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We examine the role institutional pressures, at the subnational level, play in the generation of eco-innovations and explicitly consider how they interact with firms' heterogeneous capabilities and ownership characteristics. Theoretically, we combine elements from institutional theory with the resource-based view of the firm to develop our hypotheses. Empirically, we use a novel dataset over the period 2003–2013 compiled from several sources: (I) environmental regulations (city-level) from the China Environmental Statistical Yearbooks and City Statistical Yearbooks; (II) green patents (firm-level) from the China National Intellectual Property Administration; and (III) ownership (firm-level) from the National Bureau of Statistics. Our econometric analysis employs an instrumental variable (IV) approach that controls for endogeneity and a negative binomial multilevel methodology for robustness. The results show that institutional pressures associated with environmental regulations, implemented at city level, lead to more green patents produced by firms in these jurisdictions. Crucially, the effectiveness of environmental regulation is enhanced when firms invest more in their internal technological capabilities. Finally, we find that a firm's affiliation with a business group enhances the positive effects of regulations in terms of the production of eco-innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important driver of economic growth and innovation. With rapid advances in AI, firms have a strategic opportunity to re-envision the cognitive reapportionment of tasks between humans, AI, and non-AI technologies. In doing so, firms can transform and dramatically elevate value creation through their business models, processes, and market offerings. We focus on a key risk, patent infringement litigation (PIL), that can adversely impact a firm's value creation with AI. We posit and demonstrate that firms facing AI-PILs would have more negative short term abnormal returns compared to firms facing non-AI PILs. We further suggest that the abnormal returns are moderated by the types of plaintiffs and AI patents in which the abnormal returns are more negative when the plaintiffs are non-practicing entities (versus practicing entities) and when the AI patents at suit concern expertise-driven (versus data-driven) AI. Exploring the moderators jointly, we find evidence that for data-driven AI patents, the negative abnormal returns are stronger when the plaintiffs are practicing entities, but for expertise-driven AI patents, the negative abnormal returns are stronger when the plaintiffs are non-practicing entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does proprietary knowledge protection (PKP) spur or hinder the product-market performance of new firms? Exploiting the staggered adoptions of the inevitable disclosure doctrine by U.S. State Courts, which enhance PKP, we show that treated firms increase industry-adjusted sales growth by 2% compared to control firms. The effect is concentrated among small and young firms and increases with the scope of proprietary knowledge and rivals' access to external finance. PKP encourages firms to develop new products and stimulates initial public offering activity. Our results suggest that PKP alleviates predation risk associated with "deep-pocket" rivals by allowing firms to maintain competitive advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital revolution, caused by the dynamic development of various technologies, certainly led to a number of positive changes in all areas of human life. However, at the same time, there was an urgent need for the formation of an appropriate regulatory and legal basis that would regulate social relations related to the latest technologies. In recent years, both in the international arena and in the national legislation, complex acts have already appeared, designed to solve the problems of the implementation of digital technologies in the legal field. At the same time, the law does not always respond in time to the rapid development of the latest technologies, which again gives rise to a lot of problematic issues. Artificial intelligence and its rapid penetration into almost all spheres of human existence became a vivid example of such a situation. The use of artificial intelligence (Al) has raised a number of questions for the legal community, including the legal status of Al and the results of its work, data protection, intellectual property, ethics, etc. The goal of the legislative regulation of artificial intelligence is to create a clear policy in the content of legal acts that would determine specific rules for the operation, application and protection of AL The need for legislative regulation of artificial intelligence, in addition to the significant development that the field has undergone, is also related to the need to control the consequences that the unregulated use of Al can cause. Some states have implemented a number of attempts to legislate Al regulation at the national level, in particular, Ukraine has already taken the first steps to create a legal framework in the field of artificial intelligence. Thus, in 2020, the Concept of the Development of Artificial Intelligence in Ukraine was created, in which the definition, purpose, principles and tasks of the development of artificial intelligence technologies in Ukraine are provided for the first time at the legislative level. However, compared to individual countries, it is the European Union that has made the most progress in terms of preparing for the introduction of a legislative framework for the regulation of AL On August 1, 2024, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (EU Al Act), adopted by the European Parliament, the long-awaited European regulation on artificial intelligence, entered into force. This act created a kind of foundation for the further development of the mechanism of the use of artificial intelligence systems in the legal field, regulating such aspects as maintenance of Al systems, protection of personal data, intellectual property rights to the results of Al activity, as well as what, in our opinion, is no less important, provided for clear obligations of subjects during the use of artificial intelligence. The key role of the duties established by the EU Al Act is to ensure transparency in activities using AI. In our opinion, it is worth investigating the content of the established duties in order to understand the mechanism of ensuring the so-called transparency in AI activities. In addition, given the absence of a legal act in