Gravestones In Addition To Vino Reforms

Disney dilema

The Daily Telegraph reports that Disney induce got backed downwardly inwards a dispute over Winnie the Pooh. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 dyad of grieving parents of a stillborn kid asked stonemason Aaron Clarke to include an ikon of Winnie the Pooh on the deceased child’s headstone. The parents approached Disney, who informed them that including the ikon would infringement Disney’s copyright. However, afterwards existence contacted past times reporters, Disney has right away said that it is ‘in the procedure of fulfilling their master copy request’.

says that technically, Disney’s inside its rights on this one. There’s no full general exception inwards Great Britain copyright constabulary that would comprehend this situation. However, it would live on a chip hateful to halt the parents from using the ikon too it doesn’t appear correct to welcome your grapheme existence a cultural icon upwards until when its fans genuinely desire to brand reference to it, too thence to become nasty at that point.


Stop w(h)ining

Yesterday Mariann Fischer Boel, Member of the European Commission responsible for Agriculture too Rural Development announced a hit of measures to reform the European Union vino marketplace position (press unloosen here), inwards the aspect upwards of iii perceived problems:

1. falling consumption with the young
2. an increment inwards New World exports, compared to European Union exports
3. increased imports of New World wines, such that ‘What was 1 time a trickle is becoming a inundation – to the signal where our imports could shortly overtake our exports.’

A trial of these problems has been an enormous vino surplus (leading to the rather delicious-sounding ‘European vino lake’) too an increased reliance on ‘crisis distillation’, whereby vino is turned into industrial ethanol.

Part of the blame is based on a bailiwick dearest to IP lawyers – geographical indication protection. Says Commissioner Fischer Boel:

‘[O]ur organization for defining too labelling wines is non inwards business with many broader European Union principles too international rules. Some of its elements grip dorsum our marketing efforts – peculiarly inwards the instance of certainly tabular array wines.

So nosotros charge restrictions onto our producers spell their New World competitors function with light-touch regulation. Faced with a demanding treat international markets, nosotros shoot ourselves inwards the foot’.

Instead she proposes:

‘With visit to vino character definitions too labelling: it's fourth dimension to cutting through the complications of our introduce system.

Here again, but about of our rules run counter to WTO provisions nether the TRIPS agreement, too must live on changed. It would also live on helpful to convey them into business with the EU's full general approach to Protected Geographical Indications too Protected Designations of Origin.

In particular, nosotros should terminate the electrical current restriction nether which tabular array wines without a GI cannot display their vine diversity or harvest year. This dominion exclusively ties downwardly our marketing efforts’.

Full legislative proposals are expected inwards Jan 2007.

, e'er the fan of competition, fifty-fifty when the competitors are based exterior the EU, says ‘Glass of Chateau Protectionism 2006 anyone?’