Magister Legum - LLM / Traditional Knowledge (TK) is the long standing wisdom, teachings and practices of indigenous communities which have been passed on orally, in the majority of cases, from generation to generation. TK is expressed in the form, medicine, agriculture, understanding of the ecology, music, dance, stories, folklore, poetry, spiritual, cultural and artistic expressions, and knowledge relating to bio-diversity. This thesis focuses on plant bio-diversity, as part of TK, and the problem of bio-piracy. We attempt a definition of TK; its characteristics; possible measures that can be taken to ensure its protection; and challenges that are likely to be faced in seeking to ensure its protection, first at the global level, then with particular attention to South Africa. Some of the suggested measures include the enactment of sui generis laws to protect plant biodiversity, rather that the adaptation of the existing IP regime. Some of the challenges include unwillingness of some countries to participate in international initiatives, like the US, which is not even a signatory of the CBD, and the difficulty of identifying the persons in whom ownership of the TK should be vested when it is possessed by many communities.

Infringement in fields of Intellectual Property Rights is a global problem causing repeated and sustained attention at national and international levels. A number of different organizations and commissions are constantly control and counteract the growth of these infringements, but despite the taken measures counterfeit and piracy goods continue to be manufactured and sold around the world. The Russian Federation (RF) is a country that has close commercial ties with many foreign states, including Sweden. However the RF is one of the countries, included on the Special 301 Priority Watch List due to the continuing and large - scale of Property Rights and Intellectual Property Rights violations. In this connection, a study was conducted with the participation of collaborating Swedish - Russian enterprises, whose activities could be subjected to counterfeiting and IP piracy. The aim of the study is to determine how collaborating Swedish – Russian enterprises with branches in the Russian Federation perceive the situation in the country and assess the activities of Russian institutions that play an important role in controlling and combating violations against counterfeiting and IP piracy. Moreover the aim includes identifying the most vulnerable class of actors in the general mechanism of counterfeiting and IP piracy. The research based on elements of the New Institutional Economics Theory and conducted by using a combination of a literature review and semi- structured interview with representatives of Swedish - Russian enterprises. The study found that organizations are the most vulnerable class of actors in general mechanism of counterfeiting and IP piracy. International firms and companies are in a more difficult situation because they provide own activities simultaneously in several legal and political systems. Representatives of interviewed companies argue that activities of analyzed Russian institutions are insufficiently effective and the state should take a set of measures so the foreign collaborative organizations could feel confident in territory of the RF and Russian market would become more attractive for foreign business.

The goal of this diploma thesis is to introduce the intellectual property rights protection in the member states of the World Trade Organization and the main agreement that regulates this area, i.e. Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual property Rights. The only discussed topic in the current round of negotiations are geographical indications and the creation of multilateral system for notifying and registering geographical indications for wines and spirits. Moreover, the thesis deals with the work of the TRIPS Council and several disputes related to TRIPS fulfillment.