Ukrainian legislation that would regulate the use of artificial intelligence systems, the study of the EU's experience in this field is more than relevant and can be taken into account during the development of such an act in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article touches upon the topic of intellectual property protection in the era of globalisation and reveals the principles of national legal order at the beginning of the formation of the foundations for protection of intellectual property rights, which will in fact serve as a qualitative basis for resolving potential disputes in the future. The study shows that intellectual property has no borders, because if an author writes, say, a software code, he or she will be its author both in Ukraine and abroad (in this case, we are talking about the presumption of authorship). The author identifies and describes certain characteristics inherent in the current intellectual property regime. It is substantiated that in our country one can protect one's rights by concluding a contract to prevent future conflicts, or by applying alternative means of dispute resolution. An example of the first case is an agreement on the transfer of rights to use a work, while the second case is exemplified by such models as negotiations or dispute resolution with the participation of a judge. The author proposes an action-oriented approach, which consists in directly informing the society about ensuring the needs of integrity in the use of other people's intellectual property for the purpose of combating plagiarism in Ukraine. This can be implemented precisely by creating a register of preregistered works that have already been certified by the Ukrainian National Institute of Intellectual Property. This view will be of interest to intellectual property professionals. Particular attention is paid to one of the novelties that occurred in our country during the war, in particular, it is highlighted that the application for termination of copyright infringement must contain confirmation of the accuracy of the information submitted as evidence by a lawyer or patent attorney. In addition, the latter's powers include filing such applications (in written or electronic form, with the signature of an intellectual property representative), finding out the applicants' contacts, including direct confirmation of their intellectual property rights. The analysis of the European Court of Human Rights judgment allowed us to trace a clear correlation between the existence of official registration documentation (e.g., a copyright registration certificate or a final court decision) and the actual confirmation of the existence of a set of intellectual property rights. Thus, such correlation is a crucial criterion for determining whether the intellectual property itself falls under the protection of the European Convention on Human Rights, and in the absence of such confirmation, this situation may result in the European Court of Human Rights refusing to recognise the right of ownership of a particular intellectual property object. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the institute of intellectual property, we can say that this institute has been developing for a long time and continues its evolution even today. Realizing the importance of intellectual activity and property, humanity began active work on its protection and protection. Currently, the protection of the results of intellectual activity is carried out by a special UN institution and each state separately. Which is quite understandable, because intellectual property is something without which the economy and society in general cannot develop these days. The article emphasizes that administrative responsibility as one of the institutes of the field of administrative law performs a preventive and punitive function and is an important element of state influence to prevent and stop the commission of socially dangerous harmful acts. This indicates that one of the priority directions of the development of the legal state should be considered the improvement of intellectual property rights in terms of administrative and legal protection and protection of intellectual property rights. It has been established that one of the priority directions for the development of the rule of law should be the improvement of intellectual property rights in terms of administrative and legal protection and protection of intellectual property rights. It is about clear and objective regulation of administrative offenses in the field of intellectual property, taking into account adequate measures of administrative and legal responsibility, which in their practical application will prove their effectiveness in countering violations of rights to objects of intellectual property law. It was established that the current legislation, which provides for administrative responsibility for committing offenses in the field of intellectual property, is in a static state, and therefore there are serious legal gaps, in particular at the local and regional levels, which are not filled by the relevant legal norms. It has also been investigated that, as of today, there is no clear plan of measures to counter offenses in the field of intellectual property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the transformation of the intellectual property rights protection system in the context of advancing artificial intelligence technologies, with a particular focus on the challenges faced by Ukrainian researchers and scientific institutions, as well as the potential for adapting successful EU experiences. The relevance of this research is driven by several factors. Firstly, the increase in data volumes and computing power has facilitated new approaches in science, where AI plays a crucial role in analysing and interpreting results. Secondly, traditional intellectual property protection mechanisms are proving inadequate as AI algorithms independently generate new knowledge. Thirdly, Ukraine's integration into the European research area necessitates the harmonization of intellectual property protection approaches, considering the specificities of AI usage. The current state of AI utilization in scientific research is analysed, including the automation of data collection and analysis, the acceleration of scientific discoveries, and the evolving role of researchers. Key risks to intellectual property rights protection are identified, particularly concerning authorship issues related to works created with the assistance of artificial intelligence, difficulties in tracking original sources, and the risks of