In today’s data-driven society, also called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Text and Data Mining (TDM) has become an essential tool in managing the booming Big Data in its different sizes and forms. It is also an inherent part of AI research using machine learning, where these techniques highly depend on datasets derived from TDM to self-learn and to make autonomous decisions. Through the lens of copyright and related rights, TDM may be used to train AI for the purpose of AI-driven creativity, where AI has already helped in actualizing paintings, compose music and to produce movie trailers. However, since TDM typically involves extraction and/or copying of works and other subject matter protectable by copyright and related rights – in order to create datasets relevant to each AI project – it is at risk of infringing the exclusive right of reproduction and sui generis database right under the EU acquis. Indeed, TDM used for the purpose of AI-driven creativity may not necessarily amount to an infringement, if the restricted act is covered by prima facie an available exception or limitation. Several pre-existing exceptions and limitations under the EU acquis, i.e. temporary act of reproduction, scientific research, normal use of a database, extraction of insubstantial part from a database and the mandatory exception for computer programs, have been examined as possible candidates to screen unlicensed TDM activities from copyright and related rights infringement. However, this thesis observes that due to their narrow scope and the legal fragmentation caused by the voluntary implementation of some of the exceptions, these are not fully adapted to cover unlicensed TDM and thus creating legal uncertainties for AI developers. In this regard, in order to transfers the fundamental principle of copyright and related rights into the digital age and to compete with legal systems that offer a more friendly environment for TDM (e.g. US, Japan and UK), the European legislator adopted the Digital Single Market Directive 2019/790 (DSM Directive) comprising two obligatory TDM exceptions in articles 3 and 4. However, despite the reduction of several legal uncertainties and the diverging national implementations of the pre-existing exceptions and limitations, the adopted regime has significant shortcoming that may hinder the AI development in Europe. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that despite following an approach that better fits the digital environment, the DSM Directive fails to address the new era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to which AI belongs.

This thesis aims to clarify how the Single market policy and the Social policy of the European Union has changed since the Treaty of Rome (1957) and what opportunities and/or constraints there might be for integrating gender mainstreaming within the policies.  In order to determine how the policy development affects the prospects of integrating gender mainstreaming, a case study supplemented with the method of content analysis is carried out. Furthermore, the thesis adopts a historical institutionalist perspective. Thereby, policy change is operationalised with the help of Peter Hall ́s theory of the three orders of change. It is therefore assumed that the concept of path dependency will explain how policy changes opens up opportunities for or constrain the integration of gender mainstreaming in the policy-making process.  The main findings show that the Single market policy mostly changed in accordance with the first order of change and that the Social policy mostly changed in accordance with the second order of change. These findings imply that a paradigm shift of the fundamental ideas and objectives of the policies have not occurred since the signing of the Treaty of Rome which complicates future integration of gender mainstreaming in the policies.

E-commerce is an arguably new way of trading goods or services for monetary values through electronic means. It has increased in volume over the past years and it is not predicted to stop increasing in Sweden. The Swedish market holds a substantial amount of internet users who are in fact e-consumers. The European Union has taken a series of measures to harmonize the legislation regarding e-commerce in order to increase cross border e-commerce between the member states. The authors aimed to investigate the effect of the Swedish legislation on foreign companies’ establishment process on the Swedish e-commerce market. In order to achieve this, two in-depth interviews were conducted, one with a lawyer with considerable competence regarding e-commerce and the other one was in association with our case study on a French company that recently entered the Swedish e-commerce market. The research resulted in the notion that the Swedish legislation does differ from the European legal standards and that foreign ECCs have to adapt to the Swedish legislation. Another important finding is that European legislation is different between nations due to the variations in the interpretations of the same law text incorporated into the national legislations in the member states of the European Union. The resource based model of entry was also re-interpreted to facilitate the internationalization process of the companies.

E-handeln inom Europa växer explosionsartat och tillgång till varor och tjänster är i dagsläget endast några få knapptryck bort. Eftersom åtkomsten till internet är global kan hemsidor och webbshoppar få en enorm internationell spridning. Näringsidkare som bedriver fysisk handel kan enkelt anpassa sig till lagar, språk, valuta mm. i landet där deras verksamhet är placerad, men anpassningen på internet, i cybervärlden, är svårare. Geolokalisering är en teknik som gör det möjligt för näringsidkare att kunna anpassa sig, genom att lokalisera och fastställa var internetanvändare befinner sig. När en internetanvändares geografiska placering är fastställd, kan näringsidkaren anpassa utbud, reklam, språk och valuta på hemsidan som denne bedriver. Möjligheten att kunna lokalisera internetanvändare på detta sätt, är ur ett affärsmässigt perspektiv mycket lönsamt för en näringsidkare. Geolokaliseringen ger även näringsidkaren en möjlighet till att geoblockera internetanvändare från dennes hemsida, genom att exempelvis helt blockera åtkomst, anpassa vilka produkter internetanvändaren får åtkomst till eller omdirigera internetanvändare från en version av hemsidan till en annan. Geoblockering kan därför underlätta det för en näringsidkare att följa regler och lagar i de olika länderna där dennes hemsida är tillgänglig. Immaterialrätter är i regel skyddade inom olika territorium. Med immaterialrätter följer ensamrätt till användande av rättigheten inom skyddsområdet. En näringsidkare som säljer varor på sin e-handels hemsida, som är eller kan vara omfattade av andra innehavares rättighetsskydd, kan använda geoblockering som ett verktyg för att helt undvika eller anpassa sig till de olika immaterialrättsliga skyddsområdena. Kommissionen har meddelat att ett av EU:s mål är att skapa en digital inre marknad och förhindra diskriminering mot konsumenter baserat på nationalitet, bostadsort eller geografisk placering. Diskrimineringen kan utgöras av exempelvis olika begränsningar för en konsument som vill få tillgång till ett innehåll eller köpa varor på internet. En sådan begränsning kan vara geoblockering. Den 25 maj 2016 lade Kommissionen fram ett förordningsförslag, som syftar till att förbjuda omotiverad geoblockering. I november 2016 enades Rådet om ett utkast till förordningen. Förordningsförhandlingarna förväntas påbörja så snart som Europaparlamentet enats om sin ståndpunkt. Frågan är hur ett förbud mot geoblockering kan komma att påverka näringsidkare inom e-handeln, ur ett immaterialrättsligt perspektiv.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE PROHIBITION ON PARALLEL IMPORTS RESTRICTIONS WITHIN COMPETITION LAW OF THE EUROPEAN UNION The aim of this thesis is to analyse the current approach of EU competition law to parallel imports restrictions in light of nearly a half-century of EU Courts' case-law's evolution and in comparison with the approach adopted by US antitrust law. The traditional attitude of the EU Courts and of the Commission towards competition restraints of this type is described in literature in clear terms. However, this is not the case when it comes to the recent and current ambiguous developments within EU competition law. Therefore, this thesis aims to verify these two hypotheses. The first hypothesis says that evolution of the EU institutions approach to parallel imports restrictions has a circular nature: it starts from the traditional, intransigent position adopted in the early decades of European integration and it continues through a more lenient, economic approach in the period of the so called modernization of EU competition law to return to a rather traditional attitude typical of the current times. According to the second hypothesis, the current EU institutions' attitude towards parallel imports restrictions has nevertheless been shifted, during the modernization period, to a more...

This thesis "Current development of the European legislation regarding copyright" deals with the current EU proposals on the modernization of copyright. For the purposes of this work, I have determined as "current" the proposals and documents published between 2015 and 2017 due to the consistency of the pursued objectives and the close interrelation between relevant EU documents. The main target of this work is to present key documents, whether accepted or proposed, to update European copyright for the needs of the digital world. This work is divided into eight chapters representing not only the proposals but also the environment into which they will be incorporated. For this reason, the first three chapters briefly address the introduction of the basic concept of copyright, as well as the harmonization of rights in the EU and the existing legislative framework in Europe (including international treaties and EU measures). In the following chapter, I introduce digitization and the internet as important factors, which affected copyright to such an extent that it appears in some ways to be completely incompatible with modern age. The fifth chapter highlights the main target of the ongoing adaptation of copyright law, which is the creation of a single digital market within the EU. The core parts of...

The aim of the diploma thesis is to evaluate consequences of the United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union to financial sector and provide different view of the issue than studied analysis carried out so far. The thesis proves the size, broad structure and unique position of the British financial sector in Europe and the world. Theoretical part focuses on the historical perspective, to the explanation of how the financial system works, last but not least to the crucial regulatory norms and sector participants. Based on real and specific data, practical part explains the scope of financial sector, its significance and analyses the UK role in the approval process of specific regulatory standards. Lobbying is denoted as an effective way of influencing standards towards national interests. In conclusion, thesis provides an overview of UK losses and benefits after Brexit, including a proposal for modification the practical operation of the financial system and pay attention to problematic areas. It is demonstrated that Britain for its scale of the financial sector has been long-term influencing European regulation of the sector and despite withdrawal from European Union likely remain a global financial centre.

In recent years there has been a growing internal debate within the EU regarding the direction of its trade policy. Circled around the understanding of a geoeconomic development within the international economic sphere, the Union is divided in terms of how to best respond in this proclaimed situation for ensuring its future success and prosperity. Where the European Commission has adopted several protectionist measures at the same time as upholding its liberal route one may ask what this implies for the future, as well as what the underlying forces behind this trend are, which is part of the general aim of this study. Previous research has provided both rationalistic and constructivist approaches to analyzing EU’s trade policy agenda, where rationalistic approaches has investigated to which degree trade policy has been politicized and constructivists more focused to understanding to which degree ideas, norms and values has contributed to the Commission’s legitimization and continuation of liberal trade politics. However, the area of discourse(s) role in this nexus is left relatively unexplored. With use of the IR theories of Realism and Liberalism as well as the methods of Critical Discourse Analysis and Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework for critical discourse analysis, this paper examines the main respective arguments of the debate regarding a New European Industrial Strategy, through three dimensions of discourse(s): as text, discursive practice and social practice. Findings suggests that realist discourses have gained traction within the Commission at the same time as it is constrained by institutional and integrational discourses, which are factors that indeed may result in troublesome years to come.

Cette étude est structurée autour du constat d’un hiatus entre la poursuite d’unprojet politique de nature fédérale, la monnaie unique, et une mise en oeuvre reposant surdes outils appartenant à un état centralisé, le contrôle budgétaire à priori. Cette situation,résulte d’abord du manque de confiance entre les Etats mais l’utilisation d’outils inadaptés aubut poursuivi génère de nombreux dysfonctionnements. Le fait de confier par trois ensemblede textes [le « six pack », le « Two pack » et le Traité sur la stabilité, la coordination et lagouvernance au sein de l'Union économique et monétaire (TSCG)] à l'union européenne unecoordination économique qui ne soit plus uniquement indicative et la possibilité, donnée àcette dernière, d'indiquer aux Etats les réformes structurelles que ces derniers doivententreprendre, dans des domaines qui n'appartiennent pas au champ de compétences del'Union européenne, soulève pour le juriste de nombreuses questions à la fois sur lesfondements doctrinaux de l'Union européenne et sur les mécanismes institutionnels mis enoeuvre / This study is structured around the observation of a gap between the pursuit of apolitical project of a federal nature, the single currency, and implementation tools based onbelonging to a centralized state, the ante budgetary control. This situation results first of lackof trust between them, but the use of tools unsuitable for purpose generates numerousmalfunctions and feeling, for lack of a sufficiently strong association of national parliaments ofa "power of Brussels" seeking to assert itself against the will of the states and their peoples.three texts were introduced [the "six pack", the "Two pack" and the Treaty on Stability,Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union (TSCG)] in EuropeanUnion economic coordination that are no longer only indicative and the possibility for the EUto indicate to the structural reforms that these countries must undertake in areas that do notbelong to the field of competence of the European Union raised for the jurist many questionson both the doctrinal foundations of the European Union and on the institutional mechanismsimplemented.

Les règles de conflit de lois insérées dans les directives communautaires relatives à l'exercice des activités d'assurance offrent un exemple unique de règles de conflit étroitement associées aux objectifs du marché intérieur. L'examen de ces règles de droit positif insérées dans les directives révèle les orientations que le droit communautaire donne aux règles de droit international privé lorsque celles-ci sont perçues comme un enjeu du marché intérieur. Au plan de la théorie générale du droit international privé, ces règles de conflit rompent nettement avec le principe de neutralité de la règle de rattachement. Loin de se désintéresser du résultat atteint par l'application du droit désigné, elles intègrent au contraire des objectifs de droit matériel relevant tantôt de la nécessité d'intégration des marchés, tantôt des besoins de protection des assurés. Participant à l'achèvement du marché intérieur, ces règles s'inscrivent nécessairement dans une logique communautaire où les exigences de la libre circulation s'opposent à la nécessité de sauvegarder des intérêts généraux considérés comme légitimes, telle la protection des consommateurs. Transposée en droit international privé, cette tension constante entre deux objectifs contradictoires revient à opposer les mérites d'un rattachement fondé sur le libre choix de la loi applicable ou sur le lieu d'établissement de l'assureur, et ceux d'un rattachement à finalité protectrice basé sur la localisation du risque ou la résidence habituelle de l'assuré.