BPCouncil Special Editions

May 2009 – Sports IP Edition
With the increasing commercialization of sports, it has become a big and tempting target for counterfeiters, especially those who sell fake sports memorabilia items! With rights owners competing with fraudsters, the outcome of the game is still in question – and our special edition can help you keep up with the scores. Get in-depth answers to these questions: Can IP compete in the sports arena? Should chess moves be copyrighted? Is RFID the answer to sports memorabilia authentication? Read what law enforcement is doing to beat infringers in their own game. Discover the shocking truth behind the COAs given to authenticate signed sports items…and more.

April 2009 – IP Media Watch Edition
Is the medium the message* when it comes to intellectual property infringement? BPCouncil has set up its own "media watch" to keep you abreast of the state of IP in various communication channels. Find out what one of the largest producers of video, film and multi-media content is doing to solve media piracy. Examine the Performance Rights Act – the proposed legislation that would require AM and FM radio stations to pay the artists and musicians who keep listeners tuned in. Jump into a new debate: Is copying newspaper headlines fair use or infringement? Discover how comic book character creators are protecting their IP rights. Finally, you be the judge: Is incorporating copyrighted material into online film reviews on YouTube just like adding book quotes to a book review – and considered fair use? Or is it outright violation of someone else’s copyrights?

* With apologies to Marshall McLuhan

March 2009 - IP Americas Edition
In the first of its quarterly editions on global intellectual property, BPCouncil focuses on the IP goings on in Canada, the US, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. Is Latin America the new grey market capital of the world? Does Canada deserve to be in this year's Special 301 Priority Watch List? Will Mexico's anti-piracy efforts overcome a "culture of illegality?" What new content protection solutions are available in the US market? How can Jamaica tap the IP potential of its unique commercial assets? Get the answers to these and more in the special edition.

February 2009 - Celebrity IP Edition
In an age where media rules, so does celebrity - from eternal icons to the 15-minutes-of-fame-rs. This special edition illustrates the intellectual property issues impacting the rich and famous. See how licensing protects celebrities even in the afterlife. Find out why Albert Einstein's IP is the gift that keeps on giving. Discover why even celebrities are not immune from committing (alleged) IP crimes. Read all about celebrity cyber-squatting - and which technologies may possibly "evict" these IP violators. Finally, play a game and discover which celebrities are also inventors (and patent owners)!

January 2009 - Resolutions for a Stronger IP
This special edition uncovers new ways to meet the intellectual property challenges in the new year! IP licensors and licensees – find out how to handle a bankruptcy filing by either licensing partner. Music rights holders – discover RIAA's new strategy for fighting online piracy. Brand owners looking for anti-counterfeit technology – get a reference guide of the most up-to-the-minute solutions. Companies seeking to control access to proprietary systems and information – here are three new identity management technologies. Enforcement professionals – find out what legal tools Argentina is adding to its brand protection arsenal.

December 2008 – A Celebration of Intellectual Property Rights
Get some guidelines for avoiding infringement lawsuits when recording or duplicating Christmas songs…learn how to avoid hazard-posing counterfeit Christmas lights…read all about another fake vodka seizure that may dampen the holiday "spirits" of UK drinkers…find stocking-filler ideas for the counterfeit-conscious...discover the advantages of a counterfeit-detector pen…and more!

November 2008 – CyberIP: Protecting Intellectual Property on the Net
This BPSpecial edition takes a close look at the latest trends in online security threats…explores the benefits of the latest identity theft enforcement legislation…describes two advanced technologies for fighting online identity theft…examines the latest cybersquatting incidents and how brand owners can avoid being victimized…and recounts another law enforcement victory over cyber attackers.

September 2008 – Inventions and IP: Why Protecting Ideas Matters
If necessity is the mother of invention, then intellectual property is its enabler. This BPSpecial Edition covers the latest IP issues and trends affecting inventions and inventors – from an analysis of licensing as a way of turning patents to profit…the best ways to protect an invention…enforcement stories on foiling trade secret thieves…the ABCs of maximizing an idea's IP and business value…and the continuing debate on software invention patentability. Great information for inventors and those dealing with inventions.

