The objective of this thesis is to examine the internal contradiction within copyright law regarding the practice of decompilation as well as the ever-growing use of prohibitive contractual provisions, to highlight the flaws that presently exist under our legal systems in these contexts and to offer suitable amendments and modifications to the law as it currently stands.

Prior to 1986, Malaysia had a system whereby patents issued in the United Kingdom could be registered in Malaysia. On registration, the patent owner would have privileges and rights as those conferred by the issue of the patent in the United Kingdom. The Patents Act 1983 introduces a completely new code for patent protection in Malaysia. This thesis analyses and evaluates the current provisions relating to the various incidents of ownership of patent and utility model rights in Malaysia with the aim of assisting in the proper construction of the relevant provisions. The issues of entitlement, the rights of co-owners, the exercise and scope of rights as well as the limitations to and loss of these rights are examined. The main objective of this study is to seek to achieve a proper balance between the rights of a patent owner and the public. Where necessary, proposals for reforms are made to amend various aspects of the Act with the aim of achieving this objective, ensuring at the same time that the relevant provisions are in conformity with Malaysia's obligations under the Paris Convention and the GAIT-TRIPS Agreement. Since there is a dearth of legal writing and judicial guidance on the relevant provisions of the Act, the approach adopted in the thesis is based on a comparative study of equivalent provisions of patent statutes in various Commonwealth countries and the United States, with special emphasis on United Kingdom law. Common law doctrines are also examined to determine their applicability in the Malaysian context. Where of assistance, the laws of other jurisdictions are examined. The experience of the working of the patent system in these countries is drawn upon in the search for a proper and viable balance between the rights of the competing groups.

This dissertation is a grounded theoretical analysis of the REDD-plus programme, the multi-level system of forest governance that is being developed since 2007 under the international legal regime on climate change. It examines REDD-plus’ main elements, seeks to preliminarily assess its likely impact and suggests measures to improve its design. The focus is on effectiveness, intended as the ability to address the causes of forest loss in developing countries. The research is divided in two parts. The first part concentrates on REDD-plus at the international level. It explores the programme’s innovative but still fragmented and contradictory use of ‘policy approaches’ and ‘positive incentives’, and assesses its strengths and weaknesses in the context of the broader trend towards the ‘neo-liberalisation’ of international environmental policy. The second part examines REDD-plus at the national and sub-national levels. It uses sustainable landscape governance as the overarching conceptual and physical framework for the effective implementation of REDD-plus activities and suggests three areas of public policy that should be prioritised by participant countries: tenure, spatial planning and financial intermediation. The dissertation examines each policy area in detail and provides specific recommendations on the measures available to overcome current problems. It argues that the programme’s effectiveness would be magnified by combining public policy and market instruments in such a way as to facilitate the negotiation of trade-offs between multiple environmental and development objectives and between diverse stakeholders. Building on this analysis, the conclusions advance some considerations on the possible significance of REDD-plus for the development of international environmental law.

The reconciliation of patents within the Taiwanese Law of Things has received negligible attention from legal scholars. The primary reason for this is the hesitation, by courts and scholars alike, to construct a new property paradigm, referring instead to treat patents under the existing rules on physical things. This dominating stance has had an impact on the manner in which Taiwanese courts adjudicate on the nature of patents, and dealings therewith. The aim of the thesis is to show that this stance is theoretically illogical. The underlying issue is the different classification of patents within the civil and common law systems. The study employs a historical and comparative law methodology in order to inform an intra-law solution to the problem of how to overcome the classification dilemma. It does this by critically analysing the evolution of patent categorisation as personal property in common law and, by employing this foundation, seeks to distinguish the substantial differences in the concept of property between the common and civil law traditions. In light of these differences, and to establish a consolidated way of reconciling patents into the current Taiwanese legal framework, the thesis further analyses the similarity of the property notion under English common law and Taiwanese customary law, both of which are shaped by exclusion rules. The hypothesis is that ownership of land within these two systems, in similar with that of patents, was not an absolute and outright ownership of land governed by inclusion rules, but was instead a freehold which granted intangible rights that could be divided by the duration of the holding. It is suggested that a theoretically more coherent property model can be achieved by adopting this approach, and analogising patents to the tenure systems that existed within both English common law and Taiwanese customary law. To this end, the thesis proposes to contextually rebuild the property model for patents within Taiwanese law by the insertion of five new reform clauses into the Patent Act and the Civil Code.

