7. Supplementary protection certificates and the unitary patent

Author(s):  
Paul Torremans

This chapter considers certain aspects of the involvement of the European Union (EU) with patent law. These aspects involve add-ons to a traditional patent system that is based on national patents. The first—supplementary protection certificates—is already in place. The other, the unitary patent, is close to becoming a reality.

English Today ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Modiano

This survey considers the emergence of English as a language shared across the European Union in particular and the European continent at large, and together with its distinctive ‘lingua franca’ dimension among the mainland European nations. It considers in particular the situation of ‘non-native speakers’ who regularly use the language as well as the concept of a ‘Euro-English’ in general and the Swedish, ‘Swenglish’ and English relationship on the other. It concludes by considering the liberation of non-native users from ‘the beginning of native-speaker norms’.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Flett

This article reviews the way in which the concept of precaution, as commonly referenced in EU law, is received in the WTO. It argues that precaution is not a principle, but one facet of a principle of making rational judgments based on available information, the other facet of which is “that risk is worth taking”. Systematically pursuing high cost measures in response to low risks is not a balanced approach, and has probably contributed to the scepticism with which the concept is viewed in the WTO. However, this article goes on to argue that, without needing to be a principle, precaution is the determining legal feature in the SPS Agreement, because, unlike in the European Union, there is no legislative harmonisation of SPS measures at international level, WTO Members being free to set their own appropriate level of protection. In fact, the concept of precaution is relevant in the context of many other WTO provisions and is in some respects quite close to the concept of subsidiarity. Notwithstanding this, the first WTO SPS cases, driven by regulatory exporters and an interventionist WTO, have excessively emphasised scientific issues, masking policy judgments that the WTO has neither the legal nor the political authority to sustain. The article concludes that the proper way forward necessitates closer political, legal and administrative links between the WTO and other relevant international organisations, and a move away from consensus in the latter.


2002 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 784-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
AMIE KREPPEL

This article examines the influence of the European Parliament (EP) within the legislative process of the European Union. Although debate over the impact of the cooperation and co-decision I procedures continues, this article argues that, in part, the current theoretical debate is a false one that has caused many of the other important variables that affect EP legislative influence to be ignored. This article briefly revisits the current debate, then proceeds to an analysis of the success of more than 1,000 EP amendments under the cooperation and co-decision procedures. This evidence suggests that numerous other variables, such as internal EP unity and type of amendment made, have a significant impact on EP success, even controlling for procedure. In addition, this comparison points out some empirical differences between the two procedures that have been largely ignored in the theoretical debate but that nonetheless have a significant impact of EP success and merit further study.


2004 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor D. Bojkov

The article analyses the process of EU enlargement with reference to the progress that Bulgaria and Romania have made within it. It is argued that leaving them out of the wave of accession finalised in May 2004 for ten of the candidate states, has placed them in a situation of double exclusion. Firstly, their geographical belonging to the region of Southeast Europe has been rendered non-essential by their advanced position within the EU enlargement process. Secondly, their achievement in economic and political transition has been removed from the progress of the ten states, which joined the EU in May 2004 by delaying the time of their accession. As a result, any efforts in regional cooperation and integration between Bulgaria and Romania on one hand, and other Southeast European states on the other, have been effectively cancelled. Moreover, in current European politics, the two countries have come to serve the unenviable role of exemplifying on the part of the European Union how progress is being awarded and hesitation punished.


Bioethica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Αλεξάνδρα Κοζαμάνη (Alexandra Kozamani)

Euthanasia is one of the issues that bioethics deals with, which is one of the outmost importance. Furthermore it is very up-to-date. In Greece and in most countries of the European Union euthanasia has not been subject to specialized legislation. It is only occasionally debated, resulting in tension and conflict. On one hand, people have the right to self determination, so the end of life should be among them. On the other hand, life is considered to be of the highest value and it is the duty of healthcare personnel to guard and preserve it by any means, using their expertise and knowledge.In this paper, a brief report is made to the practices used across countries in the European Union regarding the end of life. Most countries are opposed to euthanasia while acknowledging the right of a patient to refuse or receive treatment. Only three countries have passed bills that legalize euthanasia under strict conditions. The rest, due to sensitivity in this matter, have not yet proceeded in reforming their laws accordingly. It seems that society does not have the necessary reassurances so that they can engulf that issue guarding the true will of a person.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-91
Author(s):  
L. S. Voronkov

The paper is dedicated to the differences between the classical instruments for regulating interstate political and trade-economic relations from those used in the development of regional integration processes. Traditionally, the Eurasian Economic Union is compared with the European Union, considering the EU as a close example to follow in the development of integration processes. At the same time, there exist the other models of integration. The author proposes to pay attention to the other models of integration and based on the analysis of documents, reveals the experience of Northern Europe, which demonstrates effective cooperation without infringing on the sovereignty of the participants. The author examines the features of the integration experience of the Nordic countries in relation to the possibility of using its elements in the modern integration practice of the Eurasian Economic Union.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 99-109
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Heredia Yzquierdo