Used long time, trademarks have fundamental paper to designate provenance of products or manufacturers, in addition to having vast importance in relations between companies and consumers because they act as a safety factor for both, facilitating the identification of products and companies. In Brazil, obtained regulation from the Decree 2682 of 1875, and are currently regulated by Law nº 9279 of May 14, 1996, his registration is held by the INPI, and comes to be considered the most important among the intellectual properties. The objectives of this study are to evaluate whether the companies from Sergipe promote the protection of their trademarks through registration and investigate the use of the registry gives satisfactorily or not, in order to perform a state panorama related to trademark registration for that is subsequently possible to trace actions and objectives to promote the culture of protection of trademarks. The sample searched was 761 companies from Sergipe, subdivided into 5 groups of classes of activities, named according to their relationship with their branches and denominated as follows: Construction, Foods, Confection and Graphic Services and the remaining are grouped in a class called Other Activities, with branches ratings less significant occurrences. Data were collected from consultations in the systems of Federal Revenue Department and the INPI, and data analysis was performed using a quantitative approach, showing that only 8.94% of the surveyed companies made filing applications for trademark registrations. Data were collected from consultations in the systems of Federal Revenue Department and the INPI, and data analysis was performed using a quantitative approach, showing that only 8.94% of the surveyed companies made filing applications for trademark registrations, where 31,97% are registered, the same 31.97% are filed or extinct and the others in progress. Also showing an average of 8.62 years for the application to be made by the companies, counted from the year they were open, the prevalence of applications of trademarks of products, the branch of Construction with the worst numbers among business segments and Individual Entrepreneurs with worse outcomes between the legal natures of the companies analyzed. / Utilizadas há muito tempo, as marcas possuem papel fundamental para designar procedência de produtos ou fabricantes, além de possuir vasta importância nas relações entre as empresas e os consumidores pois agem como um fator de segurança para ambos, facilitando a identificação dos atributos dos produtos e das empresas. No Brasil, obtiveram regulamentação a partir do Decreto nº 2.682, de 1875, e atualmente são regidas pela Lei nº 9.279, de 14 de maio de 1996, seu registro é realizado pelo INPI, e chega a ser considerada a mais importante entre as propriedades intelectuais. Os objetivos deste estudo são avaliar se as empresas sergipanas promovem a proteção de suas marcas através do registro, e investigar se a utilização do registro se dá de forma satisfatória ou não, no intuito de realizar um panorama estadual relacionado ao registro de marcas para que, posteriormente, seja possível traçar ações e objetivos para promover a cultura de proteção às marcas. A amostra pesquisada foi de 761 empresas sergipanas, subdivididas em 5 grupos de ramos de atividades, denominados de acordo com sua relação com seus ramos e denominados da seguinte maneira: Construção, Alimentos, Confecção e Serviços Gráficos e as demais agrupados no grupo designado Outras Atividades, com classificações de ramos com ocorrências menos expressivas. Os dados foram coletados a partir de consultas nos sistemas da Receita Federal e do INPI, e a análise dos dados foi realizada com abordagem quantitativa, demonstrando que apenas 8,94% das empresas pesquisadas realizaram pedido de registro de marca, estando 31,97% registrados, os mesmos 31,97% arquivados ou extintos e os demais em andamento. Evidenciando, ainda, uma média de 8,62 anos para o pedido de registro ser efetuado pelas empresas, contados do ano em que foram abertas, a prevalência de pedidos de registro de marcas de produtos, o ramo da Construção com os piores números entre os ramos de atividades e os Empresários Individuais com os piores resultados entre as naturezas jurídicas das empresas analisadas.

An evaluation of American higher education distance education programs was conducted to explore how they approach intellectual property, copyright and information sharing/antitrust policy concerns for Internet-based programs. An evaluation of the current status of distance education and Internet-based training in higher education was conducted through a pilot study that included a random sample of 223 accredited institutions. Seventy-seven institutions responded to a survey, of which there were 14 Research I&II, 17 Doctorate I&II, and 46 Master's I&II institutions included in this study. A review of institutional policy approaches for these 77 institutions was conducted via Internet Web site and bulletin review. A multiple-case study was also conducted which included 10 of the top 30 accredited distance education institutions in America. Policy approaches were examined for all institutions and differences were discussed for public and private institutions as well as the following Carnegie Class institutions- Research I&II, Doctorate I&II and Master's I&II. Ten percent of all institutions that responded to the pilot study developed a written policy addressing antitrust/information-sharing concerns. Additionally, the data indicated that 22% of institutions in these Carnegie Class ranges published copyright and intellectual property policy on their institutions' Internet Web site. Ninety percent of the institutions in the case study advised of central control for the distance education program, as well as central control for copyright and intellectual property policy.

Following the Enlightenment, Western adherence to positivist theory influenced practices of Western research and documentation. Prior to the introduction of positivism into Western scholarship, innovations in printing technology, literary advancements, and the development of capitalism encouraged the passing of copyright statutes by nation-states in fifteenth century Europe. The evolution of copyright and positivism in Europe influenced United States copyright and its protection of the author, as well as the practice of archiving and its role in interpreting history. Because Native American cultures practiced orality, they suffered the loss of their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions not protected by copyright. By incorporating postmodern perspectives on archiving and poststructuralist views on the formation of knowledge, this thesis argues that Native American tribes now use Western forms of digital technology to create archives, record their histories, and reclaim control of their traditional cultural expressions.

