This minor dissertation investigates alternative compulsory licencing (CL) policy approaches for the South African context. The purpose is to support the country's aspirations to reform certain components of its intellectual property (IP) regime, ensuring alignment with the country's development prerogatives. Homing in on technical barriers with the operationalisation of the existing CL mechanism; this paper investigates remedial recommendations to support South Africa's reform efforts. The paper also hopes to gauge whether it is feasible to leverage compulsory licensure as a cost-containment tool to circumvent price dominance in the sale of essential pharmaceutical commodities. The South African Patents Law provides for CL under three grounds. These are dealt with in chapter 2. The abuse of patents rights as a result of excessive pricing is one of these grounds. Yet, attempting to use this provision abuse of patents rights is procedurally and administratively cumbersome. This is notwithstanding the litigation costs. The 2018 national IP Policy aspires to reform the CL policy to ensure that it is a 'workable mechanism'. A comparative analysis of the CL policy landscapes in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation will be taken to inform South Africa's discourse. These two countries are strategic because they have either reformed and/ or in the process of renovating their intellectual property rights (IPR) landscapes and both have interesting approaches to the way in which they have reformed their CL mechanisms. The findings of this paper reveal that Russia and China have undertaken extensive IPR reforms over the last three decades. They have both taken different policy approaches in adapting their CL instruments. Russia's CL reform proposals are underway and aim to advance a CL mechanism that can effectively regulate the abuse of patents, especially for essential pharmaceutical commodities. China has installed specific Implementing Measures which offer policy guidance on the applicability CLs. In the case study of China, the Measures imposed are not necessarily advanced as cost-containment tools. Rather they support the country's pharmaceutical agenda. The recommendations in this paper offer interesting insights to the feasibility exercises that will be advanced in South Africa's IPR reform process.

Includes bibliographical references. / A multitude of factors affect the ability of South Africans to access the essential medicines, intellectual property (IP) is one of them. This dissertation considers some of opportunities open to South Africa through international IP flexibilities, which are aimed at safeguarding public health rights against the sometimes access-restricting effects of patent right monopolies. Potential pitfalls are also highlighted, noting strategies for South Africa to avoid the worst of them. The paper begins by giving an overview of the way in which patents affect access to medicines, and contending that the time for making the proposed amendments is now.

This dissertation explores the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) as they relate to publicly financed research and development (R&D) outcomes. Kenya has the opportunity to learn from the experience of the United States of America (US) and South Africa (SA). The US enacted the Bayh-Dole Act (BDA) in 1980 while SA enacted the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act (IPR-PFRD Act) in 2008. The main research question is whether Kenya ought to enact similar legislation. In addition to the main research question, there are six other secondary questions. The first and second research questions are explored in chapter two which discuss the enactment of the BDA and its impacts in the US. The dissertation uses literature to look at the legislative journey of the BDA which upon its enactment created a uniform approach towards the protection of federally funded R&D outcomes. Literature also points to the fact that years later, the BDA still invokes debates across the US and beyond. There is no consensus on the impact of the BDA. Despite the lack of a clear stand point on its exact effect, several countries have emulated the US and still continue to do so. The third and fourth research questions discussed in chapter three adopts a similar approach but focuses on SA, the first African country to emulate the BDA. The IPR-PFRD Act has been operational since 2010. The limited period of its existence means that the literature available is work in progress. Despite that, SA has had some impacts experienced so far across its leading universities in the form of; realignment of IP policies to comply with the provisions of the IPR-PFRD Act as well as discussions among researchers, innovators and the National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO). There is evidence that Universities, industries and NIPMO are trying to implement the spirit as well as the letter of the IPR-PFRD Act. The fifth and sixth questions discussed in chapter four turn to Kenya. The dissertation tries to establish whether there is a demand in Kenya for legislation that regulates publicly financed R&D outcomes. It proposes that the time is not yet ripe for Kenya to have a BDA model, but that Kenya needs to first develop sustainable capacity and infrastructure to support the protection, management and ownership of IP. Chapter five concludes that Kenya can learn invaluable lessons from the US and SA when it considers regulating publicly-financed R&D outcomes.

We live in an economy where intangible assets have become valuable commodities. These intangible assets are created by individuals, or groups who apply their creativity and ingenuity appropriately. The result of such ingenuity and creativity is product that is deemed to be so important that it qualifies for legal protection. Such assets will benefit any individual, business, company or enterprise that has the ownership right or title and the ability to commercially exploit the asset. Therefore, there is an interest in the ownership and control of the assets as well as the manner in which legal entitlement is devised by the law. Where, the asset is an invention that is patentable the law has granted the employer ownership. This thesis considers how the law balances the right it gives to the employer and the compensation it grants the inventive employee. The thesis seeks to ensure that an employee-inventor has been adequately compensated for his ingenuity and for producing the fruits of his creativity.

