“Heavy” file sharers’ and “heavy” activists’ values and attitudes toward file sharing and intellectual property rights are analyzed in this thesis, with a focus on the conflict between property owners and non-owners. The purpose of this MA thesis is to investigate the perception of file sharing and intellectual property rights on the Internet. The main research questions is: How do “heavy” file sharers and “heavy” activists perceive file sharing and intellectual property rights on the Internet?. For answering it, critical political economy and both qualitative and quantitative methods are used. Therefore, the paper consists of two major parts. In the first part, the theoretical framework is introduced. In the second part, empirical research is presented and the theoretical framework is applied to the analysis of the gathered data. Data were collected with the help of a survey. The main results of the study suggest that “heavy” file sharers and “heavy” activists tend to have left-wing values and a left-wing political agenda behind file sharing, and perceive culture, and information and knowledge as “public goods”. Furthermore, “heavy” file sharers and “heavy” activists tend to contribute to the Net gift economy and share their created content in a way that constitutes an alternative to intellectual property rights, which they see as out-of-date.

An important dimension of contemporary capitalism is the global spread of intellectual property rights law, drawing new attention by governments and media to the unauthorized copying of fashion brands. In this dissertation, I draw on sixteen months of ethnographic research with small-scale, indigenous Maya garment manufacturers to examine the cultural and moral context of brand piracy in Guatemala. I analyze what practices of copying and imitation, some of which qualify as piracy under national and international law, among Maya manufacturers reveal about two aspects of the social field: first, changing economic and cultural conditions following waves of neoliberal economic and legal reform, and, second, the nonlinear reproduction of forms of moral and legal reckoning at the margins of the global economy and amidst mounting insecurities that include rising violent crime rates and legal impunity for violent crime. I examine how practices of copying and imitation among manufacturers and competitive behavior more generally are evaluated locally in light of kin relations that promote the sharing of knowledge and resources within a somewhat loose property regime and given ideologies of race and nation that encourage class-based solidarity among Maya people. I find that the normative models and business practices evident among these manufacturers parochialize official portraits of progress, business ethics, and development promoted in neoliberal policy agendas and international law. In addition, I analyze significant gaps between what fashion and branding mean in Guatemalan Maya communities and how they are understood in international projects of legal harmonization that are also about re-branding and re-imagining the Guatemalan nation. Neoliberal statecraft following a long internal armed conflict in Guatemala involves policy approaches that amplify the presence of global brands while compounding conditions of social and economic inequality that limit Maya men and women’s access to authorized goods. Meanwhile, Maya people are invited to participate in a modernist vision of citizenship and social progress that encourages a privatized model of indigenous identity mediated by branded commodities and formal market transactions. The brand emerges as a powerful medium through which claims to legitimacy and authority and senses of belonging are negotiated at national and local levels. / Anthropology

<p>Many critics have questioned whether the protection of the IPRs would benefit developing countries. It was argued in this paper that developing countires have the interest in protecting IPRs as well. However, it was showed that the benefit of this protection can be realized only if there is a fair rule of the game to all players in the multilateral trading system. The general objective of this research was to examine the current status of IPRs protection and the levels of TRIPS compliance by Rwanda in the area of copyright.</p>

ABSTRACT Purpose - This thesis analyses, firstly, how the environment affects the use of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in firms. Secondly, the connections between IPRs and firm's openness with regards to partner, phase, and content variety; and lastly, how firm's environment modifies IPRS-firm's openness relationship. Methodology - Based on a survey for R&amp;D managers or similar job positions in 415 Swedish, Finish and Italian manufacturing firms, after obtaining the raw data, the results will be evaluated and discussed in reference to the theoretical framework. Results - The paper displays the correlation between formal IP mechanisms and firm's environment. In this way, the study exposes the common use of this kind of protection, on one hand, to deal with rising development technology costs and shortening product life cycles, and, on the other hand, in a technological environment. In addition, the work exhibits the value of IPRs in early phases and commercialization in the innovation process, regarding the need to acquire knowledge in creation, and safeguard R&amp;D to take profit from it. Finally, the paper establishes a linear correlation that shows as higher environmental dynamism that leads to lower use of IPRs under OI regime. Limitations - This thesis is focused on formal IP protection mechanisms, firm's environment, and firm's openness, without pay attention to informal IP protection ways, which for sure are linked. This analysis is, however a subject for further research. Keywords: Intellectual property Rights, Firm's openness, Firm's environment, Survey.

