The Right to Repair

In recent decades, companies around the world have deployed an arsenal of tools-including IP law, hardware design, software restrictions, pricing strategies, and marketing messages-to prevent consumers from fixing the things they own. While this strategy has enriched companies almost beyond measure, it has taken billions of dollars out of the pockets of consumers and imposed massive environmental costs on the planet. In The Right to Repair, Aaron Perzanowski analyzes the history of repair to show how we've arrived at this moment, when a battle over repair is being waged-largely unnoticed-in courtrooms, legislatures, and administrative agencies. With deft, lucid prose, Perzanowski explains the opaque and complex legal landscape that surrounds the right to repair and shows readers how to fight back.

The Transformation of Global Intellectual Property Protection

This chapter traces the transformation of global intellectual property protection. The classical Convention regime, epitomised by the Paris Convention protecting industrial property and the Berne Convention protecting copyright, dominated the international IP scene for about a century. Other norm sets have become relevant for IP more recently. These often strengthen IP rights or grant them complementary protection and include international investment agreements (IIAs), predominantly in the form of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and investment chapters in trade treaties; the protection of property ownership as a fundamental right; private regulation of IP; and IP-specific counter-norms. Ultimately, this transformation of global IP law necessitates a broadening of the constitutional discourses relevant for IP. Constitutional pluralism, new constitutionalism, and societal constitutionalism represent the main currents of such global constitutional discourses.

Hedge or Counterweight? New Constitutionalism and the Role of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Intellectual Property Litigation

This chapter looks at Canadian intellectual property law through a new constitutionalist lens. Over the past few decades, Canada has been the target of several international measures in the area of IP law. The chapter examines these measures through the lens of the theory of new constitutionalism. Doing so suggests that these measures have certain significant similarities: they all seek to use international trade law as a means through which to lock in strong protections for owners under Canada's IP system and to limit the ability of either the Government of Canada or Canadian courts to shape IP laws so as to constrain the exclusive rights of IP owners. Beginning from the position that IP rights ought to ‘serve human values’, the chapter proceeds by considering whether, and to what extent, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Canadian Charter) can produce counter-norms to those promoting strong protection for right-holders that are provided by international trade law. It argues that while the Canadian Charter has traditionally had little impact on Canada's IP system, it can and ought to play a more prominent role in this area by helping to preserve space for the Government of Canada to legislate in the public interest.

Is Innovation a sound justification for Medical Patents?

This essay will interrogate the legality of medical patents, arguing that one ought to reject the traditional utilitarian framework often used to justify IP law. Instead, this essay will turn to a more deontological justification for IP rights in UK law.

Addressing the legal issues of an innovative start-up company

<p>Before examining the substance of the law it is necessary to discuss the contrast between law and practice. It is important to keep in mind that the letter of the law is sometimes not what is done in practice. This realisation is often referred to as the “law and society perspective.” Advocates of this perspective treat legal doctrine as more than just a closed system because they recognise that there are other external influences at play. Beyond the law, people are also influenced by other factors such as social roles, morals, religion and culture. For example, university researchers have an external incentive mechanism outside of IP law. Such researchers frequently prefer to publish their results and discoveries in academic journals rather than file for patents. A patent cannot be granted where there has been a publication. However the researchers are motivated by other incentives such as access to research funds and the attainment of professorship. The Law and Society perspective highlights the fact that the formal processes, which are provided for by the law are at times substituted by informal customs and understandings. An information technology (IT) firm that contributed to this paper by participating in an interview (Interviewee A), provided a good example of such an occurrence. Rather than use any of the formal IP modes of protection which are discussed in the following sections of this paper, ‘Interviewee A’ uses a very unorthodox strategy to protect their IP. They said: “we rely on employment contracts, code of conduct, and especially personal ethics and behaviour to protect our IP. We therefore have a company culture that encourages teamwork and cooperation”.</p>

