Policy Observatory
Between 26 and 29 September, the annual Freedom not Fear (FNF) conference and barcamp will take place in Brussels. Privacy advocates will tackle surveillance, censorship, net discrimination. Simon Davies, publisher of the Privacy Surgeon and co-founder of Privacy International, will present the first global analysis of the impact of the Snowden revelations and Paul Nemitz, Director at DG Justice of the European Commission, will discuss the data protection reform and the future of the EU-US umbrella and Safe Harbor agreements.
Following the Geneva Internet Conference (17-19 November) organised by the Geneva Internet Platform, media reports highlighted the role of Geneva as a global hub for IG.
The Geneva Internet Conference outcome document has been published.
A recent panel of internet governance experts was divided on whether a primary global set of principles protecting the balance of power on the internet is needed.
A small number of World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are negotiating to expand a the Lisbon System for the International Registration of Appellations of Origin to protect geographical indications, products like Champagne.
The treaty is administered by WIPO, which keeps the International Register of Appellations of Origin. Under the Lisbon system, once registered in the international register, an appellation of origin grants protection in all member countries, without any need for renewal, for as long as the appellation is protected in the country of origin.
Lisbon members are currently seeking to approve a new act of the agreement, extending the protection granted by the system to geographical indications. They are holding a diplomatic conference within WIPO from 11-21 May (IPW, WIPO, 14 May 2015) to that effect.
The Eindhoven Institute for the Protection of Systems and Information (Ei/PSI) organized a 1-day event on Security in Times of Surveillance. The event featured eight invited talks covering technical as well as legal and political aspects of security and surveillance. The videos and slides of the conferences are available here.