<p>The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) ia a multilateral international treaty introduced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that came into effect on 1 June 1995. At a basic level it attempted to establish minimum standards for the regulation of intellectual property rights within those countries that are members of the WTO and signatories to it. This thesis served a dual purpose. The first leg was to embark on an investigation into TRIPS, criticallt analyzing the provisions of the Agreement. The important aim here was to analyze and discover whether TRIPS is sensitive to weaker countries. The second leg was to probe within the the legislative framework of South Africa and determine whether South Africa as a &quot / developing copuntry&quot / , has complied with the demands as expressed by TRIPS. This investigation was done with specific reference to South African patent law.</p>

<p>Many critics have questioned whether the protection of the IPRs would benefit developing countries. It was argued in this paper that developing countires have the interest in protecting IPRs as well. However, it was showed that the benefit of this protection can be realized only if there is a fair rule of the game to all players in the multilateral trading system. The general objective of this research was to examine the current status of IPRs protection and the levels of TRIPS compliance by Rwanda in the area of copyright.</p>

For the past two decades, intellectual property law has been the fastest growing and most dynamic field in Indonesia. But, despite impressive and extensive legal reform conducted by the Indonesian government in the area, intellectual property laws remain very difficult to enforce. Ignorance of intellectual property law is widespread within the country and protection of intellectual property rights is both practically and legally weak.

This thesis analyses how intellectual property (IP) laws are used in the home console game industry and in particular how these laws are used to capture the returns on investment, which may indirectly provide a stimulus to innovation. The relationshipis evaluated in three selected markets: The United States (US), the European Union (EU) and People's Republic of China (PRC). The first two of these are selected as representative of developed markets whilst the latter as an instance of an emerging market. This thesis analyses and illustrates ways in which three major types of intellectual property rights - patents, copyright and trademarks - operate in this sector of industry. This thesis evaluates this relationship via a unique approach, adopting both a legal and economic analysis. The thesis starts with a detailed market analysis of this industry to identify key factors that affect individual firms' abilities to capture returns on investment. This is followed by section II (comprising Chapters II to IV) which goes on to examine the effects of each type of IPR on these factors in the developed markets of the US and Europe. The analysis in section III shifts the focus from these developed markets to the emerging market in the PRC. It identifies the unique attributes and problems of the Chinese market and demonstrates how contemporary local IP laws can be used to tackle these problems. It is the view of this thesis that IP laws theoretically can be used to maximise a firm's return on investment while not distorting competition; hence, the thesis suggests that IPRs may indirectly create incentives to innovate.

Traditional medicine, the use of plants, animals, and minerals for human health needs must be brought toa new scientific level of sustainable development in order to accommodate future global health care needs.

This thesis attempts to illuminate and problematize the marriage of capitalism and colonialism that results in the widespread appropriation of Indigenous expressions of culture, and in particular, totem poles. This project complicates our understanding of totem poles as they have been presented in the marketplace and restores some of the intricate legal meaning to these incredible works. First, I examine Canadian intellectual property law and colonial policies of cultural erasure like the potlatch ban. Next, I explore the use of rights discourse, or legalism, as a potential route for solutions to this issue. I then conduct case studies of three totem poles. I examine one totem pole as a commodity, one functioning as a piece of art and someone's livelihood, and one as part of a Tlingit legal tradition. This last totem, as a materially appropriated object, provides an opportunity to explore the treatment of totem poles in proper context and also functions as a suggested solution to Indigenous art appropriation more broadly. My intervention on this last totem reframes these issues in a non-Western legal cannon to attempt to address these difficult legal questions. My examination of these three totems serves to destabilize our understanding of totem poles sold in the marketplace, and to broaden our understanding of totems as manifestations of Indigenous laws. / Graduate