A blueprint for secure IP

Rebalancing Intellectual Property in the Information Society: The Human Rights Approach

Many policies governing biobanks revolve around ownership and control of the materials and information in them. Those who manage biobanks may be tempted to seek the broadest legal rights possible over material and data. However, we suggest that even if ownership and control were clearly defined by the law and readily obtained by biobanks, how legal rights are used in practice matters as much or more than the rules for ownership. We draw lessons from the stories of genetic testing for Canavan disease and inherited breast and ovarian cancers. In both cases, the use or assertion of legal rights led to preventable controversy and suboptimal outcomes. The attempt to acquire and exercise intellectual property rights antagonized and alienated stakeholders, whom we define broadly to include the donors, patients, doctors, research institutions, health care providers, governments, and citizens with an interest in research and its outcomes. By analogy, even if biobanks could acquire expansive and clear property rights over materials and data, biobanks that want to maintain productive relationships with stakeholders must not lose the trust of those who contribute material or others with an interest in research.

Can researchers protect their open data?

The modus operandi of the upfront intellectual property (IP) licensing model is impractical for the developers of small to medium volume of field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based applications. The FPGA IP market is in dire need for a more competitive and secure IP licensing scheme to flourish. In this paper, a pragmatic security protocol that could support the licensing of IP cores on a per-device basis without the need for a contractual agreement of an external trusted third party, large bandwidth, and complicated flow of communications is proposed. Besides assuring that the incentives of all stakeholders involved in the FPGA IP core trading are not scarified if not enhanced, the proposed protocol guarantees total secrecy and integrity of licensed IP cores based on available primitives of contemporary SRAM-based FPGA devices. It also prohibits the implementation of protected IP cores on unscreened excess devices and counterfeit chips sold in the gray market. The adoption of IP fingerprinting further deters the IP licensees from abusing the IP cores. Using the self-reconfiguration feature of FPGAs today, the resources consumed by the control module used for the implementation of protected IP cores on the authorized device are temporary and marginal.

PurposeSmart city projects typically operate in consortia of actors that lead to the co-creation of jointly owned intellectual property (IP) and data. While IP and data are significant for economic development, there are very limited studies on their co-ownership regimes especially on co-ownership of open data and open intellectual property. This study address this gap.Design/methodology/approachThis study is qualitative. In total, 62 in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out, with predominantly senior members of organisations actively involved in smart city projects. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.FindingsThere are three models of co-ownership of IP and data: contractual joint ownership, undetermined or not-yet-determined ownership and open ownership. Each ownership model impacts differently the value-in-use. The relationships between actors in the consortia affect the way in which they co-create IP and data.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates how projects that operate in new models of innovation-led consortia produce new types of resources that are not simply co-created but co-owned. Co-owned resources have different value-in-use for each one of the different actors, independently of the fact that they jointly own them. This is influenced by the type of ownership model and predisposition of the actors to initially share resources and be flexible. Co-owned resources may generate future value propositions, act as interconnected operant resources and lead to the creation of new business models.

This article describes some legal challenges related to information products and services on the mobile Internet and the World Wide Web. Using a scenario-based methodology, it describes the future mobile Internet and explains how information products and services would be used on it. A systematic method is used to build the scenarios. As the problems likely to emerge are very complex, the scenarios take into account several major factors that delineate the mobile Internet and its use--not just technological changes and economic factors, but societal issues and how individuals feel and behave. The scenarios make it possible to identify the kinds of legal challenges that are likely to emerge. Analysis of the scenarios indicates that intellectual property rights, privacy, and contracts are the legal areas most likely to involve challenges on the mobile Internet.

Blockchain technology (BT) is probably going to produce ground-breaking changes in supply chains, healthcare, IPR etc. BT provide better transparent methods to remove various issues faced in these areas. It improves the benefits by adapting the BT in various fields. It improves health management, identify fake drugs sold in the market, etc. The improved technology of BT can be used in various legal areas like improve IP rights management, working of IP offices etc. In this paper we look into the brief about how BT can be used in the above area.

This chapter interrogates the governance-making process of SDG 9 and creates a linkage to three legal areas: international law, global innovation law including intellectual property rights, and conflict of laws (private international law). The contribution attempts to show that the governance-making process in SDG 9 is a hybrid system consisting of agenda-setting and the development of norms with legalistic value. To develop the narratives, the chapter first assesses how the different participants in the negotiation and policy framework settled on ‘industry, innovation and infrastructure’, after which the chapter offers a forensic discussion on the individual targets and how their legal characteristics entails, among other things, the passage of laws in national legislatures. The penultimate discussion focuses on an empirical assessment in terms of how intellectual property rights became part of the technological revolution of an emerging SDG 9 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wangluo tuishou (internet pushing hands) — a popular type of organised business operation in which online posters are recruited to assume multiple internet identities for promotional and marketing campaigns in the cyberspace — falls under the legal grey area in China, thus putting the industry at the mercy of government crackdowns. This chapter provides an overview of the tuishou operation and reviews two campaigns in 2011 and 2013 against the excessive use of tuishou . The Chinese government's laissez-faire attitude towards imposing laws and regulations on tuishou operations can be attributed to its ambiguous stance. However, it will launch aggressive campaigns to crack down on “internet rumour” if it needs to tighten its grip over tuishou operations.

