"Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maîtrise en droit (LL.M.) Option droit, Biotechnologies et société" / [À l'origine dans / Was originally part of : CRDP - Droit, biotechnologie et rapport au milieu] / Texte du mémoire également publié dans Lex Electronica ; vol. 10, no 2 (Été/Automne 2005) / Au cours de la dernière décennie, la pharmacogénomique est devenue le mantra révolutionnaire de nombreux chercheurs et de certains porte-paroles de l'industrie. L'intérêt que porteront les compagnies bio-pharmaceutiques du secteur privé à la recherche et au développement de nouveaux médicaments pharmacogénomiques sera déterminé par la facilité à obtenir du financement et les perspectives de retombées économiques. Dans cette perspective, le droit de la propriété intellectuelle (plus spécifiquement le droit des brevets) a toujours été l'instrument de prédilection pour motiver la recherche et le développement des produits pharmaceutiques. Cependant, l'extension de ce droit au domaine de la pharmacogénomique est controversé. Cette étude évalue l'applicabilité du système international des brevets au domaine de la pharmacogénomique. Suite à une analyse comparative du droit et des principaux textes normatifs, applicables aux brevets pharmaceutiques et biotechnologiques, ainsi qu'à une revue de la doctrine, l'étude soutient que le système de brevets reste une solution viable pour encourager la recherche et le développement dans le domaine de la pharmacogénomique. Cependant, certains ajustements sont nécessaires pour empêcher que des brevets trop larges, ayant des fondements juridiques douteux, ne soient octroyés sur des nouveaux tests de diagnostic pharmacogénomiques et sur des nouveaux outils de diagnostic pharmacogénomiques, ce qui serait néfaste à la recherche et limiterait l'accès aux soins de santé. Plusieurs stratégies sont proposées pour promouvoir un système de brevets applicable au domaine des biotechnologies qui, tout en donnant la motivation nécessaire aux inventeurs et à l'industrie, protégerait nos valeurs humaines fondamentales. / In the last decade, pharmacogenomics has become the "revolution" mantra for numerous researchers and industry representatives. The research interest of the industry for pharmacogenomics will be determined by financing possibilities and prospective economic benefits. In this perspective, the intellectual property system (more specifically patents), has always been the privileged tool to motivate research and development of pharmaceutical products. However, its application to pharmacogenomics is controversial. This study evaluates the applicability of the international patent system to the area of pharmacogenomics. A comparative review and analysis of international laws and guidelines applicable to biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents as well as a review of the literature was carried out. Our study found that the patent system remains a viable solution to promote research and development of pharmacogenomics. However, some adjustments are needed to ensure that overbroad patent having a weak legal basis are not granted on both new pharmacogenomic research tools and diagnostic tests since this could be detrimental to research and limit access to healthcare. Strategies are suggested to promote a patent system, applicable to the field of biotechnology, that will give the necessary incentive to inventors and industry while protecting our fundamental human values.

AI technology is becoming more present in the area of innovation and creativity, an area that for so long has been reserved for humans. Intellectual property protection is a way to incentivise these innovations and creativity, but what happens to this incentive if we extend this protection to subject-matter that derives from AI-machines? Today, the legislation does not answer how such works should be treated and there are several complex intellectual property issues raised by AI-generated creations. The general public might believe that the answer is simple – when an AI-machine creates something, the owner of that creation ought to be the programmer of the AI. However, it is not that straightforward in intellectual property law since it is intended to award innovation and creativity, qualities that typically only humans can attain. Therefore, the intellectual property laws today are not sustainable and need to be adapted to the challenges posed by AI. This thesis examines the challenges of the implied human requirement, harmonisation issues, the risks of discouraging creation and creations derivative from other subject-matter. Different solutions have been discussed in the debate and in legislative initiatives in the EU. Inspiration can also be found also from other law regimes, such as the United Kingdom, United States of America and China, and recent case-law from Australia. Some of the solutions that are in the centre of the debate are giving AI-machines legal personhood, introducing a special computer-generated works regime and to create a sui generis protection. After a review of the different options in the analysis part of this thesis, the most suitable solution for the EU, in my opinion, appears to be introducing a special computer-generated works regime where the IP holder will be determined based on the involvement in the creating process and will always be a natural or legal person. This solution will guarantee legal certainty and is in line with current principles and the general goal to promote innovation and investment.

