scholarly journals Enhancing the Value of Patents as Corporate Assets in South Africa: How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assist?

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Lonias Ndlovu
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
South African ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Patent Law ◽  
Company Law ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Asset Value ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Internet Of Things

Although the accounting definition of assets contemplates intangible, abstract assets such as those embodied in intellectual property (IP), South African company law largely views IP as a legal and not a business asset. This paper tentatively suggests an approach that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to mitigate weaknesses in the South African patent law relating to the absence of patent searches and examinations. It is hoped that using AI will enable the filing of quality patents that satisfy the prescribed patentability criteria. High-quality patents will allow companies to accumulate patents as corporate assets. The approach is based on the algorithmic use of AI technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, deep learning alongside the Internet of Things, and IP analytics to strengthen South Africa’s IP system and create asset value for corporations. The paper recommends using the proposed AI technologies by companies and the Patents Office to enable the filing of high-quality patents, which will lead to the accumulation of corporate assets in the form of patents. The methodology is doctrinal, and the paper relies on recent literature on IP and AI, South African law, case law and examples drawn from studies conducted in other countries.

The Definition of Member / Shareholder in the South African Companies Act: A Brief Comparison with Australian Legislation

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Neels Kilian
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Company Law ◽  
Court Case ◽  
The South ◽  
Appeal Court ◽  
Locus Standi ◽  
Australian Case ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract This article discusses relevant Australian case law with reference to the oppressive remedy in company law. In South Africa, only shareholders who are entered in the shareholders’ register can make use of the remedy, contrary to the Australian application. The Australian case law explains the locus standi of shareholders who are not entered in the register. Reference is also made to South Africa's previous Companies Act 1973 due to the Smyth v Investec appeal court case, where the court applied the principles, relevant to an oppressive remedy under the 1973 act. In this regard, the appeal court's reasoning is compared to that of the Australian court; possible new perspectives relevant to South Africa's new Companies Act 2008 are also discussed. The Australian perspective is included to facilitate investigation of a South African court's approach to oppressive conduct concerning the narrow interpretation of “shareholder”. It is concluded that “shareholder” should also be interpreted to include a beneficial shareholder.

‘Copyright Work and its Definition with Regard to Originality and AI’ – Conference Report on the Fourth Binational Seminar of TU Dresden and Charles University in Prague, 27 June 2019

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
David Linke ◽  
David Petrlík
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Conference Report ◽  
Patent Law ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Future ◽  
Bill Gates ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract Bill Gates once wrote ‘I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence’ and positioned himself on the question of Artificial Intelligence.1 Mr Gates was, however, concerned about the future of AI in order to be able to supply not only intelligent but also exceptional products. Following the third binational seminar in November 2018 on the topic ‘Software and Artificial Intelligence – Old and New Challenges for Patent Law’,2 colleagues from the IGETeM, TU Dresden and Charles University in Prague met in Dresden on 27 June 2019 to focus on this question from the perspective of copyright. They also dealt with other current issues involving copyright, such as definition of work and the notion of originality.

Selected Papers from TAAI 2006

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-217
Author(s):  
Hsin-Chang Yang ◽  
Wen-Yang Lin ◽  
Chun-Yang Chang ◽  
Cheng-Hong Yang ◽  
Shyi-Ming Chen
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Valuable Resource ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Swarm Optimization ◽  
Music Retrieval

The 11th Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Applications (TAAI 2006), which was held during Dec. 15-16, 2006 at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is the annual conference of Taiwanese Association for Artificial Intelligence. The conference is intended to provide a forum for researchers and scholars in the related fields of artificial intelligence. Past conferences have proven them successful attempts to become the most important meeting of artificial intelligence researchers in Taiwan. This is also true for TAAI 2006, which focuses on various aspects on theory and practice of artificial intelligence. In this special issue, 11 papers presented in the conference are selected and extended for their outstanding performance on the conference. These papers cover wide spreading aspects, which include versatile motion planning, particle swarm optimization, data mining, image retrieval, music retrieval, natural language processing, navigation, fuzzy logic, gaming, and bioinformatics. This issue thus concisely summarizes recent advances in artificial intelligence and its applications. The readers should find them valuable and inspiring. We hope that this issue should provide a valuable resource for their researches. As guest editors of this special issue, we like to express our greatest gratitude to those that help this issue come true. Thanks to all contributors and referees for their elaborate works and careful reviews that assure the high quality of this issue. Special thanks should go to Mr. Makoto Shimada of Fuji Technology Press for his efforts and kind assistance in publishing this issue. Finally, we also like to thank the Editors in Chief of JACIII, Prof. Toshio Fukuda and Prof. Kaoru Hirota, for their generous hospitality in supporting this special issue.

