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More Nations Beat U.S. In Press Freedoms
by Winter Casey
The United States has fallen nine places on a list that ranks support for press freedoms, in part because of the ongoing jail term for the author of a Web log.
But Reporters Without Borders, which released the rankings in its fifth annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index, highlighted the good news, too: "Each year new countries in less-developed parts of the world move up the index to positions above some European countries or the United States. This is good news and shows once again that even though very poor, countries can be very observant of freedom of expression."
In placing the United States at the 53rd spot, the watchdog group referenced the case of freelance journalist and blogger Josh Wolf, who was imprisoned when he refused to relinquish protest video to police.
Finland, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands ranked the highest on the index for supporting press freedoms, while North Korea, Turkmenistan and Eritrea were found to be the worst violators. France fell five places on the index to 35 on the list.
"Journalists in North Korea, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Burma and China are still risking their life or imprisonment for trying to keep us informed," Reporters Without Borders said. "These situations are extremely serious and it is urgent that leaders of these countries accept criticism and stop routinely cracking down on the media so harshly."
Foreign Enrollment In U.S. Grad Schools Jumps
The total enrollment of international graduate students in the United States increased 1 percent from 2005 to 2006, according to data released Wednesday by the Council of Graduate Schools.
The jump follows three consecutive years of declines. The group has said in the past that the recent declines were likely related to a number of factors including the tightening of U.S. visa rules following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and increased competition from other countries for students.
According to the council's report on fall 2006 enrollment, first-time enrollment of international graduate students increased by 12 percent in 2006. The increase was 32 percent for Indian students and 20 percent for Chinese students. The survey also found a jump in fields related to engineering and physical sciences.
"These findings confirm that there has been a recovery in international graduate-student flows to the [United States], and I am optimistic that this encouraging trend will continue," council President Debra Stewart said in a statement. "The increases reflect positively on both U.S. government policy changes and the outreach efforts of graduate schools themselves."
Also on the education front, Carnegie Mellon University and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education announced plans to enter into a long-term collaboration to expand research and education technology. Under the agreement, a joint Information and Communication Technologies Institute will be created and will include an international "virtual" institution.
China Tops List For Global Trademarks
China is now the largest user of the international registration of trademarks overseen by the World Intellectual Property Organization. WIPO announced Friday that it now has 900,000 trademarks, with more than 40 percent of applications coming from China.
The system allows businesses to protect trademarks in up to 77 countries and the European Union by filing one application, in one language, with one set of fees in one currency. The system is governed by two international treaties, the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol.
In other news, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday that it will not oppose the implementation of a new patent discloser and licensing proposal. A policy by the VMEBus International Trade Association, a trade group for vendors and users of open system architectures, would require the disclosure of essential patents and commitments to license essential patent claims on fair terms. The proposal additionally calls for declarations of the most restrictive licensing terms.
Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general of the department's antitrust division, said in a statement that the policy "should preserve, not restrict, competition among patent holders." Barnett also responded to the proposal in a letter.
And on Nov. 16-17, antitrust officials and practitioners will gather for an American Bar Association forum to discuss issues such as how the emergence of a comprehensive antitrust law would affect multinational companies in China. The meeting also will address how recent court decisions may affect intellectual property protection and merger challenges.
Microsoft And Dell At Work In China
Microsoft announced during an Innovation Summit in Beijing on Tuesday that it has licensed early-stage technologies to two Chinese software companies for the first time. The mobile communications technologies have been given to Comtech Group and Hunan Talkweb Information System.
"The change in the way Chinese companies think about intellectual property rights and licensing is allowing companies like Comtech and Talkweb to take advantage of business opportunities in the knowledge economy," Ya-Qin Zhang, the corporate vice president for Microsoft China Research and Development Group, said in a statement.
Also in China, Dell announced last week that it will begin providing recycling services for old computer equipment to business customers in mainland China and Hong Kong immediately. The company plans to offer consumers recycling free of charge by the end of November. "Environmental stewardship is an increasingly important issue for the IT industry," CEO Kevin Rollins said in a press release.
Meanwhile, Microsoft announced a series of criminal and civil actions against alleged dealers of counterfeit software around the world. The 55 legal actions target sellers in online auctions such as those at eBay.
And Microsoft said it was pleased by a German court ruling in a case against a pornography spammer who the company claimed violated its brand, according to Heise Online.
Countries Meet E-Passport Deadline
The U.S. Mission to the European Union said last week that most countries participating in the visa-waiver program met Thursday's deadline to begin issuing electronic passports.
The program enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining visas. Of the 27 participating nations, 24 met the deadline. Travelers who have valid, machine-readable passports with digital photographs issued before Thursday are not required to get new e-passports until the current ones expire.
In other news, Moscow CableCom, the U.S.-based parent of a Russia-based Internet services company, announced that Moscow's municipal government is considering a resolution for future regulatory changes regarding television and radio broadcasting. Over the next two months, the Moscow telecommunications and executive authorities are expected to analyze the regulatory framework, specifically for high-speed, cable-based networks, and to propose changes.
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