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ID:
095578
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| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article shows that despite a vast harmonization programme in the field of copyright and registered design right, the degree of protection of designers in the European Union still differs greatly. This is owed to the lack of harmonization in copyright and unfair competition laws. The article shows that not only is there a difference in the scope of protection between the common law and civil law countries but also between civil law countries. The countries chosen for the comparison are the United Kingdom, France and Italy. The article concentrates on the case law of the last 5 years and concludes that there is a need for further harmonization in the fields of copyright law and unfair competition law, as well as guidance from the European Court of Justice on the test of infringement for registered designs as it has been interpreted very differently in at least two member states.
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| 2 |
ID:
095583
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2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The mainstream discourse in Egypt, as elsewhere, deals with music as a private good, where markets are best optimized by the price mechanism and creators are motivated by profits realized through unit sales. Such discourse is reflected in copyright law. Maximal intellectual property protection is presumed to keep the incentive system intact by formulating and enforcing ever-tighter copyright controls, and imposing sanctions on free-riding "pirates". This research adopts a different approach based on the premise that music embodies some characteristics of a public good, where the market mechanism typically fails to maximize both production and access, and where tension arises between the interests of producers and consumers. Extensive empirical research reveals that this tension is eased through business models and actual practices of music production and delivery as they exist on the ground in the alternative music scene in Egypt. These models of de facto commons are found to be more closely aligned with the interests of musicians and fans, and do in essence promote access to knowledge contrary to what the formal domestic IP law and policy formulation preach (but not enforce). This brings to question the relevance of copyright to the alternative music scene in Egypt, as opposed to the influence of prevailing social and cultural norms and economic realities.
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| 3 |
ID:
095580
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| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
After the introduction we discuss the European Patent Convention (EPC) provisions that are relevant to the exculsion from patentability of computer programs and the broader relevance of the fact that the European Patent Office's (EPO's) Enlarged Board of Appeal has recently been requested by the EPO President to interpret these provisions. Next, we comment on the relevance of the recent EPC revision, before addressing what a computer program must be taken to mean for the purposes of the exclusion from patentability. After drawing attention to the conflict in case law that has developed in relation to the patentability of the computer programs and briefly summarizing the different approaches the EPO has taken to Article 52 of the EPC, we explain the evolution of these approaches, with particular attention to the EPO's dominant "technical character" approach. Subsequently, we address the questions put to the Enlarged Board and how they might be answered. We set out our proposal for what we believe is the approach the Enlarged Board should adopt. Since this approach might have effects beyond the field of computer programs, we show that the EPO case law outside computer programs would not be altered by our approach. Two alternative approaches are then critically addressed before setting out our conclusion.
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| 4 |
ID:
095582
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| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Increasing access to essential medicines has become an international priority, given the rapid spread of intractable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It follows that the quests to improve the global quality of healthcare and achieve health equity present a challenge for many countries, especially those that have been hard hit by deadly pandemics and whose populations are also still without essential drugs. Consequently, many countries have stepped up efforts to remove the obstacles to the availability and affordability of essential medicines. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) contains flexibilities that can be used as tools for enhancing access to cheap medicines and for controlling drug pricing. However, these flexibilities are not necessarily a panacea and cannot singly solve the problem of limited access to essential medicines. Put differently, cheaper medicines cannot reach the poor without the infrastructure to deliver them. For this to become a reality, commitment on the part of the member countries to adopt comprehensive and cooperative measures to tackle the burdensome barriers that limit access to critical medicines is needed. It is only then that the flexibilities in TRIPS can be optimized and a real difference made in the lives of poor patients across the developing world.
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