Researchers, policy makers and practitioners alike have in recent years acknowledged a growing tendency towards opening up the innovation process by combining internal organizational assets with external actors’ resources. However, opening up the innovation process usually also entails revealing ideas, which may result in misappropriation. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate tensions related to the openness-appropriability relationship; this is done in three studies. The first study concerns a specific contextual factor that is likely to stress the openness-appropriability tensions: the location of external partners in innovation. The second study relates to the way managing openness-appropriability tensions affects performance, and the third study involves a theoretical discussion about the nature of the tensions occurring in the openness-appropriability relationship, i.e. paradoxical, dilemmatic, or dialectical. The first two studies apply quantitative methods, using survey data, while the third is a conceptual paper. The findings from the first study indicate that the use of different groups of appropriability mechanisms varies across various types of openness and that the location of external partners in innovation refines these linkages even more. The second study’s main takeaway is that the higher appropriability intensity, i.e. the extent to which appropriability mechanisms are put into practice, explains higher performance outcomes. The third study suggests that the tensions between openness and appropriability are more likely of paradoxical nature. From a theoretical perspective, findings indicate that paradoxical tensions between openness and appropriability may have a spatial dimension, and that these tensions should also be investigated in regards to performance. Managerial implications point out that opening up to innovation partners located abroad is likely to require more costly appropriability mechanisms. / <p>QC 20170126</p>

The automotive industry with its highly competitive environment together with high research and development costs is struggling to increase shareholder return. Cross-functional teams are employed to source suppliers which are helping to reduce production and development costs in close cooperation with the other departments. When working in a competitive environment and with external actors, intellectual property becomes increasingly important and organizational effort is directed to increase the generation and usage of such. Patent portfolio analysis is a well-known tool used to extract information from surrounding actors’ patents, which traditionally mainly was used for product development, but has potential to increase gross profit through cross-functional sourcing teams as well.  The purpose of this study is to investigate how to implement and use patent portfolio analysis as a cross-functional tool in the automotive industry. In order to fulfill the purpose, a qualitative case study has been conducted including both qualitative interviews, as well as action research in the form of workshops at the case company. The results were analyzed using a tailored framework denominated the system integration model which is a combination of the technology acceptance model and the managing strategy framework. The systems integration model was developed and validated by the researchers during the research process. The research result shows that patent portfolio analysis has a high perceived usefulness but a low actual system use within the studied company, especially in the sourcing department. The main barrier to use patent portfolio analysis cross-functionally was that the intellectual property strategy was not yet fully communicated and linked to the different departments’ objectives. There were also barriers found in the communication between- and the understanding of- each other’s departments, which could be reduced by increased education and promoting clear contact points and guidelines. The final conclusion of this research was that patent portfolio analysis likely could be used cross functionally to map the competitive landscape and increase gross profit by protection innovations through product development and sourcing. / Fordonssektorn kännetecknas av höga utvecklingskostnader och en konkurrenskraftig marknad där aktörerna strävar mot vinst till aktieägare. För att ge en hög avkastning till aktieägarna så arbetar man i tvärfunktionella team för att minska produktion och utvecklingskostnader samt för att anlita de bästa leverantörerna. Att arbeta i en konkurrenskraftig miljö med externa aktörer gör att immateriella rättigheter blir allt viktigare och företag satsar därför stora resurser för att detta ska hanteras på rätt sätt. Patentportföljanalys är ett välkänt verktyg för att extrahera information från omgivande aktörers patent, vilket traditionellt främst har använts i produktutveckling, men även har potential att öka bruttoresultat genom ett effektivare samarbete över avdelningar i tvärfunktionella inköpsteam. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur man implementerar och använder patentportföljanalys som ett tvärfunktionellt verktyg inom fordonssektorn. För att uppfylla syftet har en kvalitativ fallstudie genomförts genom kvalitativa intervjuer och workshops vid det undersökta företaget. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av ett skräddarsytt ramverk som forskarna för denna undersökning benämnt som ”the system integration model”. Det här ramverket sammansvetsar den välkända modellen ”technology acceptance model” som syftar till att undersöka acceptans av ny teknik och den välkända modellen ”Managing four processes” som handlar om hur man skapar ett strategiskt management verktyg. ”The system integration model” utvecklades och validerades av forskarna i flera steg under studien. Resultatet visar att patentportföljanalys har en hög uppfattad nytta trots att det är låg systemanvändning i det undersökta företaget i dagsläget, särskilt i inköpsavdelningen. Den största barriären för användandet av patentportföljanalysen verkar vara att företagsstrategin för immateriella rättigheter ännu inte har kommunicerats och kopplats till de olika avdelningarna fullt ut. Det noterades även barriärer i kommunikationen mellan- och förståelsen för- de olika avdelningarna, vilken kan minskas genom utbildning och tydliga kontaktpunkter och riktlinjer. Den här undersökningen indikerar ytterligare på att patentportföljanalys är användbart i tvärfunktionella team då det ger möjligheten att kartlägga konkurrenslandskapet, säkra produkt- och eftermarknadsexklusivitet och förbättra leverantörsavtal, vilket i sin tur kan öka bruttovinsten.

