scholarly journals Copyright

2016 ◽  
Vol 98 (03) ◽  
pp. 162-164
Author(s):  
P Smart

‘Talent is always conscious of its own abundance, and does not object to sharing.’ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The First Circle When authors submit an article for publication, most publishers will ask for a signature from the author on a copyright form. The relationship between an author and the publisher is then a partnership but one that many authors are reluctant to enter into. After all, why should a publisher take copyright from an author of an article when the author had the idea and has done all the hard work for the content of the article? In response to this question, publishers will generally claim that copyright transfer agreements protect authors from copyright infringements such as plagiarism, libel and unauthorised uses as well as protecting the integrity of the article. Copyright in the UK was originally concerned with preventing the unlawful copying of printed material in the 17th century in response to the then new technology of book printing. The first copyright act in the UK, the Statute of Anne in 1710, was subtitled ‘An Act for the Encouragement of Learning’, and granted privileges and monopolies to book printers. Since then, copyright law has evolved to incorporate many forms of communication, including photography, film, music, computers, engraving, designs on t-shirts and digital technology among other forms of media. The most recent act in the UK is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. While copyright covers an author’s right to copy, distribute and revise the work, it does not protect ideas – just their fixation or expression. The moment that an idea is fixed or expressed physically, copyright starts and does not have to be registered. In this article, Pippa Smart provides an overview of the legal framework that protects authors and publishers. Jyoti Shah, Commissioning Editor

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Ferro

Abstract According to the United Nations Secretary-General, Yemen today constitutes the worst man-made humanitarian crisis in the world. It is fuelled by extensive third-state involvement, with none of the warring parties championing respect for international human rights and humanitarian law (to put it mildly). Conversely, primary rules of international law already prohibit arms transfers from the moment there is a significant risk that they could be used to commit or facilitate grave breaches, with the recipient’s past and present record of respect for international law qualifying as the crucial factor to predict future transgressions. From that perspective, it appears deeply disingenuous for western states to continue transferring military equipment to members of the multilateral coalition in Yemen while maintaining adherence to the international legal framework. This article thus aims to examine whether the legal framework lives up to its noble goals or rather serves to defend state decisions that primarily serve their economic interests. It is structured as follows: Section 1 starts with an overview of the facts, and the focus and aim of this article. Section 2 then sets out the international legal framework as it applies to the trade in conventional arms with states that are involved in a non-international armed conflict. Section 3 analyses key domestic judgments (in the UK, Canada, Belgium and France) to test the available facts against the legal framework as elaborated. Finally, Section 4 concludes.


2013 ◽  
pp. 99-114
Author(s):  
Christophe Geiger

Challenged by new technology, copyright is currently in turmoil. Increasingly regarded by the general public as a curb to the universal dissemination of knowledge, it seems to have no alternative but to include access to information in order to meet the challenges posed by the knowledge society.3 It might even be its ability to bring together opposing but complementary views that will guaranty its durability in the future and whether it can adapt to a new economic, technological and social environment. Copyright law has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to new developments in the past and has the necessary tools to ensure that this continues to be the case in the future, although the massive technological changes will probably require rethinking the mechanisms for its implementation. It is, therefore, necessary not to think in terms of opposing rights, but of the complementary nature of copyright and the right of access to information, so as to reconcile the two, which is both necessary and desirable. The issue of how to accommodate those two rights is of course of particular importance for libraries that wish to use the fantastic opportunities of digital technologies to both preserve and make accessible works in a easy and cost effective way to the public. Conceiving an optimal legal framework, allowing digital libraries to expand while at the same time securing a fair return to creators and editors might therefore constitutes one of the main challenges for copyright in the digital age. Accordingly, it will be necessary, first of all, to reiterate a number of basic principles of copyright law and carry out a brief historical survey. A study will then need to be carried out of how the advent of the information society has changed the existing balances. This will be followed by a brief discussion of recent developments in the legal provisions currently in force. This in turn would lead us to consider both the changes necessary to those provisions to ensure better access to information as well as certain initiatives that are either under way or planned, with the aim of striking a balance between the interests involved.


Author(s):  
Christophe Geiger

Challenged by new technology, copyright is currently in turmoil. Increasingly regarded by the general public as a curb to the universal dissemination of knowledge, it seems to have no alternative but to include access to information in order to meet the challenges posed by the knowledge society.3 It might even be its ability to bring together opposing but complementary views that will guaranty its durability in the future and whether it can adapt to a new economic, technological and social environment. Copyright law has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to new developments in the past and has the necessary tools to ensure that this continues to be the case in the future, although the massive technological changes will probably require rethinking the mechanisms for its implementation. It is, therefore, necessary not to think in terms of opposing rights, but of the complementary nature of copyright and the right of access to information, so as to reconcile the two, which is both necessary and desirable. The issue of how to accommodate those two rights is of course of particular importance for libraries that wish to use the fantastic opportunities of digital technologies to both preserve and make accessible works in a easy and cost effective way to the public. Conceiving an optimal legal framework, allowing digital libraries to expand while at the same time securing a fair return to creators and editors might therefore constitutes one of the main challenges for copyright in the digital age. Accordingly, it will be necessary, first of all, to reiterate a number of basic principles of copyright law and carry out a brief historical survey. A study will then need to be carried out of how the advent of the information society has changed the existing balances. This will be followed by a brief discussion of recent developments in the legal provisions currently in force. This in turn would lead us to consider both the changes necessary to those provisions to ensure better access to information as well as certain initiatives that are either under way or planned, with the aim of striking a balance between the interests involved.


Author(s):  
Justine Pila

This chapter seeks to define the term ‘authorial work’ as used by European legal officials, and the corresponding terms (‘original literary work’, ‘original dramatic work’, ‘original musical work’, and ‘original artistic work’) of UK copyright law. To that end, it considers the nature of the objects treated expressly or otherwise by the legislature and courts as authorial works and original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic (LDMA) works respectively, in the light also of the legal principles of copyright entitlement. In its conclusion, the questions identified in Chapter 3 concerning the categories and essential properties of each subject matter, the method of their individuation, and the relationship between and method of establishing their and their tokens’ existence are answered. To this end, regard is had to other aspects of the law of copyright, including the UK requirement for fixation and the EU and UK tests for copyright infringement.


Author(s):  
Gerhard Wagner

AbstractThe article explores the relationship between tort law and human rights. It explains the potential inherent in holding corporations liable in tort for human rights violations along the supply chain, such as the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh. On a theoretical level, it devises a legal framework of tort liability that is optimal from the standpoint of social welfare. Such an optimal liability system would make manufacturers internalise the full cost of production, including harm caused to workers, third parties and the environment. In contrast, the present global liability situation is characterised by legal fragmentation and enforcement deficits. These factors provide the explanation for the large-scale externalisation of production risks we witness today, leading to an inflated global demand. In principle, tort law is well suited to offer a remedy, as the interests protected by human rights and national tort law broadly overlap. Furthermore, the duty of care which is the core requirement for shifting losses to others via tort law is a flexible concept that may even be stretched to accommodate cross-border human rights policies. The new French “devoir de vigilance,” or human rights due diligence, as well the UK Supreme Court’s recent jurisprudence, aim to tap this potential. On the other hand, the article raises doubt in relation to the adverse economic incentives and market shifts if such duties are imposed selectively, i.e. only in some jurisdictions, but not in others. After all, private international law often stands in the way of a global application of national tort law. Finally, alternative mechanisms of enforcement are assessed and examined with a view to their comparative effectiveness. This analysis casts doubt on the usefulness of tort law as a means to further the human rights cause.


2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Alexandra Wawryk ◽  
Katelijn van Hende

The pollution caused by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Montara blowout in the Timor Sea, put the call for an international regulatory framework for oil pollution liability on the global agenda. Although international law regulates the prevention of offshore oil pollution and protection of the marine environment, certain activities do not fall inside the ambit of international regulations. For example, while new technology has made it possible for companies to drill to deeper depths and explore further away from the coastline, existing international conventions generally do not extend to liability for, and restoration of, damage caused by oil pollution from offshore installations. These issues are regulated by the national laws of the country that governs the continental shelf where the petroleum activities are conducted. Thus, from an international perspective, the legal regime is disperse and complex. The amount and complexity of claims arising from large-scale incidents has raised interest in creating a consistent international liability regime. This could be done through a multilateral treaty. Alternatively, the development and application of common principles across national and regional jurisdictions can lead to the increased internationalisation of liability regimes. This paper compares the laws of Australia, the USA and the UK to identify common principles for liability and environmental restoration. The authors argue that as the legal framework becomes internationalised, increasing pressure will be placed on companies to accept the highest standards of liability, rather than the lowest national standard.