Der 3D-Druck greift als Vervielfältigungsgerät in das Kernrecht des Urhebers ein. Der private Nutzer kann mit “Copy and Paste” alle Objekte drucken. Das Vervielfältigungsrecht des Urhebers wird durch eine private Nutzung von 3D-Druckern zu Hause, in FabLabs, Hackerspaces oder 3D-Druck Copyshops eingeschränkt werden. Das Urheberrecht als Eigentumsrecht aus Art. 14 GG wird mit dem Recht des Nutzers auf Information und Meinungsfreiheit nach Art. 5 GG abgewogen. Diese Abwägung ist in Zeiten der Digitalisierung, des Internets und der neuen Technologien eine der wichtigsten für das geistige Eigentum. Mit dem 3D-Druck steht und fällt die Frage nach der Vervielfältigungsfreiheit und der Suche nach alternativen Vergütungsmodellen. Schafft der § 53 Abs.1, Abs. 7 UrhG einen Interessenausgleich zwischen Urhebern und Nutzern? Die Arbeit untersucht die Vervielfältigung von Werken der angewandten Kunst unter dem Aspekt der Geburtstagszugentscheidung des BGH und macht die notwendige rechtlichen Änderungen deutlich. / 3D printing is not only a technical topic but also a topic for creators. The 3D printer intervenes the core right of creators and makes copyright issues obvious. 3D printing is a new usage under section § 31 UrhG. The private user can "copy and paste" to reproduce any objects. The question is how the right of the creator can be restricted by private use of 3D printers at home, in FabLabs, hackerspaces or 3D printing copy shops. Copyright as a property right in Art. 14 GG faces the user's right to information and freedom of expression under Art. 5 GG. Balancing these two fundamental rights is one of the crucial questions for intellectual property in times of digitization, internet and new technologies, as 3D printing is also about freedom of reproduction and alternative compensation models. To what extent creates section § 53 para. 1, para. 7 UrhG a balance of interests for applied art? This present works examines the reproduction of applied art under the “Geburtstagszugentscheidung” and the necessity of reforming legislation in the age of 3D printers.

Beim Austausch von Intellectual Properties (IP) entsteht das Problem, daß der Anwender oftmals nicht sicher feststellen kann, ob die gewünschte Parameterkombination unterstützt wird bzw. ob die IP mit den gewünschten Einstellungen korrekt arbeitet. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, eine mögliche Lösung zur Parameterprüfung bereitzustellen. Im Rahmen des vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) geförderten Projekts Intellectual Property Qualifikation für effizientes Systemdesign [IPQ] wurde dazu das Entwurfswerkzeug entwickelt. Anhand einer durch den Entwerfer vorgegebenen formalen Beschreibung der Parameter und ihrer Abhängigkeiten untereinander prüft eine vom Werkzeug automatisch generierte Testbenchkomponente, ob alle Bedingungen eingehalten werden. Des weiteren berechnet diese Komponente auf der Basis vorgegebener Gleichungen verschiedene Systemeigenschaften, wie beispielsweise die maximale Taktfrequenzabweichung zwischen Sender und Empfänger einer seriellen Übertragungsstrecke. Diese können dann vom Anwender mit der ihm vorliegenden Spezifikation verglichen werden. ist außerdem in der Lage, anhand der Parameterabhängigkeiten die verschiedenen Kombinationen von Einstellungen zu berechnen, die nötig sind, um den kompletten Parameterraum abzudecken, und diese in Form eines Parameter-Domänen-Graphen darzustellen. Mit Hilfe dieses Graphen ist der Anwender in der Lage, Kombinationen gezielt so auszuwählen, daß ein möglichst hoher Verifikationsgrad der IP erreicht wird, ohne unnötig viele Simulationen durchführen zu müssen.

abstract: My Critical Yoga Studies investigation maps from the early 20th century to present day how yoga has become white through U.S. law and cultural productions, and has enhanced white privilege at the expense of Indian and people of color bodies. I position Critical Yoga Studies at the intersection of Yoga Studies, Critical Race Theory, Indigenous Studies, Mobilities Studies, and transnational American Studies. Scholars have linked uneven development and racial displacement (Soja, 1989; Harvey, 2006; Gilmore, 2007). How does racist displacement appear in historic and current contexts of development in yoga? In my dissertation, I use yoga mobilities to explain ongoing movements of Indigenous knowledge and wealth from former colonies, and contemporary “Indian” bodies, into the white, U.S. settler nation-state, economy, culture, and body. The mobilities trope provides rich conceptual ground for yoga study, because commodified yoga anchors in corporal movement, sets billions of dollars of global wealth in motion, shapes culture, and fuels complex legal and nation building maneuvers by the U.S. settler state and post-colonial India. Emerging discussions of commodified yoga typically do not consider race and colonialism. I fill these gaps with critical race and Indigenous Studies investigations of yoga mobilities in contested territories, triangulating data through three research sites: (1) U.S. Copyright law (1937-2015): I chart a 14,000% rise in U.S. yoga copyrights over a century of white hoarding through archival study in Copyright Public Records Reading Room, Library of Congress; (2) U.S. popular culture/music (1941-1967): I analyze twentieth-century popular song to illustrate how racist tropes of the Indian yogi joined yoga’s entry into U.S. popular culture, with material consequences; (3) Kerala, India, branded as India’s wellness tourism destination (2018): I engage participant-observation and interviews with workers in yoga tourism hubs to document patterns of racialized, uneven access to yoga. I find legal regimes facilitate extraction and displacement; cultural productions materially segregate and exclude; and yoga tourism is a node of racist capitalism that privileges white, settler mobility at the expense of Indian people, land, culture. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Justice Studies 2019