The Shariʿa Law has a comprehensive vision of all human activities, including commerce. The peculiarities of the commercial legal system that derives from the legal principles of Shariʿa emanates from the concepts of forbidden or Haram and permissible or Halal. These principles are applied today to breakthrough commercial developments such as the Blockchain/Digital Ledger Technologies. On the other hand, there is a growing debate about the possibility of the application of Shariʿa Law in the Member States of the European Union, either for social reasons or for commercial reasons. The controversy and opportunities created in the smallest State of the Union, Malta, serves as a sample.


Author(s):  
Sławomir Partycki ◽  
Dawid Błaszczak

Abstract Summary Subject and purpose of work: The purpose of the study is to analyse the structure and the relation of the Polish-Belarusian cross-border cooperation network, to identify the key nodes in the network, to analyse the dynamics of connections between the actors, and to identify the most important changes in the structure of the network. Materials and methods: The article quotes the results of analyses of cross-border projects from 2004- 2017. The analysis includes projects completed, applicants, and partners of projects. The network analysis was carried out using Ucinet and NetDraw software. Results: The structure of the Polish-Belarusian cooperation is dominated by several large nodes, on the other hand there are many micronetworks - of three or four nodes, which are connected with each other. Conclusions: The Polish-Belarusian cooperation is of great importance for the international relations of the Polish state. Projects carried out by entities located at the border strengthen the cooperation, bringing a number of measurable benefits (hard and soft), depending on nature of the projects, as well as frequency and scale of the undertaken activities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Endre Győző Szabó ◽  
Balázs Révész

A magánélet és a biztonság népszerű ellentétpárként tűnhet fel az adatvédelmi gondolkodásban. Leegyszerűsítve olvashatjuk sokszor, hogy ha bizonyos feltételek hiányoznak, aránytalanul nagy áldozatot hozhatunk a személyes magánszféra, a privacy oldalán a biztonság érdekében, és magánszféránk túlzott feláldozása a biztonság oltárán visszafordíthatatlan folyamathoz és orwelli világhoz vezet. Más, a biztonság szempontjait mindenek felettinek hirdető érvelésben viszont a személyes adatok védelmére való hivatkozást alkotmányjogi bűvészkedésnek csúfolják és igyekeznek kisebbíteni a magánszféra-védelem egyébként méltányolandó értékeit. A magánélet és a személyes adatok védelmének pedig nagy a tétje, az adatok illetéktelenek részére való kiszolgáltatása, rosszhiszemű felhasználása egzisztenciákat, családokat tehet tönkre, boldogulási lehetőségeket hiúsíthat meg, ha a védelem alacsony szintre süllyed. Másrészről pedig az információszerzés, illetve előzetes adatgyűjtés a különböző bűnelkövetések, terrorcselekmények előkészületi cselekményei is egyben. Azzal, ha a személyes adataink, magánszféránk védelmében ésszerű lépéseket teszünk, élünk a jog és a technológia adta védelmi lehetőségekkel, adatainkat nemcsak az államtól és a piaci szereplőktől, de a bűnözőktől is elzárjuk, és ezzel mindannyiunk biztonságát szolgáljuk. Egy terület tehát biztosan létezik, ahol a biztonság és magánszféra mezsgyéje összeér: az adatbiztonságé és ezzel összefüggésben a tudatos, felelős felhasználói attitűdé, aminek azonban sokszor az emberi tényező a gátja. Jelen tanulmányban a magánszféra és biztonság kérdéskörének komplexitásáról szólunk, és közös nevezőt keresünk az adatkezelések nézőpontjából, kitérve az új adatvédelmi rendelet (GDPR) magánszféránkat és biztonságunkat egyaránt szolgáló leendő jogintézményeinek bemutatására is. --- Data in security – security in our data? Privacy and security may be deemed as a popular dichotomy. It is often argued that even if security is vital, we might sacrifice too much of our privacy in return. This may be irreversible when it comes to the intrusiveness of surveillance. On the other hand, it is also sometimes argued that the importance of personal data protection deserves less attention than security. There is much at stake when it comes to privacy and the protection of personal data. Misuse of personal information may damage families’ lives and ruin people’s livelihoods, thus this may all have significant repercussions for society as a whole – this is the price to be paid if protection is at a low level. Using sophisticated measures that technology and legal regulations can provide, privacy can be protected. Data security is a common field for the protection of privacy and security – crucial for both endeavours to make people’s lives better. This essay describes the complexity of issues related to privacy and security, while also taking new legislation of the European Union into account.


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