unauthorized use of scientific data. Special attention is given to analysing the European regulatory experience regarding AI use, particularly the provisions of new EU legislation in the field of AI and its significance for safeguarding researchers' rights. A comprehensive approach to addressing the identified issues is proposed, incorporating both legal mechanisms (harmonization of legislation with EU norms) and technological solutions for protecting researchers' rights. Such solutions may include blockchain technologies, digital rights management systems, and plagiarism detection tools. Ensuring a balance between the principles of open science and the protection of intellectual property rights is an essential task. This can be achieved through the implementation of flexible licensing models and the use of AI technologies to monitor compliance with rights. It is recommended that the use of AI in scientific research be explicitly noted in the methodology, and that all data generated by artificial intelligence undergo thorough verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern embedded systems and Internet of Things (IoT) devices contain system-on-chips (SoCs) as their hardware backbone, which increasingly contain many critical assets (secure communication keys, configuration bits, firmware, sensitive data, etc.). These critical assets must be protected against wide array of potential vulnerabilities to uphold the system’s confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Today’s SoC designs contain diverse intellectual property (IP) blocks, often acquired from multiple 3rd-party IP vendors. Secure hardware design using them inevitably relies on the accrued domain knowledge of well-trained security experts. In this letter, we introduce SPELL, a novel end-to-end framework for the automated development of secure SoC designs. It leverages conversational large language models (LLMs) to automatically identify security vulnerabilities in a target SoC and map them to the evolving database of common weakness enumerations (CWEs); SPELL then filters the relevant CWEs, subsequently converting them to systemverilog assertions (SVAs) for verification; and finally, addresses the vulnerabilities via centralized security policy enforcement. We have implemented the SPELL framework using popular LLMs, such as ChatGPT and GEMINI, to analyze their efficacy in generating appropriate CWEs from user-defined SoC specifications and implement corresponding security policies for an open-source SoC benchmark. We have also explored the limitations of existing pretrained conversational LLMs in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Introduction Special Issue BPCQ 'AI in Business Communication'" discusses the exponential growth of interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in business communication over the past two years. It highlights the importance of rigorous research to inform professionals about AI's opportunities and challenges, particularly in teaching AI-enabled business communication. The Special Issue covers various themes, including teaching AI literacy, ethical frameworks for AI use, and professionals' attitudes towards AI roles in business communication contexts. The authors call for further research on AI's impact on the teaching profession, legal considerations, and evolving Business Communication scholarship to remain relevant in the AI age. [Extracted from the article]

Weak institutions leading to a dysfunctional competitive environment affect firms' innovation. Drawing on the innovation modes approach and institutional theory, we suggest that STI (science and technology-based innovation) and DUI mode (learning by doing, using, and interacting) are moderated by perceived dysfunctional competition. Based on the Colombian innovation survey (EDIT) and using logistic regression modelling, we find that perceived dysfunctional competition prevailing in emerging markets weakens the positive effect of firms' STI and DUI modes on innovation novelty. We explain this finding based on managers' perceptions of value appropriability. While intellectual property rights affect the innovation of STI firms, DUI firms' innovation is affected by information exposure. The results contribute to the innovation modes literature by showing that appropriability influences managers' perception in STI and DUI firms, weakening firms' innovations. In practice, firms need mechanisms to protect innovation against competitors' opportunistic or unlawful behaviour, and governments could foster means of appropriability associated with STI and DUI modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world dominated by the distribution of global media franchises, what are the impacts on creativity when intellectual property law seeks to control what can and cannot be written? The development of modern distribution mechanisms that allow corporations to distribute copyright protected works such as film franchises globally and across many different media has had a significant effect on the cultural vernacular. Generations are now growing up with storyworlds that are the intellectual property of multinational businesses, rather than within the public dimain (as might previously have been the case with folk stories and religious texts). With Jenkins' ideas of Participatory Culture perhaps sidestepping the consequences of intellectual property ownership, this paper looks to Hyde and others to question whether current intellectual property discourse properly acknowledges the issue of how the pervasive marketing of ringfenced storyworlds is affecting the creative community's relationship with the cultural vernacular when seeking to create commercially exploitable work. This paper argues that moral as well as legal questions must be raised regarding the extent to which corporations should be effectively allowed to own elements of the collective story consciousness and, as a consequence, to exert control over the creation of new works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Designers must recognise the significance of a brand logo's visual elements as they convey various meanings. While studies have attempted to collate visual elements, efforts have often been limited to specific types of visual elements (e.g. typefaces) or restricted to certain product categories. This study aims to conceptualise a comprehensive list of visual elements used in brand logos and to validate it based on the top 500 global brand logos across eight product categories. Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive list was conceptualised through a combination of literature review, interviews with experts and observations of real brand logos. Using this exhaustive compilation, content analysis of the top 500 global brand logos was conducted to discern the prevalent trends of the visual elements in logos across various product categories. Findings: The content analysis results highlighted an extensive preference for use of wordmark, no outline and horizontal proportion in brand logos. Overall, 42.6% and 31% of brands preferred using cool and neutral colours, respectively. Moreover, the preference for colour categories (warm/cool/neutral), font types (organic/geometric) and stacking of elements (horizontal/vertical/diagonal) varied across product categories. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by creating a comprehensive guidebook of visual elements of logos. It also offers guidance to in-house and third-party designers of companies for logo design to better understand the nuances of intellectual property related to logo elements and assists managers in comparing their brands' visual identity with those of their competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The interplay between individual and collective creativity and its translation into innovation is a critical yet complex challenge in the ever-evolving innovation landscape. This study delves into the intricate relationship between managerial ability, intellectual property rights (IPRs) and research and development (R&D) investments contextualized within the dynamics of leverage, firm life stages and tangibility for pharmaceutical firms in the Asia-Pacific region. By exploring how micro-level factors influence macro-level innovation processes, this study aims to contribute to the broader understanding of creativity and innovation, a theme at the heart of addressing contemporary global challenges. Design/methodology/approach: Econometric methodologies were used to analyse a data set comprising 2,660 firm-year observations spanning the decade from 2011 to 2020. Findings: A key finding was that companies with lower managerial prowess strategically leverage R&D intensity to signal their value to the market and accrue reputational currency. The research unearths a significant positive relationship between managerial ability, IPRs and R&D investment. In environments characterized by strong managerial acumen and robust IPR safeguards, firms exhibit a heightened propensity to allocate resources to R&D endeavours. This underscores the role of intellectual leadership and legal protections in shaping R&D strategies within the pharmaceutical domain. Incorporating firm life stages as a moderating factor reveals that firm maturity fundamentally influences the interplay between managerial ability, IPRs and R&D expenditure. Originality/value: These findings' implications resonate profoundly within policy-making circles and pharmaceutical firms' day-to-day operational strategies, underscoring the pivotal role of intellectual capital and legal safeguards in shaping the future of innovation in the Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experts in the System of National Accounts (SNA) recently considered whether marketing could be included as a capital asset in the national accounts and later recommended that marketing should be an intangible in the 2025 SNA (IMF, 2022, 2023). This paper prepares macroeconomic measures of the United States marketing stock and develops similar measures within 61 industries. We find that, from 1987 to 2020, marketing capital contributed approximately as much to output growth (0.18 percentage point per year) as R&D (0.15) or software (0.19) did. Software grew more rapidly, but marketing had a larger factor share. Marketing contributes even more to output growth if quality is adjusted to allow for the better targeting associated with digital advertising. There is a close relationship between data flows, software, and digital marketing and national accountants will have to allocate expenditures among these categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the international trade in services related to intangible assets and intellectual property products (IPP), and it explores to what extent they might be used as a channel to shift the profits of multinational firms to tax havens. Using survey data on Italian firms, we first provide a geographical and sectoral analysis of Italy's trade in IPP services. We then estimate the amount of profit shifted abroad by foreign‐owned firms in our sample, applying at various levels of aggregation a methodology recently put forward in the literature. Finally, we look for a correlation at the firm level between estimated shifted profits and imports of IPP services. We find that while the overall correlation is very low, there is a small cluster of firms displaying a positive correlation between these two variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This review-essay reflects on Amy Gore's monograph Book Anatomy and the collection Handwriting in Early America , edited by Mark Alan Mattes. These two recent publications on book and media history sparked this meditation on how tools for unpacking history texts and technologies can be surprisingly useful for addressing the challenges that generative AI poses to questions of authorship and intellectual property today. Bross explores how Book Anatomy and Handwriting in Early America help us understand the ways in which written texts, especially printed works and, even more, works produced under colonization, are always produced through collaborative systems of unequal power. These systems include writers—both humans and (it may be) algorithmic compositors—and readers who accept, endorse, resist, or recast what they read. As readers, we are implicated in the systems that produce the materials that we consume. Making these activities visible to ourselves can help address the past as we make new media history in our moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to review Saudi Arabia's IPR system and analyze to what extent it complies with the WTO/TRIPS. The research looks into the history and the present legal system of IPR in Saudi Arabia. It also identifies the enforcement systems, and issues concerning compliance with international standards. With a comparative analysis method, the research assesses Saudi Arabia in comparison with the WTO guidelines and its neighboring countries regarding improving IPR protection. This research identifies progress in legislative and institutional development and gaps in enforcement efficiency and digital IP protection. The paper discusses measures to improve Saudi Arabia's IPR system to support