The purpose of this introduction is to provide a brief outline of the scope and the progression of the thesis. Since the latter part of the nineteenth century, it has been a well-established principle of real property law in England and Wales that the burden of a positive covenant cannot run directly with freehold land at law or in equity. The fact that a positive covenant cannot run directly with freehold land has for many years been acknowledged to be a major defect of English land law. In Chapter I, the rules which govern the enforceability of freehold covenants are examined. Further, the chapter identifies why the Judges in the nineteenth century decided not to permit the burden of a positive covenant to run with freehold land. Conveyancers use a number of techniques and devices in order to circumvent the aforementioned principle. However, none of them are foolproof. In Chapter II, a number of devices which are used by conveyancers in order to circumvent the aforementioned principle are examined and evaluated. The difficulties which can arise from the present law's failure to provide a satisfactory means whereby positive covenants may be made to run with freehold land are identified in Chapter III. Local authorities possess a number of statutory powers to impose positive covenants on freehold land and to enforce them against successive owners. In Chapter IV, consideration is afforded to some aspects of their powers in this regard. The need to reform the present law has long been recognised. However, despite the fact that several Reports have been made and one draft Bill produced reform has still not been achieved. In Chapter V, the major proposals made for reform in the 1960's and 1970's are considered. Further, reasons are advanced to explain why reform of the law of positive covenants has proved to be so difficult to secure. One of the main consequences of the present law is that the vast majority of flats in England and Wales are held on long leases. The popular preference is for freehold not leasehold ownership. Several common law countries have comprehensive "condominium" legislation making full provision for rights and obligations, etc., in regard to freehold flats. The relevant legislation of New South Wales and Trinidad and Tobago is examined in Chapters VI and VII respectively. One objective of these chapters is to demonstrate that there are viable alternatives to using leasehold schemes for blocks of flats. In 1984, the Law Commission published their Report on Positive and Restrictive Covenants. Chapter VIII deals with this Report and with a number of other relevant recent developments.

This thesis explores and explains the development of the Creative Commons (CC) as an alternative to mainstream copyright protection. it argues that the distinctive characteristics of CC as a license based, configurable form of meta-regulation can be explained by consideration of the disciplinary background of the movement's founder (Lawrence Lessig) and as a consequence of the particular mode of development it undertook (e-mail discussions as commonly used in the arena of software development rather than traditional legal discussion) as well as the influence of a variety of pre-exisiting regulatory forms. The second part of the research reviews the inputs from multiple existing regulatory structures such as the Free Software Foundation and the Open Content movement, and de-constructs the process by which the CC is developed in practice. The thesis analyzes the trajectory of CC from a licensing project to a political project, the structural elements of the CC licences and the decision making process of their creation and development. This analysis helps to explain the apparent inconsistencies that have been expressed about the CC project and shows how Lessig's perspectives on regulation and meaning construction contribute to the empowerment of the creator and the attempt to provide regulatory tools instead of regulatory solutions. The thesis argues that imbalances in the existing Copyright system are symptoms of deeper structural problems of distantiation of the regulated subject from the process of regulation construction. CC therefore becomes an effort to increase access to the regulatory process and as a result ignites the creation of the Commons. instead of the regulation to be enforcing its normative content on the creative practice over the Internet, the CC approach allows the reverse to happen. The intellectual or creative commons are thus achieved as a secondary result of the ability to access the regulatory commons.

The emergence of free and open source software (FOSS) has posed many challenges to the mainstream proprietary software production model. This dissertation endeavours to address these challenges through tackling the following legal problem: how does FOSS licensing articulate a legal language of software freedom in support of large-scale collaboration among FOSS programmers who have to face a rather hostile legal environment underlined by a dominant ideology of possessive individualism? I approach this problem from three aspects. The first aspect examines the unique historical context from which FOSS licensing has emerged. It focuses on the most prominent “copyleft” licence—GNU General Public Licence—which has been shaped by the tension between the MIT-style hacker custom and intellectual property law since the 1980s. The second aspect tackles the legal mechanism of FOSS licences, which seems not dissimilar from other non-negotiated standard-form contracts. My analysis shows that FOSS licences do not fit well with the neoclassical contract model that has dominated software licensing jurisprudence so far. I therefore call for replacing the neoclassical approach with Ian Macneil’s Relational Contract Theory, which has remained conspicuously absent in the software licensing literature. The third aspect explores FOSS programmers’ authorship as manifested in FOSS licensing. It argues that the success of a FOSS project does not merely depend on the virtuosity of individual programmers in isolation. More importantly, a core team of lead programmers’ efforts are essential to channel individual authors’ virtuosity into a coherent work of collective authorship, which can deserve credit for the project as a whole. The study of these three aspects together aims to create a synergy to show that it is possible to graft a few collaborative elements onto the existing legal system—underpinned by a neoliberal ideology assuming that human beings are selfish utility-maximising agents—through carefully crafted licensing schemes.