scholarly journals Artificial Intelligence in the Battle against Coronavirus (COVID-19): A Survey and Future Research Directions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh Thi Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Medical Image ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
The Internet Of Things

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been applied widely in our daily lives in a variety of ways with numerous successful stories. AI has also contributed to dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has been happening around the globe. This paper presents a survey of AI methods being used in various applications in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak and outlines the crucial roles of AI research in this unprecedented battle. We touch on a number of areas where AI plays as an essential component, from medical image processing, data analytics, text mining and natural language processing, the Internet of Things, to computational biology and medicine. A summary of COVID-19 related data sources that are available for research purposes is also presented. Research directions on exploring the potentials of AI and enhancing its capabilities and power in the battle are thoroughly discussed. We highlight 13 groups of problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic and point out promising AI methods and tools that can be used to solve those problems. It is envisaged that this study will provide AI researchers and the wider community an overview of the current status of AI applications and motivate researchers in harnessing AI potentials in the fight against COVID-19.

Protection of shareholders class rights in company law

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Nwafor
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Company Law ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Class Rights ◽  
A Company ◽  
Business Challenges

Purpose A company that is registered with share capital may issue different classes of shares and may confer rights on members, which place them in different classes in the company’s organisational structure. This paper is concerned with the propensity for encroachment on such vested class rights as companies strive to wriggle out of business challenges spawn by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the extent of protection that the law accords to the different classes of shareholders and members in a company especially when the company seeks to vary the vested class rights. Design/methodology/approach A doctrinal methodology, which relies on existing literature, case law and statutory instruments, is adopted to explore the nature of class rights and the adequacies of the remedial measures availed by statute to the aggrieved bearers of class rights in the context of the South African Companies Act 71 of 2008 with inferences drawn from the UK companies statute and case law. Findings The findings indicate that accessing the remedies available to aggrieved shareholders under the relevant statutory provisions are fraught with conditionality, which could make them elusive to those who may seek to rely on such provisions to vindicate any encroachment on their class rights. Practical implications The paper embodies cogent information on the interpretation and application of the relevant statutory provisions geared at the protection of shareholders class rights, which should serve as guides to companies and the courts in dealing with matters that affect the vested class rights of shareholders and members of a company. Originality/value The paper shows that protections offered to classes of shareholders under the law can also be extended to classes of members who are not necessarily shareholders, and that shareholders who seek to vindicate their class rights may conveniently rely on Section 163 that provides for unfair prejudice remedy to avoid the onerous conditions under Section 164 of the South African Companies Act 71 of 2008, which directly deals with class rights.

scholarly journals Ambient virtual scribes: Mutuo Health’s AutoScribe as a case study of artificial intelligence-based technology

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah H. Crampton
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Natural Language Processing ◽  
Medical Record ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Health Data ◽  
Free Text ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Data Analytic

Studies show that clinicians are increasingly burning out in large part from the clerical burden associated with using Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems. At the same time, recently developed health data analytic algorithms struggle with poor quality free-text entered data in these systems. We developed AutoScribe using artificial intelligence–based natural language processing tools to automate these clerical tasks and to output high-quality EMR data. In this article, we describe the benefits and drawbacks of our technology. Furthermore, we describe how we are positioning our company’s culture within the existing healthcare system and suggest steps leaders of the system should consider in order to ensure that potentially transformative artificial intelligence–based technologies like ours are optimally adopted.

scholarly journals Claiming Damages where Dividends remain Unpaid: A Contribution towards a More Balanced Approach in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Cornelius G Kilian ◽  
Elizabeth Snyman-Van Deventer
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
South African ◽  
New South ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Company Law ◽  
Discretionary Power ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Board Of Directors