This thesis considers some conflicts involving indigenous peoples that arise from the universal standardization of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) over Plant Genetic Resources (PGR). My study presents the research problem of how to include indigenous peoples in dialogue as a prerequisite for conflict transformation. To better understand this problem, and potential solutions, I conducted participatory action research (PAR) through an ethnographic case study of Himalayan farmers working with the grassroots network Navdanya. The study explores the research question: how do Garhwali farmers experience grassroots mobilization for biodiversity and indigenous knowledge (IK) conservation? This question is intended to generate data for conflict resolution analysis on how to engage indigenous peoples in dialogue on the subject of IPRs over PGR. I discuss five themes that emerge from the data collected including: experiences and strategies in grassroots mobilization, culture and sharing, the seed, climate change and women. My research is divided into three separate, but interrelated elements. Firstly, I discuss my methodological choices and experiences. Secondly, I present the ethnographic research, thematic data analysis and draw conclusions. Finally, I frame the literature in the context of the theory of structural violence to explain the significance of conflicts arising from IPRs over PGR in the context of the erosion of IK systems and biodiversity.

No description available.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Applied ethics for professionals Johannesburg / The advent of digital ICT has raised a range of privacy problems that previously did not occur, owing to the scope and volume of data that can be collected, as well as the processing capacity of the application. These digital privacy problems are arguably not easily addressed within any particular traditional macroethical framework. We may therefore need to find an alternative approach. One such approach is proposed by Luciano Floridi, who has devised “Information Ethics” - a macroethics for the identification, clarification and solution of digital ethical issues. While IE is useful in that it highlights questions of digital agency, it will be demonstrated that it is flawed when applied to problems of privacy posed by digital ICT. IE, however, points us in the right direction: An object-oriented ethics may be able to address the issue of digital agents. In this essay I develop an argument for the moral intentionality of digital agents, based on the concepts of emergent value and indirect intentionality, that can underpin an object-oriented ethical approach to digital privacy for both digital and human agents. Using Nissenbaum’s concept of contextual spheres, I provide normative guidelines for evaluating the competing interests of agent-objects in various digital spheres. A brief evaluation of the approach, by way of an example, shows that the object-oriented LoA that I am proposing can be adopted for digital privacy problems. In such cases, and for the specific purpose of weighing up the competing rights and values of the agents and patients, we can treat all agents (human and non-human) as both intentionality and real. This provides a reading of the case that goes beyond the consequentialist or ownership-based approaches, and arguably gets closer to the heart of the issue. Where the approach is still open, however, is that we still have to justify and balance these interests. There is no simple formula to apply. A need for practical wisdom or Phronesis, in the form of a judicious weighing of moral interests, continues to apply to digital problems posed by ICT. / GR2017

In this thesis, the aim is to address the persistent challenges posed by differing perspectives despite the establishment of the TRIPS agreement, which serves as a shared foundation for addressing legal and practical gaps among jurisdictions worldwide. The focus is on analyzing the Bolar exemptions within TRIPS Flexibilities for pharmaceutical patents in three specific regions: the Republic of Finland, the People's Republic of China (China), and the United States (the US). By employing a hierarchical approach that incorporates deductive theory, examination of legal cases, and literature review, this research aims to identify and resolve disparities between these jurisdictions. Both international law and national legal systems are scrutinized to ensure comparability across the three continents. Ultimately, the study presents a comprehensive assessment of the advantages and disadvantages associated with implementing Bolar provisions in each country, particularly in the context of facilitating access to vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dissertation comprises of two chapters that use applied econometric techniques to analyze policy related questions that have implications for educational outcomes and one chapter that assesses factors that influence foreign direct investment inflows. In the first chapter I study the impact of equity premiums on the completion numbers of minority students. In the second chapter I assess the impact that state funding cuts for higher education may have on completion numbers across racial and ethnic lines. For the last chapter I study the relationship between intellectual property rights and foreign direct investmentFor chapter one, I study the impact that equity premiums inclusion in performance-based funding models have on the completion numbers of minority students. Using a combination of administrative data over the period 2004 to 2018 with two-way fixed effects methods, I investigate the impact of the premiums on completion numbers of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students. My estimates show that in the short run (up to 2 years post-policy) there are no changes in the completion numbers of at-risk students in adopting and non-adopting states. Secondly, there is heterogeneity in policy effects across ethnicity, in particular Hispanic student completion numbers decrease in adopting states. Thirdly, public institutions become more selective in their admissions of at-risk students post-policy, which may lead to the overall null effects I establish. For chapter two, I investigate whether there exist variations in how state funding cuts for higher education may impact on completion numbers across racial and ethnic lines. Combining administrative data from 1997 to 2018 with two-stage least squares methodology, I test how institutional state funding instrumented by total state funding may influence completion numbers across racial categories. I find that changes in state funding have no significant impact on the completion numbers for each racial category of students. For chapter three, I extend Spatz and Nunnenkamp’s (2003) analysis by using a panel dataset to determine a causal relationship between intellectual property right (IPR) protections and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. Using a fixed-effects Poisson model my results shows that IPR is a causal determinant of FDI within the manufacturing industry. My study concludes that as a country improves their IPR protections, the positive impact on FDI within the manufacturing industry, increases at a decreasing rate. / Economics