Thursday, April 07, 2011

Background and update on negotiations for a WIPO copyright treaty for persons who are blind or have other disabilities

KEI, here.

European Data Protection Commissioners: need for a comprehensive data protection framework

The Problem of 'Personal Data' in Cloud Computing - What Information is Regulated? The Cloud of Unknowing

W.Hon, C.Millard, I. Walden, Part 1 and Part 2. 

The dream of a virtual library of out-of-print books is dead, for now

S.Turow, letter to the Editor of the NYT.

Location-based services on mobile phones: getting crowded

The Economist, here.

Deal or No Deal? Politik- oder Wettbewerbsorientierung in der Europäischen Wirtschaftsordnung?


O.Budzinski, B.Kuchinke, hier.

Protection of competition in the online marketplace and search neutrality debated at Westminster

Here

Who pays for Data Protection?

V.Reding, here

Analysis of the consultation launched by the Green Paper on "Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries"

EU COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT, here.

Playtime over in Android Land?

Bloomberg Businessweek, here; Google's reaction, here

Unraveling the Rejection: The Google Book Settlement

Copyright Clearance Center, Online Seminar: transcript and audio

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

BGH "Hartplatzhelden.de" veröffentlicht

Urteil des I. Zivilsenats vom 28.10.2010 - I ZR 60/09, hier (Telemedicus). 

Le Groupement des Cartes bancaires s'engage à réviser à la baisse la plupart des commissions

Communiqué de presse de l'Autorité de la Concurrence; engagements proposés.

OFT and CC publish practice principles for the design and presentation of consumer survey research in merger inquiries


Here.

German copyright policy 2011: Introduction of a new neighbouring right for press publishers?

T.Kreutzer, here

Milan Tribunal on Google's liability for libelous "autocompletion"

Google Said to Be Possible Target of Antitrust Probe After ITA Acquisition

Bloomberg, here.

The international regulation of transnational mergers

J.Clarke, here

On Google Books settlement and congressional intervention

Interview with J.Grimmelmann, here

Monday, April 04, 2011

IPRED Versus The Sharing of Culture: Moving Away From Enforcement

La Quadrature du Net, here

DOJ Antitrust Division and FTC on International Cooperation and the ICN in 2010

DOJ: here. FTC: here, p.54-55; 58.

Competition and Choice in Retail Banking.

UK Treasury Committee, here

Against Notice Skepticism

M.Calo, here

“Lex Facebook” – Hessen will Online-Datenschutz verschärfen

K.Ewald, hier.

The State of 'Do Not Track' on the Internet

D.Daw (PCWorld), here.

Was darf Bildung und Forschung an Hochschulen den Staat kosten? Wie setzt das Gemeinwohl dem Recht am geistigen Eigentum und kommerziellen Interessen Grenzen?


OLG München, 24.03.2011, Az. 6 WG 12/09, Pressemitteilung hier.

Resale price maintenance complaint in the Chinese automobile industry

Here (Mondaq).

MEPs Marietje Schaake and Christian Engstrom submit formal questions on appointment of Maria Martin-Prat to EU copyright post

Questions here.

Friday, April 01, 2011

A Guide For the Perplexed Part IV: The Rejection of the Google Books Settlement

J.Band, here

OFT statement on Competition Appeal Tribunal’s judgment in construction recruitment forum case

Here

Section 2 in a Web 2.0 World: An Expanded Vision of Relevant Product Markets

P.Jones Harbour, T.Koslov, here

YouTube's Reply In Viacom Appeal Case

Here

Der beste IP 1. Aprilscherz

Disentangling Industrial Policy and Competition Policy in China

N.Bush, Y.Bo, here

Some Speculation About Mirror Neurons and Copyright

S.McJohn, here.
From the abstract:

Comment on the Draft Recommendation on the protection of human rights with regard to search engines

EFF, here. Council of Europe Draft Recommendation here

Patent system reform as seen from the FTC

IPColloquium's guests are S.Michel and W.Cohen, here.

EU Commission confirms it is investigating Deutsche Bahn for abuse of dominant position (also not an April fool)

"It has been alleged that Deutsche Bahn group, and in particular Deutsche Bahn Energie, the de facto sole supplier of electricity for traction trains in Germany, would be giving preferential treatment to the group's rail freight arm. The Commission officials were accompanied by their counterparts from the German competition authority", here.

The Pope has a new copyright law (not an April fool)

Here

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Zite iPad news app accused of copyright infringement

Here and here.

THE DISSENT: WHY ONE FTC COMMISSIONER THINKS DO NOT TRACK IS OFF-TRACK

T.Rosch, here

The Past and Future of Direct Effects Evidence

T.Rosch, here

Amazon, Apple et Google soumis au prix unique du livre numérique

Ici (LEXPRESS.fr).

Eckpunktepapier zu Fragen der digitalen Welt


Beschluss des DIHK-Vorstandes, hier.
Zum Leistungsschutzrecht für Presseverleger:

Google Agrees to Implement Comprehensive Privacy Program to Protect Consumer Data

Smartphone-Apps – wo bleibt der Datenschutz?

A.Dix, der Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit, Tätigkeitsbericht für das Jahr 2010, S. 67 ff.

IFPI - Recording Industry in Numbers 2011

Here

Android poised to take over as the leading smartphone operating system in 2011

IDC - Press Release

Microsoft to file antitrust complaint against Google

S.Musil, here (cnet). Read also Brad Smith's own remarks and the NYT's story with some Google' s first reactions. Also here.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Has Google learned Microsoft's antitrust lessons?

J.Greene, here.

J'aime l'info: plateforme de contributions volontaires pour les médias en ligne

Ici

It’s Time for the Recording Industry to Stop Blaming "Piracy" and Start Finding A New Way

EFF, here.

The clear role of public authorities in cloud computing

N.Kroes, here

Carburanti: Antitrust avvia indagine conoscitiva su meccanismo indice Platt's e su rete distributiva

Qui. Vedi anche il recente "INFORME DE SEGUIMIENTO DEL INFORME DE CARBURANTES PARA AUTOMOCIÓN" pubblicato dalla spagnola Comisión Nacional de la Competencia. 

Broader issues in applying UK merger regime and possible improvements

C.Maxwell, here

Citation Advantage of Open Access Legal Scholarship

J.Donovan, C.Watson, here

Hal Varian on Google's Value to US Users and Advertisers

A.Tsotsis (TechCrunch), here. See also Google's "Where we get our numbers"

Preemptive Action Seeks Ruling That Would Prohibit Monsanto From Suing Organic Farmers and Seed Growers If Contaminated By Roundup Ready Seed

Driving Innovation: A Case for Targeted Competition Policy in Dynamic Markets

J.Galloway, here

Refusal to Supply and Margin Squeeze: A Discussion of Why the 'Telefonica Exceptions' are Wrong

D.Geradin, here

Rome Tribunal's preliminary ruling on Yahoo's liability for contributory infringement

Here (in Italian).

Recent decisions of the Paris Court of Appeal involving Google: towards an extra duty of surveillance for hosting providers?

C.Jasserand, here

Trafficlieferanten der Medien: Facebook gewinnt, Google verliert

H.Schmidt, FAZ.net (hier)

GPL-Verletzung durch Android-Code?

S.Labesius, hier

EU Competition Commissioner on some hot issues

Interview with J.Almunia, here.
Some personal picks:

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Dynamic Competition in the Newspaper Industry

C.Varney, here.
Business review letters concerning the Global News Service and the AP's News Registry respectively are referred to in Varney's remarks. 

EU Competition law and Energy: Recent cases and issues

C.Gauer, J.Ratliff, here

MYTHS ABOUT THE MEDIA: AUDIENCE, BUSINESS, AND MONEY

March 24, 2011, George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, in Association with the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ), livestreaming event at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (6:00 p.m. in Geneva, CH)

Rejection of the Google Books Amended Settlement Agreement: Nine Snippets

Judge Danny Chin: "Before the Court is plaintiffs' motion pursuant ,to Rule
23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for final approval of
the proposed settlement of this class action on the terms set
forth in the Amended Settlement Agreement (the "ASA"). The
question presented is whether the ASA is fair, adequate, and
reasonable. I conclude that it is not."
Nine significant snippets:

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Is Google a Monopolist?

Interview (Part 1, Part 2) with S.Vaidhyanathan, from TechCrunchTV. 

Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie? The Supply of New Recorded Music since Napster

J.Waldfogel, here

Canadian-backed report says music, movie, and software piracy is a market failure, not a legal one

M.Geist, here

Creative Destruction and Copyright Protection - Regulatory Responses to File-sharing

Z. Sujon, D.Tambini, here

SGEI reform and the application of competition rules to the financial sector: themes for dialogue with the European Parliament

J.Almunia, here.

Righthaven: fair use analysis of the republication of an entire news article by a nonprofit organization

From EFF, here. Read also J.Schultz's Amicus Curiae

Microsoft sues Barnes & Noble, Foxconn, Inventec over Android e-readers

ZDNet, here. Complaint here. Read also this Groklaw's post.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Les quatre affaires Google de contrefaçon

The Newsonomics of The New York Times’ pay fence

K.Doctor, here

Cooperation between the OFT and China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC)

From the OFT's Press release:
"In the context of China's new Anti-Monopoly Law, the OFT will exchange expertise on issues including abuse of dominance, the relationship between intellectual property and competition and market definitions. The MOU also facilitates co-operation with China in handling common and complex consumer protection issues such as cross-border purchasing and protecting consumers online."

In Search of a Competition Law Fit for Developing Countries

E.Fox, here

Trade Secrets and Antitrust Law

H.First, here.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the world wide web, to help protect ‘open internet’

FT.com, here

Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Law That Removes Works from the Public Domain

EFF, here

Urheberrechtliche Gestaltung von Open-Access-Repositorien

Dossier zum  IUWIS-Workshop am 02. März 2011.

Reconsidering Competition

M.Stucke, here.

Googles Think Tank stößt Debatte um neues Urheberrecht an




Heise online News, hier.

The State of Online Consumer Privacy

J.Leibowitz, here. More about the US Senate Hearing here. Read also V.Reding, Your data, your rights: Safeguarding your privacy in a connected world for a EU perspective. 

Geldbußen in Höhe von 38 Mio. € gegen drei Hersteller von Konsumgütern wegen des unzulässigen Austauschs über wettbewerbsrelevante Informationen

Aus der Pressemeldung des Bundeskartellamtes:" Die Kenntnis über die zu erwartenden Forderungen des Einzelhandels sowie die Reaktionen der maßgeblichen Wettbewerber auf diese Forderungen, konnten das eigene Marktverhalten ebenso entscheidend beeinflussen, wie die Information über beabsichtigte Preiserhöhungen der Konkurrenz. Informationen dieser Art werden von den Unternehmen normalerweise hoch vertraulich behandelt".

SPD will mit Zweitverwertungsrecht Open Access ermöglichen

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Commissioning and competition in the public sector

OFT, here.
From the Press Release: "The OFT's 'Commissioning and Competition in the Public Sector' study, published today, argues that having an open, transparent and competitive tender process is not enough on its own to ensure that public services markets are open and contestable, both over the short-term and long-term. Achieving effective competition in public services must also involve: reducing barriers to entry and exit, encouraging a diverse supplier base and ensuring suppliers have the right incentives to make efficiency savings, raise quality and innovate."

The Next Digital Decade: How Will the Internet Change by 2020?

Ideas in action, J.Glassman. Guests: L. Downes, G.Manne, here

The State of the News Media 2011

Pew Research Center, here

Friday, March 11, 2011

African Competition Forum launched in Nairobi

Here.
The launch was announced during a two days conference jointly hosted by Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Kenya Monopolies and Price Commission, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance together with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) The newly appointed Chair, Mr Francis Kariuki said: “The ACF will raise awareness and provide support as widely as possible for the creation of strong competition regimes in Africa. The  Forum will share information on appropriate practices in competition law and enforcement and will collaborate in building institutional capacity throughout the continent.”

Sustaining Scholarly Publishing: New Business Models for University Presses


Association of American University Presses, here.

How-To for Sustainable Creativity in the Digital Era

Collective rights management bodies in Hungary and Romania take steps to improve competition

Here

US Government draft of the intellectual property chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP)

From KEI, here

Upon Further Review: Will The NFL's Trademark Licensing Practices Survive Full Antitrust Scrutiny? The Remand of American Needle v. National Football League

M.Edelman, here

Australian Internet Industry Association to Develop Code of Practice following iiNet

Conseil Constitutionnel Français au sujet de la loi LOPPSI

Ici

Thursday, March 10, 2011

NEXA sulle competenze dell'AGCOM in materia di diritto d'autore


Qui.

EU merger control has come of age

J.Almunia, here. From the speech, on international competition policy:.

The Readers' Bill of Rights for Digital Books

Myths and patent reform

R.Tiller, here (from opensource.com).

EU Commission and Russian Competition Authority: Cooperation Agreement

European Press Release. Russian Press Release here. US-Russia cooperation agreement here.

Neelie Kroes Addressing the Orphan Works Challenge

Here

EU Commission terminates the Stakeholders' Dialogue on Online Copyright Infringement

Here, from pc.impact.com

The Rise of European Competition Policy, 1950-1991: A Cross-Disciplinary Survey of a Contested Policy Sphere

L.Warlouzet, here

Road-testing UPP: the Zipcar/Streetcar merger

RBB Brief 36, here

U.S. digital project signals the rise of versatile e-textbooks

M.Geist, here.

Indian Draft Merger Regulation Open for Consultation

Draft here.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Study on the Overall Functioning of the European Trade Mark System

Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law, here.

US Supreme Court not to review payments by brand name pharmaceutical companies to generics in settlement of patent infringement litigation

EU Court of Justice: The draft agreement on the creation of a European and Community Patent Court is not compatible with European Union law

Here

The Sound of One Hand Clapping: The 2010 Merger Guidelines and the Challenge of Judicial Adoption

J.Stone, J.Wright, here

FTC ON THE EVOLVING IP MARKETPLACE: ALIGNING PATENT NOTICE AND REMEDIES WITH COMPETITION

Here

US Supreme Court Justice Breyer on "l'économique" and the judges


US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer delivered a very nice speech (in impressive French), March 7, 2011 at the invitation of the Association Internationale de Droit Economique, in Paris (disclosure: I'm a member of that association). The title of the Seminar was "La prise en compte de l'Economique par la Cour Suprême des Etats-Unis, des cours supérieures européennes (CJUE, Cour de Cassation, Conseil Constitutionnel français, etc …)", thus, roughly, on the relevance of economics ("l'Economique", by that meaning, possibly, economic theories, models but also bare economic data) in taking legal decisions at the highest court instances, both in the US and France (but also, as other speakers covered, in Belgium).

This is my personal take on that intense speech.

Friday, March 04, 2011

The future of European competition law in high-tech industries

C. MADERO VILLAREJO, here.

Die schwierige Arbeit der Internet-Enquete

Die Zeit, hier

EU Commission closes probe into Hollywood studios after they change terms of contracts for digitisation of European cinemas

Here

US Senate Judiciary Committee on “Targeting Websites Dedicated To Stealing American Intellectual Property”

Webcast.

Tom Adams
President and CEO
Rosetta Stone Inc.
Arlington, VA

Scott Turow
President
Authors Guild
New York, NY

Christine N. Jones
EVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
The Go Daddy Group, Inc.
Scottsdale, AZ

Thomas M Dailey (at 51:51)
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
Verizon
Arlington, VA

Denise Yee
Senior Trademark Counsel
Visa, Inc.
San Francisco, CA

The Dynamics of Disruptive Innovation: How will content-based business succeed?

P. de Sa, Presentation, Webcast (at 24:33).

Canadian Competition Bureau Announces Plans to Moderately Revise the Merger Enforcement Guidelines

Here. Among the announced revisions:
"- clarify that merger review is not a linear process that must start with market definition, but rather an iterative process in which evidence of market concentration is considered alongside other evidence of competitive effects, with the goal of determining whether a merger creates or enhances market power" and
"- provide more detailed guidance on how the Bureau assesses the unilateral effects of a merger, particularly in light of current economic thinking"

Gartner Lowers PC Forecast as Consumers Diversify Computing Needs Across Devices

Advocate General Ján Mazák on banning internet sales in selective distribution agreements

Opinion in Case C-439/09 Pierre Fabre Dermo-Cosmétique SAS v Président de l'Autorité de la Concurrence & Ministre de l'Économie, de l'Industrie et de l'Emploi.

Antitrust and Apple’s iPad Magazine Subscription Pricing

J.Gans, here

TRANSATLANTIC ANTITRUST: PAST AND PRESENT

R.Brandenburger, here. "Compare" with J. Almunia, New Transatlantic Trends in Competition Policy, here

L’actualité du droit matériel des pratiques anticoncurrentielles

N.Petit, ici.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

FAIR ACCESS TO CULTURE AND THE RIGHT TO READ OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS

Exceptions and limitations to copyright with regard to libraries, education and print disabled persons - European Parliament P7C050 - 13th April 2011 10.00-13.00 

10.00 Introduction

Luigi Berlinguer MEP - Overview of the issues
Ádám Kósa MEP President Disability Intergroup - Copyright and disabled people’s rights
Ben White –IFLA/EBLIDA / British Library - The case for Education and Libraries

10.30 Panel 1. The book famine- what are the barriers and solutions?
Wolfgang Angermann– European Blind Union
European Dyslexia Association- Raymond Claes
Q&A from the floor

11.00 Panel 2. A WIPO treaty for print disabled people?

Rodolfo Cattani EBU - Rationale for a treaty and the campaign so far
David Hammerstein – Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue
Q&A from the floor

11.45 Panel 3. Limitations and exceptions to copyright. Opinion of the EP, Commission and Council

An MEP perspective: F. Keller, F.Sosa Wagner.
The Commission’s position (speaker TBC)
Council position – Representative from Hungarian Presidency
Dan Pescod – European Blind Union
Ben White – IFLA/EBLIDA
Q&A from the floor

12.45 Conclusions
Concluding remarks - Luigi Berlinguer MEP

    Cross-border merger control in Japan

    A.Goto, here

    Commissioner Barnier tells the European Blind Union the EU does not support a treaty for persons with disabilities

    Here, from KEI (the actual letter here).

    Business Sues Facebook to Restore Its Fan Page--Complexions v. Complexions Day Spa

    E.Goldman, here.

    The Irish Competition Authority in Difficult Economic Times

    Annual Report 2010, here.

    Zum Leistungsschutzrecht für Presseverleger: Monopolkommission v. Bundesverband Deutscher Zeitungsverleger

    J.Haucap (Monopolkommission), hierD. Wolff (BDZV), hier.

    Google book search choices

    G. Occhipinti Trigona, here.

    Fifth Annual Law & Information Society Symposium: Mobile Devices, Location Technologies & Shifting Values

    March 25, 2011 Fordham University, program.

    EU Commission confirms unannounced inspections in the e-book publishing sector

    Österreichisches Kartellgericht: Preisabsprachen gestattet?

    Hier (s. auch Kartellblog)

    AGCM - DIVIETO INCROCI GIORNALI-TV: ANTITRUST A GOVERNO E PARLAMENTO, NO AL POTERE DI PROROGA AFFIDATO AL PRESIDENTE DEL CONSIGLIO

    Qui

    Monday, February 28, 2011

    IN REGULATORS WE TRUST: THE SUPREME COURT’S NEW APPROACH TO IMPLIED ANTITRUST IMMUNITY

    R.Brunell, here.

    Greece's Competition Commission fines crisis cartel in the fish farming sector

    Here. See also Greece's contribution on the topic of crisis cartels to the OECD 10th GFC

    Au sujet du pré-rapport parlementaire sur la neutralité du Net

    La Quadrature du Net, ici

    OECD 10th Global Forum on Competition


    Forum documents.
    In particular:
    Session I Cross-border Merger Control: Challenges for Developing and Emerging Economies
    Session III Crisis Cartels

    UNDERSTANDING THE RAND COMMITMENT

    D.Lichtman, here.

    Materialien zum deutschen und europäischen Wettbewerbsrecht

    F.Säcker, hier

    WHY (EVER) DEFINE MARKETS?

    K.Kaplow, here ("The thesis of this Article is that the market definition process should be abandoned").

    Liberation by software

    E.Moglen, here (guardian.co.uk).

    World Blind Union suspends participation in WIPO & EU Stakeholder discussions, pending agreement at WIPO on legal framework

    KEI, here

    Digitale Langzeitarchivierung als Thema für den 3. Korb zum Urheberrechtsgesetz

    Nestor, hier

    Address to the Blue Sky Conference on future directions in Copyright law

    R.McClelland, here.

    WIPO pushes for greater access to books for the vision impaired

    A.Reid, here.

    Thursday, February 24, 2011

    Monday, February 21, 2011

    JRR Tolkien Estate Threatens Lawsuit Over Book Featuring Tolkien As Character

    Here (from hollywoodreporter.com).

    Kreativität und Urheberrecht in der Netzökonomie

    W.Schulz, T.Büchner, hier

    Russian Supreme Arbitration Court upholds finding of Gazprom Neft's abuse of dominant position

    ФАС России press release, in English and Russian

    An Economic Defense of Flexibility in IPR Licensing: Contracting Around 'First Sale' in Multilevel Production Settings

    A.Layne-Ferrar, here.

    Open Attribute, a simple way to attribute Creative Commons licensed works on the web

    A.Neill, here.

    Internet Rights and Wrongs: Choices & Challenges in a Networked World

    H.Clinton, here.

    Statut d’hébergeur de fuzz.fr aussi confirmé par par la Cour de cassation

    Arrêt n° 164 du 17 février 2011 (09-13.202) - Cour de cassation - Première chambre civile

    Thursday, February 03, 2011

    EU Advocate General Kokott on exclusive broadcasting rights

    Cases C‑403/08 and C‑429/08 Football Association Premier League Ltd and Others v QC Leisure and Others and Karen Murphy v Media Protection Services Ltd, here. Guardian report here.

    Friday, January 28, 2011

    Entente de partage de clientèle dans le secteur maritime: la court d'appel de Paris réforme la décision de l'Autorité de la concurrence

    Décision du 15 avril 2010 relative à des pratiques mises en œuvre dans le secteur de la manutention pour le transport de conteneurs au port du Havre et Arrêt de la Cour d'appel de Paris du 20 janvier 2011.

    Monday, January 10, 2011

    WIPO Seminar Series on “The Economics of Intellectual Property”: Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Intellectual Property and Litigation

    Christine Greenhalgh, January 12, 2011 paper here.

    A Brief Introduction to Competition Concerns in 'Pay-for-Delay' Settlement Agreements Between Brand-Name and Generic Drug Companies

    R.Peritz, here.

    The Capper-Volstead Act, Agricultural Cooperatives, and Antitrust Immunity

    C.Varney, here.

    Counterfactual Tests in Competition Law

    C.Veljanovski, here.

    Solving the Drug Settlement Problem: The Legislative Approach

    M.A.Carrier, here.

    Standards, Innovation Incentives, and the Formation of Patent Pools

    K.M.Schmidt, here.

    Politiques européennes de concurrence et économie sociale de marché

    F.Marty, ici.

    First evaluation of the impact of the Directive 2004/48/EC on the enforcement of intellectual property rights

    Here.