2022 ◽  
pp. 125-145
Author(s):  
Pedro Pina

Advances in the field of digital technology are constantly introducing new levels of controversy into copyright policy. Blockchain is the most recent technology with significative impact in digital copyright. Combined with smart contracts, blockchain enables new efficient forms of distribution of copyrighted works and also a new model of private ordering regarding the control of uses of works on the Internet. The chapter aims to examine the relationship and the most relevant intersections between blockchain, digital exploitation of copyrighted works, copyright law, and privacy law.


2020 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 407-426
Author(s):  
Gemma Davies

The dark web and the proliferation of criminals who have exploited its cryptographic protocols to commit crimes anonymously has created major challenges for law enforcement around the world. Traditional policing techniques have required amendment and new techniques have been developed to break the dark web’s use of encryption. As with all new technology, the law has been slow to catch up and police have historically needed to use legislation which was not designed with the available technology in mind. This paper discusses the tools and techniques police use to investigate and prosecute criminals operating on the dark web in the UK and the legal framework in which they are deployed. There are two specific areas which are examined in depth: the use of covert policing and hacking tools, known in the UK as equipment interference. The operation of these investigatory methods within the context of dark web investigations has not previously been considered in UK literature, although this has received greater analysis in the United States and Australia. The effectiveness of UK investigatory powers in the investigation of crimes committed on the dark web are analysed and recommendations are made in relation to both the law and the relevant Codes of Practice. The article concludes that while the UK has recently introduced legislation which adequately sets out the powers police can use during online covert operations and when hacking, the Codes of Practice need to specifically address the role these investigative tools play in dark web investigations. Highlighted as areas of particular concern are the risks of jurisdiction forum shopping and hacking overseas. Recommendations are made for reform of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 to ensure clarity as to when equipment interference can be used to search equipment when the location of that equipment is unknown.


2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans U. Werner

Schizophonic soundscapes in Murray Schafer's critical acoustic ecology mean a split between listening and seeing, between space and place, between audience and communicator. His idea of a gap between senses is based on electronic media like radio and telephone, but it gains new actuality in modern (multimedia) times. The new technology and its users have too experimented with the creative inversion of schizophony in sound and vision. Film sound design and film music combine sound in and out of context, composition works with contrapunctual audiovisions; video art and sound art, as in the work of Robert Cahen, combine and mix genres of all kinds and senses. MetaSon #5 Skruv Stockholm is an audiovisual soundwalk, based on soundscape recordings in Sweden in the 1970s and 1990s, combined with associative pictures and designs, each in its own rhythms and times. It consists less of the common meaning both share, being more dependent on the fluidity and dynamic of the relationship between the elements. Sound and image create an intermedium, intermodal space neither of which could project alone. From moment to moment, schizophonic montage and idea invert into a fresh, maybe evocative look at the way we perceive, where the audio flow transforms stable pictures into liquid forms, where image follows sound and is treated like sound.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (03) ◽  
pp. 426-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Kitchen ◽  
I D Walker ◽  
T A L Woods ◽  
F E Preston

SummaryWhen the International Normalised Ratio (INR) is used for control of oral anticoagulant therapy the same result should be obtained irrespective of the laboratory reagent used. However, in the UK National External Quality Assessment Scheme (NEQAS) for Blood Coagulation INRs determined using different reagents have been significantly different.For 18 NEQAS samples Manchester Reagent (MR) was associated with significantly lower INRs than those obtained using Diagen Activated (DA, p = 0.0004) or Instrumentation Laboratory PT-Fib HS (IL, p = 0.0001). Mean INRs for this group were 3.15, 3.61, and 3.65 for MR, DA, and IL respectively. For 61 fresh samples from warfarin-ised patients with INRs of greater than 3.0 the relationship between thromboplastins in respect of INR was similar to that observed for NEQAS data. Thus INRs obtained with MR were significantly lower than with DA or IL (p <0.0001). Mean INRs for this group were 4.01, 4.40, and 4.59 for MR, DA, and IL respectively.We conclude that the differences between INRs measured with the thromboplastins studied here are sufficiently great to influence patient management through warfarin dosage schedules, particularly in the upper therapeutic range of INR. There is clearly a need to address the issues responsible for the observed discrepancies.


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