As the airline industry is in the midst of an economic crisis, air carrier ownership and control rules that have governed international air transport relations for the last fifty years have become subject to increased revision. Those rules impede the free flow of capital and airline consolidation across borders. Airlines have limited opportunities to structure their operations to serve global markets. Most importantly, the rules restrict the strategic choices available to ailing airlines and impede the restructuring of the industry. Particularly in the European Union, where liberalization is limited by restrictive ownership requirements included in bilateral agreements with third countries, airline consolidation and rationalisation through mergers and acquisitions is badly needed. / Impetus for liberalization emanates from the recent judgments of the European Court of Justice in the "Open Skies", which created the opportunity to revisit the entire ownership and control framework on a global scale. The Fifth ICAO Worldwide Air Transport Conference (ATConf/5) provided States with a forum to discuss and bring about change. Finally, the industry itself is pushing towards the liberalization of ownership restrictions that prevent it from operating like any other industry sector. / This thesis provides a review of the recent developments in the field of air carrier ownership and control. The focus is on a critical analysis of the outcome of ATConf/5. In particular, it will examine the significance of ATConf/5 for the development of ownership and control issues in air transport relations between the EU and third States and ultimately for the restructuring of the EU airline industry.

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Thesis (L.L.M. (Law)) - Rhodes University, 2009.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1986. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves [607]-630.

South Africa is a biologically diverse but technologically less advanced economy. Like many other developing countries in the world, its biodiversity is exposed to danger due to certain human activities. Among these, patents are charged as the easiest routing for misappropriation of indigenous biological resources and traditional knowledge associated therewith. Being member of the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity, South Africa is under obligation to ensure that its patent system supports the Convention's objectives including biodiversity conservation and sustainable use rather than its destruction and decline. The purpose of this dissertation is not only to dilute this misconception about South African patent system but to prove that with an access and benefit sharing mechanism it is an effective tool for biodiversity conservation, capacity-building and industrial development in the country. To make the system more protective of the rights of the indigenous communities, various modifications have also been proposed in the existing stature of the Act.

Lawyers and businessmen work closely together every day. Despite the increasing value of patents and trademarks for companies, it is important to keep in mind that Intellectual Property law and contractual law provide for much more types of protection than statutory rights (patents, trademarks, copyright). Business and company developments are no longer linear. Flexibility plays a key role in the journey a company has to travel to reach success, especially in the case of entrepreneurs and sole proprietorship companies. New businesses going through the "death valley"1 will need to be as flexible as possible to succeed. It is only fair for their attorneys to meet such flexibility standard. For these purposes, understanding different industries, stages of business developments, and Intellectual Property contractual and statutory rights becomes an essential matter to properly asses which kind of protection should and can be used for a particular scenario, on a specific time and on a limited budget. In general terms, Intellectual Property literature presents different types of Intellectual Property management schemes making use of patents, trademarks, design models, copyright, etc. individually considered and mainly referring to statutory or agency granted rights. These mainly and usually refer to case law and /or jurisprudence (as applicable) and international conventions. However, despite the ever increasing number of articles addressing each of these rights, little reference is made to their strategic use within the context of a specific company's business development stage or business needs they are aiming to protect. When reflecting on success cases, not many details are published regarding the "partnership agreements", "employment contracts", "services agreement" entered into by a company, or the Intellectual Property policies implemented by it while developing its business. On the other hand, when addressing the Intellectual Property portfolio, authors seem to refer to patents, trademarks and copyright as the big (or even core) concerns. Consequently, what matters should an entrepreneur identify and address from an Intellectual Property standpoint when starting a business? The most common answer has been: I am just starting and not anywhere near to a patent, so that is not for me. Each Intellectual Property statutory right functions independently, notwithstanding the possibility of using a combination of them. However, these rights can be used for more than one purpose. This dissertation describes the legally granted privileges (focused on patents, trademarks, copyright) and the role these play, just as one of the tools entrepreneurs have to protect their Intellectual Property business. It describes and explains other available contracting tools as part of a comprehensive Intellectual Property protection and business development strategy.