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Mozilla resists request by US gov’t to remove piracy feature – The China Post

May 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Mozilla, the non-profit developer of the Firefox Web browser, is holding off on complying with a government request to remove a software tool meant to circumvent federal efforts at curbing Internet piracy.

 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been seizing the Internet addresses of sites accused of piracy, so that visitors can’t reach them by typing in those domain names. The sites, however, still exist under other addresses.

The MafiaaFire tool for Firefox, developed by an outside party but available through Mozilla, seeks to automatically match seized names with the alternate addresses, similar to a mail-forwarding service, so that visitors can reach the sites.

Mozilla General Counsel Harvey Anderson said the DHS asked Mozilla to remove MafiaaFire from a site where Firefox users can add functions to the browser.

via Mozilla resists request by US gov’t to remove piracy feature – The China Post.

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Mozilla resists request by US gov’t to remove piracy feature – The China Post

May 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Mozilla, the non-profit developer of the Firefox Web browser, is holding off on complying with a government request to remove a software tool meant to circumvent federal efforts at curbing Internet piracy.

 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been seizing the Internet addresses of sites accused of piracy, so that visitors can’t reach them by typing in those domain names. The sites, however, still exist under other addresses.

The MafiaaFire tool for Firefox, developed by an outside party but available through Mozilla, seeks to automatically match seized names with the alternate addresses, similar to a mail-forwarding service, so that visitors can reach the sites.

Mozilla General Counsel Harvey Anderson said the DHS asked Mozilla to remove MafiaaFire from a site where Firefox users can add functions to the browser.

via Mozilla resists request by US gov’t to remove piracy feature – The China Post.

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China Beefs Up IP Enforcement in Six Month Parade

February 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(Westlaw Business) Though only the world’s second-largest economy, China reportedly surged past the U.S. last year in trademark registrations, ranking first globally with 4.6 million registered trademarks in 2010. Spurned by awareness of the importance of intellectual property protection, the jump in trademark registrations reflects growing confidence in China’s judicial enforcement of intellectual property laws.

Set to close at the end of this quarter, China’s six month Intellectual Property Rights Campaign has focused on education as well as enforcement. Cracking down on pirated computer software, designer goods, pharmaceutical products and other acts of counterfeiting, the Chinese government previously announced that it had uncovered approximately 700 IP violations amounting to US$125 million since the campaign began last year.

Motivated by the prospect of boosting the economy, encouraging companies to implement trademark strategies have rung a bell with local level governments in certain Chinese cities. As incentive, authorities in Hebei province previously announced a bonus of RMB300,000 (US$45,300) would be granted to companies that had achieved the status of a well known trademark under PRC law. In 2010, well known trademarks owned by Chinese companies were far and few between, with the most recognized marks belonging to foreign household names such as Sony, Apple and Total.

Joining the IP blitz, Chongqing and cities in China’s Shandong province have also enacted training programs and tougher enforcement against counterfeiting in recent months. In particular, internet piracy and technology-related disputes have emerged as hot areas for enforcement actions.

By the way of background, PRC trademark registration is vital part of any company’s IP protection strategy, as foreign registrations are generally not recognized under PRC law. As a result, domestic and foreign companies alike are often advised to register their trademarks and intellectual property as early as possible in order to mitigate the risk of IP theft.

via China Beefs Up IP Enforcement in Six Month Parade.

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Hearing from America on Intellectual Property | The White House

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
South façade of the White House, the executive...
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Posted by Victoria Espinel on May 20, 2010 at 10:10 AM EDT

Over the last few months, I have met with big technology companies that make sophisticated hardware and network systems as well as early stage companies that are just in the process of getting off the ground, all of which are hurt by IP infringement.

I met with a company that manufactures cement in innovative ways that will protect our environment, and with the heads of venture capital funds that are investing in green technologies, all of which face the risk of losing their new green technology (and the jobs that come with it) as a result of IP theft.

I sat down with book publishers, movie studios, music companies, and videogame companies, all of whom are faced with widespread problems resulting from internet piracy.  I heard concerns from many other sectors as well: our airplane industry, small manufacturers, automobile industry, steelworkers, textile manufacturers, and biotech, software, and telecommunication companies.

I also sat down with those who want strong defenses and exceptions to intellectual property liability, including academics across the country, or consumer rights organizations.  I met with Internet companies that organize information and help our citizens find out what they want to know about the world today and connect people around the globe, and Internet auction sites that allow consumers to buy what they want at the price they want, all of which are affected by our enforcement efforts.

Through this process, I have learned how many different types of businesses are affected and harmed by infringement of intellectual property.  I have been impressed by the level of knowledge and concern at the very top of some of our biggest and most innovative companies, responsible for millions of American jobs.  I had the opportunity to sit down with CEOs from Intel, eBay, Calera, Google, Warner Bros, and Pandora, among many others, representing nearly every innovation-intensive sector of our economy.

Perhaps most importantly, through these meetings and through the comments we received from the general public, we have received some excellent recommendations about how the United States government can improve our efforts to enforce our intellectual property, with some of the best ideas coming from the smallest companies.

via Hearing from America on Intellectual Property | The White House.

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