In the matter between Sumiseki Materials Co Ltd v Wambo Coal Pty Ltd 2013 NSWSC 235 (25 Mar 2013) the Supreme Court of New South Wales had to decide on the legal difficulty arising from unpaid dividends. The Court was required to decide whether a shareholder has a right to a predetermined annual dividend. The principles applied by the Supreme Court entailed estoppel (common law), minority oppression (company law) and contractual law principles. Although the principles of estoppel were relevant, these fall outside the ambit of this article concerning unpaid dividends. The Supreme Court cited approximately 40 cases and considered 5000 pages of documentary evidence pertaining to the contractual right to a predetermined dividend. Although the latter seems applicable and relevant to the South African corporate law environment, South African case law does not support it. Besides a contractual right, this article also investigates the Oxford Legal Group case in establishing at least an implied right (based on the doctrine of proper purpose) to claim an undeclared dividend or unauthorised dividend that is contrary to the board of directors discretion not to authorise any dividends. Both these cases argue when and why a court should interfere in company resolutions in striking a better balance between a right to a dividend and a company's discretionary power not to recommend or declare a dividend.     

Artificial Intelligence Designated as Inventor – An Analysis of the Recent EPO Case Law

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 918-924
Author(s):  
Martin Stierle
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Patent Law ◽  
European Patent Office ◽  
European Patent ◽  
Patent Office ◽  
Patent Applications ◽  
Artificial Intelligence Systems

Abstract This paper will focus on the issue of designating artificial intelligence systems as inventors in the current framework of European patent law. Most recently, the European Patent Office rejected two patent applications which indicated a machine called DABUS as the inventor of the claimed subject-matter. The paper will analyse the grounds of the decisions in detail, thereby reflecting on the current approach of the European Patent Office to such designations and on the concept of inventorship within the European patent system in general.

scholarly journals Artificial Intelligence in the Battle against Coronavirus (COVID-19): A Survey and Future Research Directions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh Thi Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Medical Image ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
The Internet Of Things

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been applied widely in our daily lives in a variety of ways with numerous successful stories. AI has also contributed to dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has been happening around the globe. This paper presents a survey of AI methods being used in various applications in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak and outlines the crucial roles of AI research in this unprecedented battle. We touch on a number of areas where AI plays as an essential component, from medical image processing, data analytics, text mining and natural language processing, the Internet of Things, to computational biology and medicine. A summary of COVID-19 related data sources that are available for research purposes is also presented. Research directions on exploring the potentials of AI and enhancing its capabilities and power in the battle are thoroughly discussed. We highlight 13 groups of problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic and point out promising AI methods and tools that can be used to solve those problems. It is envisaged that this study will provide AI researchers and the wider community an overview of the current status of AI applications and motivate researchers in harnessing AI potentials in the fight against COVID-19.

Making the Case for a Rome V Regulation on the Law Applicable to Companies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Gerner-Beuerle ◽  
Federico Mucciarelli ◽  
Edmund Schuster ◽  
Mathias Siems
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
Company Law ◽  
Freedom Of Establishment ◽  
Conflict Of Laws ◽  
Incorporation Theory ◽  
Domestic Company ◽  
The Law ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

Abstract There is significant legal variation and uncertainty in the conflict of laws rules applicable to companies in the EU. While the case law of the Court of Justice on the freedom of establishment has clarified some questions, it is evident that case law cannot provide for an adequate level of legal certainty. The main recommendation of this article is that private international company law in the EU should be harmonized. The article discusses the main challenges that a future regulation to this effect—called here ‘Rome V Regulation on the Law Applicable to Companies’—would have to overcome. Some of those are of a political nature: for instance, countries may fear that it may become easier for companies to evade domestic company law (eg, rules of employee co-determination), and there are specific considerations that concern companies established in third countries. Another challenge is that a future regulation on the law applicable to companies has to be consistent with existing EU conflict of laws rules as regards, for example, insolvency and tort law, while also complying with the freedom of establishment of the Treaty. It is the aim of this article to discuss these questions in detail, notably the general considerations for harmonisation in this field, a potential harmonization based on the ‘incorporation theory’, how it may be possible to overcome some contentious issues such as the definition of the lex societatis or the relationship between the lex societatis and other areas of law, and the prospects for future international harmonization.

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