The master's work consists of 117 sheets, 127 bibliographic sources and 4 applications are used. Relevance of the research topic. The active turnover of the intangible results of human labor is an integral part of modern economic relations. The process of quality development of individual organizations, and the economy as a whole, is directly related to the continuous improvement of technical means and technologies. The purpose of the study is the development of measures to improve the management of intellectual property in the medical field by the example of FGBU "RNTS" VTO "them. Acad. G.A. Ilizarov ”of the Ministry of Health of Russia (hereinafter the Ilizarov Center; Center). To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set and solved: to study the concept and essence of intellectual property in economic and legal aspects; to analyze the financial and economic activities of the Center; develop measures to improve the management of intellectual property of the Center. The study made it possible to clarify the concept of “medical intellectual property”, to substantiate the new classification signs of intellectual property of a medical institution, to develop an algorithm for managing intellectual property in a medical institution. Significance. The author has developed measures for managing intellectual property in the provision of medical services, and also has proposed an organizational and methodological mechanism for the implementation of practical recommendations. / Магистерская работа состоит из 117 листов, использовано 127 библиографических источников и 4 приложения. Актуальность темы исследования. Активный оборот нематериальных результатов человеческого труда является неотъемлемой частью современных экономических отношений. Процесс качественного развития отдельно взятой организаций, и экономики в целом, напрямую связан с непрерывным совершенствованием технических средств и технологий. Цель исследования – разработка мер по совершенствованию управления объектами интеллектуальной собственности в медицинской сфере на примере ФГБУ «РНЦ «ВТО» им. акад. Г.А. Илизарова» Минздрава России (далее Центр им. Илизарова; Центр). Для достижения указанной цели были поставлены и решены следующие задачи: изучить понятие и сущность интеллектуальной собственности в экономическом и правовом аспектах; провести анализ финансово-хозяйственной деятельности Центра; разработать мероприятия по повышению эффективности управления интеллектуальной собственностью Центра. Проведенное исследование позволило уточнить понятия «объект медицинской интеллектуальной собственности», обосновать новые классификационные признаки интеллектуальной собственности медицинского учреждения, разработать алгоритм управления объектами интеллектуальной собственности в медицинском учреждении. Значимость. Автором разработаны мероприятия управления интеллектуальной собственностью при оказании медицинских услуг, а также предложен организационно-методический механизм реализации практических рекомендаций.

This thesis carries out empirical investigations of the possible impacts of institutions relating to different aspects of innovation, namely incremental innovation activities, collaborative research and development (R&D) activities and radical innovation outcomes. It comprises three studies. The first empirical study focuses on examining the impact of financial constraints and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection on incremental innovation. Using firm-level data from transition countries and employing a two-step probit model with endogenous regressors, this study provides evidence that both financing constraints and strong IPR protection are negatively associated with the incremental innovation activities of firms. Results also confirm that financing constraints faced by firms are significantly influenced by the overall levels of development of financial institutions within a country. The second empirical study looks at the effects of contracting institutions and intellectual property institutions on firms’ collaborative research and development (R&D) activities in developing and transition countries. By employing the Cragg double-hurdle model, this study finds that efficient contract enforcement has a positive effect on the likelihood of firms engaging in R&D partnership and the intensity of firms' expenditures on collaborative R&D. On the other hand, the decision of firms to participate in R&D partnerships and their level of expenditure on collaborative R&D are adversely affected by the strength of IPR protection. The third empirical study investigates the influences of a set of institutions on producing new-to-the-world technologies, as measured by patents. This study is conducted by using a large panel dataset of 98 developed and developing countries over a period of 23 years. Building on the idea production framework, the unconditional quantile regression (UQR) estimates of this study show that along with key research inputs (i.e., existing knowledge stock and resources devoted to R&D), the strength of IPR protection, quality of governance and functioning of financial institutions are also significant determinants of the patent output of a country. The UQR methodology also demonstrates that the effects of institutions on patent production are heterogeneous throughout the various quantiles of patent output distribution. This thesis, therefore, offers an example of how the new institutional economics (NIE) theory is applicable in analysing innovation performances. The findings of this thesis propose useful policy directions that can assist policymakers and managers in accelerating innovation and technological development. / Ministry of Public Administration, the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh