digital reproduction equipment, devices and media, such a charge can be regarded as a compensation scheme for private copying which is compatible with the directive only where it may be presumed that those equipment, devices and media are to be used for making private copies. Remuneration which is granted to rightholders as a result of the indiscriminate application of such a levy to undertakings and professional persons, who from experience purchase digital reproduction devices and media for purposes other than private use, is not ‘fair compensation’ within the meaning of the directive".