[Ecommerce] Intellectual Property Rights Antitrust and Standards (plus bit on ISO on dispute resolution)

[James Love]

*Insight Volume 6 Num 5 August 2003 
<http://www.gtwassociates.com/answers/insight-v06-n05.html>Global 
standards policy and strategic developments. Please reply 

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* **Intellectual Property Rights Antitrust and Standards *

Infineon Technologies A.G. filed an appeal July 3 with the U.S. Supreme 
Court seeking to overturn an appellate court ruling absolving Rambus 
Inc. of fraud for failing to disclose pending SDRAM patents to the JECEC 
Solid State Technology Association panel while the body was drafting an 
industry SDRAM standard. Infineon's brief petitioning the U.S.Supreme 
Court for a Writ of Certiorari in connection with the United States 
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in Infineon 
Technologies AG v. Rambus, Inc., 318 F.3d 1081 (2003). 
<http://www.gtwassociates.com/alerts/Rambus.htm> Earlier this year the 
the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal District threw out a 
jury verdict convicting Rambus of fraud stemming from a 2001 Richmond, 
Va., federal district court trial. The appellate court said the JEDEC 
rules for patent disclosure during standards deliberations were vague 
and conflicting and that Rambus was not obligated to reveal its patents 
until ballots were cast for the SDRAM standard.

Japan's METI issued a Pilot Model for Disclosing Patent and Technical 
Information 
<http://www.meti.go.jp/english/information/data/cIPPilotModele.html> 
This pilot model has been formulated in line with the aims of the 
Intellectual Property Policy Outline, whose goal is to promote 
companies' intellectual property strategies be incorporated into their 
business strategies as the source of their competitive advantage, to 
make intellectual property-strategies be evaluated properly in the 
market through the effective information disclosure, and to increase 
companies' profitability and corporate value. As a part of this goal, it 
is recommended that an Intellectual Property Report (Research and 
Development Activities Report) be formulated when disclosing information 
on patent and technology strategies including research and development 
activities

The IETF is currently Revising its IPR polices and Guidance. Four Drafts 
in public review as of 1, 2003 
<http://www.gtwassociates.com/answers/EvolutionIETFPolicy.html>

*International Standards Policy *

The first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society will take 
place in Geneva hosted by the Government of Switzerland from 10 to 12 
December 2003. The second phase will take place in Tunis hosted by the 
Government of Tunisia, from 16 to 18 November 2005. 15 Heads of State 
have to date indicated that will attend WSIS 2003. Highlights of the 
July 15-18, 2003 Intersessional Meeting here presented are courtesy of 
Art Reilly and Art Reilly
Frank Urbany Co-chairs, USITUA WSIS Working Group) US participants in 
the meetings. Intersessional meeting inputs included the draft WSIS 
Declaration of Principles and Action Plan and other WSIS documents 
<http://www.itu.int/wsis/> The issue of "Open source software" was 
delegated to the US and Switzerland to address in compromise text. A new 
paragraph on intellectual property was provided by the US to address the 
many references in the draft to "the right to unhindered access to 
information". The US-provided text referred to the need to respect the 
existing international intellectual property agreements.

UN/ECE Working party 6 invited Telecom Ministries and Communications 
Regulatory Agencies to a Regulatory convergence dialogue for ICT 
Equipment ("Telecome Initiative") 
<http://www.gtwassociates.com/alerts/UNecet1.htm>expert meeting with 
public authorities in Geneva May 27- 28, 2003 
<http://www.gtwassociates.com/alerts/UNecet1.htm>. This meeting arose 
from the "Telecom Industry Initiative" supported by the UNECE Working 
Party on Technical Harmonization and Standardization Policies (Working 
Party 6) at its annual session in October 2002 
<http://www.gtwassociates.com/alerts/ECE.html> UNECE Member States were 
invited to examine proposals and to participate in regulatory 
convergence activities following the principles embodied in the WP.6 
Recommendation "L" *"**_AN INTERNATIONAL MODEL FOR TECHNICAL 
HARMONISATION BASED ON GOOD REGULATORY PRACTICE FOR THE PREPARATION, 
ADOPTION AND APPLICATION OF TECHNICAL REGULATIONS VIA THE USE OF 
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS"_*. 
<http://www.unece.org/trade/tips/docs/wp6_01/model-17r4e.doc> 
Significant at this meeting was the interest of Russia and the selection 
of Nuno Encarnacao from Switzerland as chair. The United States 
representatives to UN/ECE WP6 have expressed certain reservations with 
the International Model and did not attend. In July, 2003 informal 
unofficial correspondence with GTW Associates President Willingmyre, Mr 
Encarnacao shared an introduction to the "Telecom Initiative" based on 
his presentation during a UNECE workshop of April 2003 and expanded to 
enable a more clear understanding of the main topics in this project. 
<http://www.gtwassociates.com/alerts/UNecet1.htm> and some personal 
observations of the challenges and opportunities confronting the TI of 
WP6. Future meetings of the TI activity are tentatively set for October 
7 and November 13, 2003 . GTW Associates understands the UN/ECE 
International Model is also under consideration by the heavy equipment 
and off road vehicle global industry sector and a first meeting of a 
UN/ECE activity in this sector is set for September 10.

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ISO development 
<http://www.gtwassociates.com/alerts/ServicesStandards.htm> work on 
External Customer Dispute Resolution Systems and Market Based Codes of 
Conduct is beginning 
<http://www.gtwassociates.com/alerts/ServicesStandards.htm>. The 
proposed standard on external Dispute Settlement Resolutions Systems is 
intended to establish a set of consensus-based essential criteria for 
developing and implementing external customer dispute resolution 
systems. Such an external system would be available for either a 
business or its customer to give an avenue of appeal when a supplier 
cannot remedy a complaint internally. The objective of the proposed 
International Standard for Market Based Codes of Conduct is to enhance 
fair trading in the marketplace by harmonizing the use of claims about 
codes. It is anticipated that benefits will include accurate and 
verifiable claims that are not misleading, a reduction in marketplace 
confusion, facilitation of international trade, an increased opportunity 
for more informed purchasing choices, and improved quality of codes. 
TC176/SC3 is now establishing a project structure that will encompass 
the two Working Groups that will work on these two new work items. 
National body members of TC 176 SC3 have been requested to nominate 
experts to two new working groups of SC3 by August 10, 2003. The 
soliticitation calls for: representatives of consumer interests, product 
providers in various economic sectors, and people experienced in 
standardization work in TC176* * Dr. Kernaghan Webb of the Canadian 
Office of Consumer Affairs has accepted to be the project leader for the 
two working groups. The first meeting of the Working Groups/ /will be 
held in conjunction with the plenary meeting of ISO TC176 in October 
20-24, 2003 in Bucharest, Rumania.