Addressing the legal issues of an innovative start-up company

<p>Before examining the substance of the law it is necessary to discuss the contrast between law and practice. It is important to keep in mind that the letter of the law is sometimes not what is done in practice. This realisation is often referred to as the “law and society perspective.” Advocates of this perspective treat legal doctrine as more than just a closed system because they recognise that there are other external influences at play. Beyond the law, people are also influenced by other factors such as social roles, morals, religion and culture. For example, university researchers have an external incentive mechanism outside of IP law. Such researchers frequently prefer to publish their results and discoveries in academic journals rather than file for patents. A patent cannot be granted where there has been a publication. However the researchers are motivated by other incentives such as access to research funds and the attainment of professorship. The Law and Society perspective highlights the fact that the formal processes, which are provided for by the law are at times substituted by informal customs and understandings. An information technology (IT) firm that contributed to this paper by participating in an interview (Interviewee A), provided a good example of such an occurrence. Rather than use any of the formal IP modes of protection which are discussed in the following sections of this paper, ‘Interviewee A’ uses a very unorthodox strategy to protect their IP. They said: “we rely on employment contracts, code of conduct, and especially personal ethics and behaviour to protect our IP. We therefore have a company culture that encourages teamwork and cooperation”.</p>

The series of trademarks: theory, legislation, law enforcement

Key words: trademark, series of signs, dominant element, originality, resolution The article, based on the analysis of the doctrine of intellectual property law,legislation of Ukraine, law enforcement practice, examines the state and prospects ofproviding legal protection of a series of trademarks. To overcome the existing gap inthe legislation of Ukraine, the need to amend the Law of Ukraine «On Protection ofRights to Marks for Goods and Services» is justified. It is proposed to define «a seriesof marks as a set of trademarks belonging to one owner of interdependent rights, interconnected by the presence of the same dominant verbal, figurative or combined element,having phonetic and semantic similarity, and may also bear minor graphic differencesthat do not change the essence of the trademarks. The lack of definition ofthe term «dominant element» in the legislation is emphasized. Based on the provisionsof the philosophy and doctrine of intellectual property law, the dominant elementmeans the smallest indivisible component of the trademark, which is originaland not descriptive. Based on this, its main features are distinguished: originalityand indivisibility.It is proved that the same position of the dominant element in the structure of allsigns is necessary to create a stable image of consumers in relation to a particularproduct and its manufacturer. Examples of court decisions on recognition or refusal toprovide legal protection to trademarks are given.In the context of reforming the legislation of Ukraine in terms of its approximation toEU legislation and the development of relevant case law, which must meet Europeanstandards, the expediency of using the legal positions of such a leading democratic courtas the European Court of Justice is justified. Attention is drawn to the fact that the decisionof the ECJ is not a source of law for resolving disputes of this category by the courtsof Ukraine. At the same time, they are a source of harmonious interpretation of the nationallegislation of Ukraine in accordance with the established standards of the legalsystem of the European Union. It is proved that this conclusion is consistent with thepurpose and objectives to be solved in the country in the process of implementing the provisionsof the Association Agreement in the legislation of Ukraine. Proposals are formulatedto improve the quality of legislation in the field of IP law.

Researching Social Justice Aspects of Intellectual Property

This chapter provides a brief introduction to intellectual property (IP) social justice theory and guidance on how to research social justice issues in IP. Included are tips for finding social justice issues in IP law and administration; a toolkit for addressing such issues; and examples of the process in use. IP social justice examines IP law and administration to determine rules and processes that adversely affect equality with particular focus on access to IP; inclusion in the benefits that flow from IP creation, use, and exploitation; and empowerment of marginalized groups within society who are not fully benefiting from both IP they have generated and use of IP created by others. This chapter provides tips on spotting and addressing IP social justice issues both with respect to implementation and with respect to normative aspects.

Introduction

The relevance of Intellectual Property (IP) Law in our society has increased dramatically over the last several years. Globalization, digitization, and the rise of post-industrial information-based industries have all contributed to a new prominence of IP Law as one of the most important factors in driving innovation and economic development. At the same time, the significant expansion of IP rules has impacted many areas of public policy such as public health, the environment, biodiversity, agriculture, and information, in an unprecedented manner. No longer relegated to a cohort of few specialized experts, IP Law is now at the front and centre of public policy, and IP-related news are regularly featured in mainstream media. IP-related issues have long entered the popular discourse and are omnipresent in every sector of the economy and our lives....