innovation-based development and increase WTO compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The open interconnection and sharing characteristics of innovation-oriented enterprises aggravate the potential detrimental effects of intellectual property risks, while the proliferation of uncertainty factors perpetually amplifies the ripples of these risks. This study employed the grounded theory method, complemented by expert interviews, case analyses of intellectual property risk incidents, examination of intellectual property-related laws and regulations, as well as other relevant materials. It gathered comprehensive risk information and conducted an in-depth exploration of the underlying factors that contribute to intellectual property risks in enterprises. These factors encompassed risks associated with intellectual property dispute feedback, intellectual property competition, open innovation, intellectual property legal aspects, and environmental considerations. An index system for risk factors is established based on the comprehensive information collected. Furthermore, a system flow diagram depicting the mechanism of risk formation is developed using the system dynamics model. The study delves into the causal relationships among all risk factors and examines their impact on the overall intellectual property risk system within the enterprise. By simulating the dynamic evolution trend of intellectual property risk over time, the research reveals insights that can assist innovation-oriented enterprises operating in open environments in optimising their intellectual property risk management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the relationship between the digital economy and entrepreneurial activity from the perspective of government intellectual property protection. Based on data of 191 Chinese prefectural-and-above (PAA) level cities from 2015 to 2020, this empirical study conducts hierarchical regressions and spatial econometric analysis. The results show that the digital economy positively influences entrepreneurial activity. Meanwhile, the digital economy makes entrepreneurial activity show inter-city spatial dependence. Besides, government intellectual property protection plays a mediating role between the digital economy and entrepreneurial activity. Further, heterogeneity analysis shows that maintaining a high level of digital economic development and high-standard government intellectual property protection will be conducive to cities' innovation and entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) is one of the most influential command-and-control environmental regulations (CMC) in China. Whether it can promote the green innovation performance of enterprises remains unclear. Based on the 'Green Patent List' issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Chinese listed companies' data, this paper applies the quasi-natural experiment methods of the difference-in-differences model and difference-in-difference-in-differences model to identify the impact of environmental regulation pressure on the green innovation of enterprises. The study finds that implementing the APPCAP promotes the enterprises' green innovation performance in quantity and quality. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the green innovation effect of APPCAP is more obvious for those samples in the eastern region, with features of capital-intensive, labour-intensive, and low market concentration. Furthermore, our findings further support the weak version of the Porter hypothesis (PH), Whose path is that the implementation of APPCAP induces enterprises' green innovation by promoting their innovation investment. These findings provide policy implications for the coordination of environmental regulation and green transformation in pursuit of the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the influencing factors of the green innovation efficiency of patent-intensive industry based on grounded theory and interpretive structural model (ISM), on this basis, the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method is applied to reveal the configuration paths to high green innovation efficiency of the industry based on provincial panel data from 17 typical provinces in China from 2017 to 2019. Results of the paper indicate that: (1) all influencing factors of green innovation efficiency of patent-intensive industry can be classified into organizational factors, institutional factors, environmental factors, capital factors and technical factors; (2) among all 24 specific sub-factors which belong to these five categories, intellectual property protection, economic development level, trade openness, infrastructure construction, foreign direct investment, outward foreign direct investment and government support are the underlying factors that play the principle role in affecting the efficiency; (3) there are configuration paths to high green technology R&D efficiency, high green achievement transformation efficiency and high overall efficiency in patent-intensive industry. Research of the paper will contribute to promote green innovation and low-carbon transition in patent-intensive industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to explore the impact of intellectual property income (a guarantee for promoting technological advance) on energy efficiency (indicating the technological advance) considering the mediation role of trade openness. To this end, this article uses the available data of 50 countries from 2000 to 2019 to study the influence of intellectual property income and trade openness. The Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square and Dynamic Ordinary Least Square methods are applied in this article to study the long-term relationship between different variables. The empirical results show that there is a mediation effect between intellectual property income and energy intensity. In other words, intellectual property income can not only directly affect energy intensity, but also indirectly affect energy intensity through trade openness. Fully considering the impact of regional heterogeneity, the countries are divided into high-income (HI) countries and middle-income (MI) countries. The results indicate there are noticeable regional differences in the impact of intellectual property income on energy intensity via the mediation effect of trade openness. The improvement of intellectual property income and trade openness benefits the HI countries most, but not for MI countries. Targeted policy implications are proposed to enable a reduction in energy intensity for countries at different income levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) in criminal law is an important aspect of the legal system that enforces rights holders and prevents the illegal use of intellectual products. The modern world, in which information and innovation play a key role in the development of society, requires effective IPR protection mechanisms at both the national and international levels. This paper examines various aspects of the criminal law protection of IPR, starting with basic concepts and ending with international agreements regulating this area. The concept of IPR covers a wide range of objects that are the results of creative and innovative activities: copyrights to literary, musical, artistic works, rights to inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications and other intellectual products that have economic and social value. Criminal law protection of IPR in Ukraine is regulated by a number of legislative acts, in particular the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine «On Copyright and Related Rights», the Law of Ukraine «On the Protection of Rights to Inventions and Utility Models», etc. These regulations establish liability for infringement of intellectual property rights, including illegal use of IPR objects, piracy, counterfeiting of trademarks, which can cause significant material damage and affect the reputation of rights holders. An important place in the study is the analysis of the composition of crimes in the field of IPR. IPR crimes can vary in their nature and complexity. This can be both a direct violation of copyright, and more complex cases related to the counterfeiting of goods or the use of trademarks without the permission of the owner. Analysis of the criminal composition helps to understand which actions are subject to criminal liability and which sanctions can be applied to violators. Subjects of crimes in the field of IPR include both natural and legal persons who may be responsible for infringement of intellectual property rights. Particular attention is paid to the issues of identification and prosecution of violators, as well as problems arising in the process of law enforcement. The international aspect of IPR protection is an integral part of the modern legal system, as globalization leads to an increase in the international exchange of intellectual products and information. The work examines key international agreements, in particular the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which establishes international standards for the protection of IPR. It is also important to analyze the role of international organizations, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in coordinating the efforts of various countries in the fight against IPR violations. The work also raises issues of problems and prospects for the development of criminal protection of IPR. Challenges associated with the development of digital technologies create new risks for rights holders, in particular in the area of digital piracy and copyright infringement on the Internet. In the conditions of globalization, the harmonization of national legislation with international standards is necessary, as well as the development of international cooperation mechanisms for the effective protection of IPR. In general, the study highlights current problems and provides recommendations for improving the system of criminal protection of IPR in Ukraine. Effective protection of intellectual property rights is a key factor in ensuring innovative economic development and increasing the country's competitiveness in the international arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article emphasises that in the context of a full-scale war and economic crisis, protection of Ukraine's leading industries becomes one of the state's priority tasks. Not only the economic independence of the country, but also its defence capability depends on the preservation and development of these industries. The article identifies the leading industries of Ukraine that require priority protection. The main risks and threats to these industries are analysed. A set of priority measures to protect the leading industries has been developed, including financial support, tax and customs benefits, state guarantees, creation of a favourable investment climate, technology modernisation and innovation, and protection of intellectual property. The implementation of the proposed measures will definitely contribute to strengthening the country's economic security and, accordingly, its defence capability. It is emphasised that in the context of globalisation and competition in international markets, it is extremely important to ensure the sustainability and competitiveness of key production sectors, including energy, machine building, and heavy industry. National priorities in this area should include the development and implementation of effective protection strategies, modernisation of the technological base, improvement of product quality, creation of a favourable investment climate and ener gy security. The author suggests that analysis of innovation trends, study of international experience and introduction of advanced technologies are key aspects of development and protection of leading industries. An effective system of intellectual property protection, implementation of effective cybersecurity and information security measures, and support of state programmes for the development of production capacities contribute to strengthening the protection of import ant sectors of the economy. The author concludes that studying and analysing the problems of protecting Ukraine's leading industries and developing national priorities in this regard are important tasks for ensuring the sustainability and competitiveness of the country's economy in the current conditions of geopolitical and economic challenges, as well as for the post-war reconstruc tion of the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is dedicated to current issues of legal protection of unregistered industrial designs. It has been established that an unregistered industrial design is a type of industrial design that has its own legal regime, containing features inherent only to an unregistered industrial design. It has been proven that an unregistered industrial design as an industrial design must meet the conditions for granting legal protection, which are established by law. It was established that bringing an unregistered industrial design to the public should take place precisely on the territory of Ukraine. It is substantiated that the disclosure that took place on the Internet cannot