The Matzak case, a landmark ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), challenged traditional understandings of working time and rest periods, particularly for volunteer firefighters in Belgium. Despite earlier cases before Belgian courts, the Matzak decision brought significant shifts in jurisprudence, influencing how volunteers were categorised and how stand-by time was interpreted. This article examines the impact of the Matzak judgment on Belgian case law, tracing its evolution from pre- Matzak rulings to post-decision interpretations. Analysing decisions from the Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court, the study explores the redefinition of volunteers as employees and the qualification of stand-by time as working time. The reluctance of Belgian courts to adapt their views on stand-by duty prior to Matzak is highlighted, with persistent adherence to principles established in the Simap case. However, the Matzak ruling prompted questions about the treatment of voluntary firefighters and the adequacy of legal distinctions. Despite initial resistance, subsequent cases challenged previous interpretations, leading to clarifications by the Court of Cassation. Ambiguities remain, as seen in the Simon case, raising concerns about consistent application of Matzak jurisprudence. The unique status of voluntary firefighters in Belgium presents challenges, as they operate in a legal grey area with regards to rights and working conditions. Municipalities are urged to regulate their working time in the absence of general legislation. Nonetheless, the recognition of firefighters as workers by the CJEU offers promise for their legal standing under EU law. Increasing recognition of comparability between volunteers and professionals suggests a move towards more equitable treatment. Looking beyond Matzak, the article explores implications for the evolving digital workplace, where boundaries between work and personal time blur. The Matzak principle, which introduces objective limitations on devotion to personal and social interests, offers a framework for addressing these challenges. By considering potential applications in the digital realm, the article emphasises the importance of protecting worker well-being and rest periods, consistent with the objectives of the Working Time Directive. In conclusion, the Matzak case has had a significant impact on Belgian jurisprudence regarding the working time of volunteer firefighters and the adjudication of stand-by periods. While challenges and ambiguities persist, the ruling has spurred a reassessment of legal frameworks and encouraged greater recognition of the rights of volunteer workers. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the Matzak principle provides a valuable tool for navigating complex issues of work-life balance and ensuring the protection of workers’ rights.

In Australia, there is a significant health gap between rural and urban populations. One set of tools that could help lessen that gap is drones used for pharmaceutical delivery. There are extensive regulations surrounding the dispensing of prescription and controlled drugs, as well as strict requirements from aviation regulations for drone operators to meet. To assess and analyse the issues associated with operating at the intersection of pharmaceutical and aviation regulations in Australia, institutional theories can be applied. To inductively shed light on the key issues associated with the use of drones for the delivery of pharmaceuticals, a series of interviews were conducted using a truncated convergent interviewing approach. The common issues raised amongst experts highlight the complex challenge when developing drone networks for the delivery of pharmaceuticals. The main constraints appear to be due to aviation, not medication regulation. Legal grey areas, regulator inflexibility and other regulatory concerns stemming from strong institutional forces have created an environment limiting the use of drone delivery. Until drone regulations are changed, the potential of this innovative and developing sector is substantially restrained and those living in regional and rural areas will continue to have limited access to healthcare.

Since the Enlightenment the claim of law to rationality has become an indispensable standard for all current forms of law-making. However, the well-known tension between certain standards of rationality and legislation on the basis of democratic majority rule – that legitimizes law-making in view of voluntas not ratio and that takes place in the realm of politics – is tested to its limits by symbolic laws. Those laws, by definition, are characterized by an element of deception, a discrepancy between their manifest purposes that cannot be achieved and latent purposes that remain hidden. This paper examines the different notions of ‘symbol’ as well as the different conceptions and standards of rationality under the German Basic Law and asks whether judicial review is able to tackle the problem of (deceptive) symbolic laws. It will show that the requirement of Normenwahrheit (truthfulness of legal norms) is specifically tailored to capture this problem. Nonetheless, Normenwahrheit as well as other internal standards of legislation are only enforceable to some extent by the German Federal Constitutional Court. This leads to the question of how to deal with the legal grey area between justiciable constitutional principles and internal standards of legislation that do not determine the constitutionality of a law but that are relevant for the law’s quality, and to the question of whether legislative jurisprudence (‘legisprudence’) can provide an answer.

Many new psychedelic religious organizations have recently emerged in the United States. These psychedelic churches operate in a legal gray area, which provides job opportunities not just for lawyers but also for philosophers of religion. To gain legal permission to use psychedelics, these churches need philosophically well-developed doctrines. Philosophers of religion can help develop these psychedelic doctrines. Looking at the law from a philosophical perspective, I derive six criteria which these psychedelic doctrines should satisfy. As an illustration, I show how a modernized Platonism can satisfy these criteria. Just as bioethicists can help in the practice of medicine, so philosophers of religion can help with the legal proceedings of new psychedelic churches.

The Fungal Meningitis Tragedy: Implications for Pharmacy Education and the Profession

Vaporised nicotine products (VNPs) that are not approved as therapeutic goods are banned in some countries, including Australia, Singapore, and Thailand. We reviewed two non-profit regulatory options, private clubs and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration Special Access Scheme (SAS) that have been applied to other controlled substances (such as cannabis) as a potential model for regulating VNPs as an alternative to prohibition. The legal status of private cannabis clubs varies between the United States, Canada, Belgium, Spain, and Uruguay. Legal frameworks exist for cannabis clubs in some countries, but most operate in a legal grey area. Kava social clubs existed in the Northern Territory, Australia, until the federal government banned importation of kava. Access to medical cannabis in Australia is allowed as an unapproved therapeutic good via the SAS. In Australia, the SAS Category C appears to be the most feasible option to widen access to VNPs, but it may have limited acceptability to vapers and smokers. The private club model would require new legislation but could be potentially more acceptable if clubs were permitted to operate outside a medical framework. Consumer and regulator support for these models is currently unknown. Without similar restrictions applied to smoked tobacco products, these models may have only a limited impact on smoking prevalence. Further research could explore whether these models could be options for regulating smoked tobacco products.