August 2008 – IP101: Lessons in University Intellectual Property
Universities and other institutions of learning are becoming the new battleground in the IP wars. This BPSpecial Edition takes you to campus, with stories on taking university IP from research lab to global marketplace…fighting for GMAT's IP rights – and integrity…balancing intellectual property protection with academic freedom…determining the rightful owners of patent rights to university inventions…ensuring that infringement-curbing legislation doesn't cramp learning as well…and more.

July 2008 – Beijing 2008: Can IP Rights Compete?
New laws. Stricter enforcement. Cutting-edge technology. China is sparing no effort to reverse its rep as the counterfeit capital during its biggest national event. This week's BPSpecial features: China’s strategy to beat ambush marketers, new regulations enacted to protect Olympic signs and symbols, the rise of RFID as the go-to technology for large-scale events, law enforcement success stories in putting Olympic counterfeiters out of business, a new ticket authentication system…and more.

June 2008 – Smart Packaging = Smart IP Strategy
Despite the fact that not all brand owners are using or even considering security packaging technology, discover why today's facts and figures belie their thinking and prove one thing: that a smart IP strategy often starts with smart packaging. This week's BPSpecial covers: a new hard-to-fake, OVD-based anti-counterfeit technology, the USCBP operation that seized 2,000 AC/DC power adapters with fake UL markings, the Ferrero Rocher legal victory, the expense vs. investment security packaging debate…and more.

May 2008 – IP Plants the Seeds of Innovation
As counterfeiters go beyond fake software, handbags and DVDs to the seemingly innocuous world of agriculture…as new agri-biotech inventions take agriculture to the cutting edge…IP rights in this area have never been more critical. In fact, they've become the focus of new authentication technologies, patent infringement lawsuits and vigorous geopolitical debates. This week's BPSpecial puts the spotlight on: the danger of illegal seeds, the Monsanto patent enforcement controversies, patenting agricultural biotechnology inventions, new technologies for fighting counterfeit seeds, the Bayer CropScience patent infringement lawsuit…and more.

April 2008 – Growing Your Green Intellectual Property
Discover new vistas in patents, trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property concepts that have been opened by the green revolution. What happens when counterfeiters get a hold of your eco-friendly product? What's the UK's Intellectual Property Office doing to make sure green innovation starts young? How do patents measure the growth of green technology? Does the Green Dot trademark conflict open the floodgates for other green-related litigation? Finally, does "greenwashing" equal counterfeiting? Our BPSpecial on green intellectual property answers these questions and more.

March 2008 – Scene Stealers: Why All the World's a Stage for…Piracy!
Even before the big night, DVD screeners intended for Oscar voters were popping up all over file-sharing networks. BPCouncil takes you backstage into the world of entertainment piracy. Our stories range from Nielsen's latest anti-piracy web tool and Nintendo's aggressive anti-counterfeiting campaign…to the EU proposal to extend copyright protection for sound recordings, the technologies behind Oscar piracy, and MPA's successful Operation Blackout initiative…and more!

February 2008 – Will China's IP Fortunes Change?
One step forward, two steps back encapsulates China's efforts in redeeming its good name in the world of brand protection and intellectual property. Discover Microsoft's new anti-piracy system to protect China's software industry's IP rights…the country's continually evolving copyright laws and their impact…the world's most wanted counterfeiter, new (encouraging) figures on China's electronic authentication market…the continuing allure (and chutzpah) of Silk Street…and more!

January 2008 – The Art of the Fake
In galleries, auction houses, online auction sites (and, can you believe, Costco?), there's a high surge in purchases of counterfeit art. Read about the famous "Bolton Forgers" who almost got away with it…a new guide for artists and designers on how to protect their creative work…new technologies that can detect fakes through the oil painting pigment…how Costco found itself a defendant in a counterfeit lawsuit…and how various personalities, organizations and enforcement agencies are working to stem the tide of art fraud.

December 2007 – Image Makers, Image Breakers: Luxury Goods Counterfeiting
Holidays: 'tis the season for giving…and for booming counterfeit business! Here's the lowdown on haute counterfeiting – from the technologies to prevent it to the laws that can possibly reverse it…from the steps taken by brand owners to the initiatives adopted by law enforcement. Most important, we'll tackle just why consumers' lust for counterfeit luxury goods continues to bolster the image breakers at the expense of the image makers.