always be interpreted as disclosure on the territory of Ukraine. It is established that the owner of an unregistered industrial design has an exclusive right to its use. It is justified that the owner of a registered industrial design has broader rights to prohibit unauthorized use of the industrial design than the owner of an unregistered industrial design, since the owner of a registered industrial design can prohibit both the copying of his industrial design and the use of a similar product if «its appearance causes informed user has the same overall impression as the protected industrial design.» It is well-founded that the owner of an unregistered industrial design has narrowed opportunities to protect the rights to the industrial design, as he can only prohibit direct copying of the product and even then with restrictions. It has been proven that when protecting rights to an unregistered industrial design, it is necessary to prove the existence of rights to such an unregistered industrial design. It has been proven that an unregistered industrial design is an important object of industrial property, it is a type of industrial design, intellectual property rights to which arise from the moment it is brought to public notice on the territory of Ukraine and which are valid for three years (shortened term of legal protection), it does not require registration and entry into the State Register of Industrial Designs of Ukraine, the rights to it are not certified by the Certificate, its owner has narrowed rights to its use and protection of rights to it, compared to the powers of the owner of a registered industrial design. It is substantiated that the legal regulation regarding the unregistered industrial design needs to be clarified in terms of the exercise of exclusive property rights of intellectual property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the legal analysis of the features of copyright in the functioning of libraries and archives in Ukraine. It is noted that in the legal framework, the functioning of libraries and archives is closely related to copyright, in particular, in the context of using works stored in the collections of libraries and archives. It is established that the main mechanism required to maintain a balance between the needs of society and the interests of copyright holders is the application of restrictions and exceptions to copyright in the functioning of libraries and archives. The author analyzes the provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Copyright and Related Rights» No. 2811-IX dated December 1, 2022, and concludes that this law introduces significant changes to the legal regulation of copyright in the functioning of libraries and archives. The author concludes that the Law of Ukraine «On Copyright and Related Rights» includes in the non-exhaustive list of works that may be reprographically reproduced. It is noted that the Law of Ukraine «On Copyright and Related Rights» has expanded the range of entities that can freely use works in their activities. These institutions include libraries, museums with open access to visitors, archives, and organizations for the storage of audio and video recordings. The author concludes that the Law of Ukraine «On Copyright and Related Rights» No. 2811-IX dated December 1, 2022, for the first time legislated the definition of an orphan work and established the basis for legal regulation of orphan works in Ukraine. The analysis of Ukrainian legislation and EU directives regulating copyright issues in the functioning of libraries and archives shows that that the provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Copyright and Related Rights» are in line with the provisions of Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC and Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the study of the essence of the concept of the degree of freedom of the designer of an industrial design in the context of such a criterion of the protectionability of an industrial design as an individual character. The Law of Ukraine «On Protection of Rights to Industrial Designs» has been analyzed for the purpose of defining the concept of «designer’s degree of freedom». It has been established that the domestic law does not contain a broad explanation of the mentioned concept. It has been found that some additional information regarding the understanding of the concept of «designer’s degree of freedom» is contained in such a secondary legal act as the recently approved Rules for drawing up and submitting an application for an industrial design and conducting an examination of an application for an industrial design and international registration of an industrial design. It has been analysed the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their member states, on the other hand, as well as Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of October 13, 1998 on legal protection industrial designs and Council Regulation (EC) No. 6/2002 of December 12, 2001 on Community industrial designs, the provisions of which were implemented in 2020 into the Law of Ukraine «On the Protection of Industrial Design Rights». It has been established that the above-mentioned international legal acts do not provide a deep interpretation of the concept of the designer’s degree of freedom. Separate foreign and international court cases have been considered, in which the designer’s degree of freedom in specific practical cases has been analyzed in detail. It has been clarified and illustrated with real examples the specific importance of the degree of freedom of the designer for the individual character of an industrial design. On the basis of domestic legislation, international legal acts, foreign and international judicial practice, own conclusions have been drawn regarding the understanding of the concept of the degree of freedom of the author of an industrial design. It has been established under which circumstances the degree of freedom of the designer cannot be limited. It has been concluded that the requirements for the differences of the designed product from others, which make an impression on the informed user, depend on the lower or higher degree of freedom of the designer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to identifying the peculiarities of contractual relations in digital circulation. Digital turnover is becoming increasingly widespread, which leads to the emergence of new forms of contractual relations characterized by significant differences. The purpose of the article is to reveal the characteristics and peculiarities of contractual relations arising within