This research focuses on the current legal protection for agricultural biotechnological inventions in Europe and the U.S. It has been a subject of debate whether plants and agricultural biotechnological inventions which includes plants, transgenic plants and plant varieties, can be the subject of patent protection, in addition to or as an alternative to the protection afforded by plant variety rights. Biotechnological patents have been criticized for granting an excessive scope of protection to proprietors, whereas plant variety rights have been slighted for not providing enough protection. Hence, this research is built on a few main themes, namely; the discussion of IP protection for agricultural biotechnological inventions as currently in practice in Europe and the U.S., as well as the deliberation on the current system as practised in Malaysia. The research also discusses the issue of the interface between the patent regime and plant variety rights over agricultural biotechnological inventions as there are possible overlaps between the two systems, notwithstanding the exclusivity of protection of plant varieties under the PVR system. The research looks at the prospect for Malaysia as a developing country to enhance its current IP framework and legislation in order to develop its agricultural biotechnology industry. Hence, it focuses on whether there is a single system as a model of IP regime to be adopted by Malaysia in order to provide the best IP protection for its agricultural biotechnology industry. The comparative approach is inevitable, in referring to the European model and the American model as a guide. The relevant factors such as the different setting, society and economic strength are given due consideration in coming up with the proposal to amend the current intellectual property law and legal system in Malaysia. At the end, the thesis puts forward a model for Malaysia to further develop its system.

This thesis examines the rights of landowners in Scotland in relation to water flowing through their land. In the first part of the thesis, it is argued that water is a communal thing which is incapable of ownership (or other real rights) in its natural state. Instead, the only right which anyone can have, and which everyone indeed does have, to water in its natural state is the right to obtain ownership through appropriation. In practice, however, those who own the beds of bodies of water such as rivers and lochs have the best opportunity to use water and exercise the right of appropriation due to their ability to access water freely. The second part of the thesis then examines who owns the land beneath water including the sea-bed, foreshore and alveus of rivers and lochs. The law regarding changes to boundaries between dry land and land covered by water is also investigated. The third and most substantial part of the thesis analyses the restrictions to which owners of the banks and beds of rivers and lochs are subject through common interest. This doctrine comprises a set of (generally) reciprocal rights and obligations which regulates the use of water by landowners. Common interest evolved as a result of the burgeoning use of water power between 1730 and 1830. Due to the limited material available from Roman law and the institutional writers, the courts had to experiment with various theories to resolve the disputes with which they were confronted. Following the establishment of the doctrinal foundation of common interest – in which Lord Kames had a pivotal role – there was rapid development of the content of the rights and obligations of landowners with respect to water over the 18th and 19th centuries. In light of the preceding explanation of the historical background, the final chapter of the thesis provides a restatement of the modern law of common interest. This thesis has adopted a historical and, to a lesser extent, comparative approach with the aim of providing a comprehensive study of a distinct area of water law and water rights in Scotland.

China has put considerable emphasis on protecting intellectual property (IP) rights since it implemented ‘Reform and Opening-Up’ policy in the late 1970s. The nation has actively participated in communication and cooperation with its trading partners and international society in IP region. In particular, since its accession to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Convention) in 1985, China has reformed its socialist legal system to meet international obligations. This trend continued with China’s entry to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) under the World Trade Organization (WTO) in late 2001. A well-known trademark is a trademark well known by the relevant public. Compared to a common trademark, it will be given higher level of protection against infringements. A well-established well-known trademark legal framework can considerably protect interests of owners of domestic and foreign well-known trademarks. China begun to offer such protection since the 1980s. During the pre-WTO period, it granted well-known status determination on an ad-hoc basis under a ‘Sole-Track’ model which was solely led by administrative authorities. This model has been considered to be weak and offered no systematic protection to well-known trademark holders. China’s admission to the WTO in 2001 pushed the country to create a ‘Dual-Track’ model which incorporates judicial and administrative authorities and to amend its IP laws in compliance with the international norms. Since then, the situation of well-known trademark protection has been considerably improved, although some problems remained. There is, however, widespread criticism in the US government and from some scholars that the IP laws in China governing well-known trademarks are inadequate. However, this is not necessarily accurate, as it is based not on comprehensive legal analysis but on the data mainly collected from interested parties of the US side, whether they are companies or government officials, or a fragment of cases. This thesis adopted doctrinal legal research method to demonstrate and evaluate some substantial legal principles, concepts, rules and policy concerning well-known trademark recognition and protection in China over the past three decades (1985 – 2015). It challenged that criticism by raising four questions and exploring their answers. The legal analysis in this thesis showed that since the 2000s, China has protected well-known trademarks more effectively than before. In conclusion, although some problems remain to be solved, the criticism above should be rejected. Meanwhile, this thesis also offered suggestions of further development, highlighted the need for the competent authorities to continue to reform the laws and policy, and strengthen their enforcement in order to tackle unsolved problems.