My minor dissertation in Intellectual Property Law is about Copyright Law and infringement in relation to mobile television, Internet Protocol Television and Internet Television as well as the online services of downloading and streaming. The thesis will contain of five chapters. The first chapter will give an overview of the nature of the problem, the structure and methodology as well as the named media and their technological background. The second chapter will then introduce the relevant technologies, institutions in charge and the general legislation and will serve as background information for the main issues of copyright. Further I will discuss operational licenses, which have to be distinguished from content licenses in the copyright correlation. Chapter three will be the focus of my thesis and will deal with copyright in connection with ITV, IPTV and mobile-TV. It will inter alia portray the issues of infringement, liability, exceptions and limitations in the named context as well as the proposed Copyright Amendment Bill 2015. The fourth chapter will then commence by discussing the German copyright in the relevant aspects of the topic. It will pay special attention to the legal dichotomy of online-streaming. Chapter five will summarise and conclude the relevant findings of the copyright issues. It will further give prospect to the legal dichotomy in South Africa and how to handle it, since there is no applicable local jurisdiction yet. Hence it will go beyond the comparisons by looking ahead for the developing online media and the necessity of law to properly adapt to it.

No description available.

Immaterialrätten består av olika moment, bland annat upphovsrätt, patent samt varumärkesrätt, den här uppsatsen utgör en komparation mellan svensk och amerikansk upphovsrätt. På upphovsrättens område finns en rad olika internationella konventioner, bland annat, Bernkonventionen, TRIPS-avtalet samt WCT. I och med att länder ansluter sig till konventionerna och ratificerar dem i deras lagstiftning blir de också bundna av att följa dem och tillhandahålla de rättsmedel som föreskrivs för att kunna upprätthålla en fungerande upphovsrättslagstiftning. På upphovsrättens område har även EU kommit upp med direktiv, bland annat infosoc-direktivet samt IPRED-direktivet, dessa bygger i huvudsak på de internationella konventionerna. Konventionerna är gjorda av minimibestämmelser vilket innebär att länderna kan ha en hårdare tillämpning än vad som föreskrivs i konventionerna. Minimiskydden är till för att de utvecklingsländer som inte har någon fungerande lagstiftning så att upphovsmannens rätt kan tillvaratas där. Författaren har i en omfattande analys kommit fram till slutsatsen att svensk och amerikansk upphovsrätt är förenliga med de internationella konventioner som de är bundna av, främst TRIPS-avtalet vad gäller tillhandahållande av rättsmedel för att säkerställa att upphovsrätten följs. Av slutsatsen följer även att de svenska och amerikanska lagarna är väldigt snarlika vad gäller de rättsmedel som finns att tillgå. Den amerikanska upphovsrätten är dock mera tillfredsställande för det allmännas intresse.

No description available.

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.

<p>Denna uppsats söker utröna gällande svensk rätt avseende möjligheten att nyttja upphovsrättsskyddat material utan upphovsmannens samtycke, så kallade <em>upphovsrättsinskränkningar</em>. Denna typ av bestämmelser har sin grund i artikel 9(2) Bernkonventionen och har sedermera utvecklats genom diverse andra internationella överenskommelser. Mest intressant är hur dessa upphovsrättsinskränkningar förhåller sig till modern teknik, främst gällande upphovsrättsskyddat material på Internet.</p><p>I svensk rätt har ett antal upphovsrättsinskränkningar vållat problem för upphovsmän, däribland undantaget om privat bruk som medger att bruk av upphovsrättsskyddade verk i privatlivet inte alltid utgör ett intrång i upphovsrätten. Denna inskränkning i upphovsrätten har förelegat särskilt olämplig att upprätthålla då uppkomsten av Internet har inneburit en allt för långtgående möjlighet att framställa exemplar av upphovsrättsskyddade verk för privat bruk. Med implementeringen av diverse internationella överenskommelser i svensk rätt har undantaget om privat bruk utvecklats för att bättre bevara upphovmännens intressen.</p><p>Uppsatsen visar vilka förutsättningar som måste vara uppfyllda för att undantaget om privat bruk skulle kunna hävdas. Vidare visas att bestämmelsen om kopiering för privat bruk numera kräver en laglig förlaga för att kunna komma i fråga, något som gör nedladdning av olovligt material från Internet olagligt.</p><p>Datorprogram, som inte omfattas av undantaget om privat bruk, kan dock under vissa förutsättningar ändå kopieras för privat bruk då lagen undantar en sådan handling från straffsanktion.</p>