the framework of digital civil turnover. The study of contractual relations in digital circulation is necessitated by the lack of sustainable legal regulation of this area which requires further improvement. The peculiarity of building relations in digital circulation is associated with its technical properties, primarily the need to gain access to digital platforms for the exercise of subjective rights by users. The author emphasizes that the exercise of subjective rights in digital circulation can be realized only through the use of complex intellectual property objects, in particular, those combining computer programs, databases, music, animation objects, photographs, etc. The author proposes to distinguish the following types of relations in the field of digital circulation: 1) regarding the creation and maintenance of digital circulation (legal regime of intellectual property rights); 2) organizational relations in the field of business administration of the digital environment (corporate, labor relations with the appropriate legal regime); 3) between the user and the administrator of the relevant digital environment (contractual regulation, with elements of the legal regime of personal data protection); 4) between users of the digital space regarding digital assets (a complex regime of legal regulation which may combine the legal regimes of The author emphasizes that contractual relations in digital circulation are based on both civil law and rules and standards used in electronic systems. It is proved that different types of relations require a comprehensive application of different legal norms and are mediated by different agreements, such as: license agreements; agreements for the provision of digital services (cloud storage, marketplaces); sale and purchase of goods; exchange and pledge of digital assets; token agreements (regulating the use of cryptocurrencies and other tokens in digital ecosystems), etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is considered the formation of an economic-legal mechanism for the protection of intellectual property rights in the field of national security and defense of Ukraine and it is substantiated that this mechanism is a complex system in a broad sense, where there is a combination of integrated innovative activity of the state scientific and production structures of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine with the Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovations in the direction of protection of intellectual property rights, and also it has a basis of innovativeness (innovative-intellectual activity) taking into account the relevant principles and priorities. The effectiveness of the mechanism in the conditions of creating an innovative and intellectual environment in the field of defense with the cycle «science-technics-technology-production-defense» is determined as a targeted combination of highly qualified leading specialists and scientists in the appropriate organizational-functional and technical-technological production structure, which is aimed at innovative-intellectual activity and technical-technological entrepreneurship, where the economic component is taken into account-receiving remuneration during the commercialization of intellectual property rights objects in the form of profit, royalties, combined payment, which are intended to stimulate the subjects of right to protect intellectual property rights. Attention is focused on the activities of subjects that have violated intellectual property rights in the aspect of the directions of violations. These directions allow us to look for effective ways of countering such activities in the field of national security and defense of Ukraine. It is noted that the formation of an economic and legal mechanism for the protection of intellectual property rights in the sphere of national security and defense of Ukraine will contribute to effective countermeasures against violations of property rights of intellectual property in this important field of activity. Important criteria for the effectiveness of the protection of intellectual property rights are outlined, which are: the level of professionalism and personal responsibility of judges, the level of creative thinking and creativity of judges, the level of court independence, the level of software, organizational, personnel, legal and information support of the court apparatus. Arguably, the lack of appropriate legislative regulation and experience in the commercialization of military and defense technologies and equipment using IPPR is pointed out in Ukraine, creates opportunities for violations of property rights of intellectual property, which lead not only to the lack of effective protection of the rights of IPPR subjects, but also affect on the defense capability of the state. The economic and legal mechanism for the protection of intellectual property rights in the field of national security and defense of Ukraine is presented, which requires coordination of the efforts of all subjects authorized to protect and protect intellectual property. It is noted that the development of the sphere of intellectual property has a decisive influence on the state of national security, which is linked to organizational measures to neutralize internal sources of threats and protect against external threats to national security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investments in the strategic development of the biopharmaceutical industry are increasing in both developed and developing countries. The biopharmaceutical industry is a technology-intensive industry where securing original technology and intellectual property rights is important. The role of open innovation is becoming more important due to the enormous research and development (R&D) funds and long development period in the early development process, and open innovation (OI) is becoming more important in the corporate world. Many empirical studies have been conducted on the impact on performance. However, the contextual factors that affect the relationship between OI activities and innovation performance have received relatively little attention, and studies from the perspective of developing countries catching up with developed countries are even rarer. Accordingly, this study examined the moderating effects (government R&D support, absorptive capacity, and alliance management capacity) that affect open innovation and innovation performance in the biopharmaceutical industry using data from Korea, one of the most representative latecomer countries in the biopharmaceutical industry. The basic information, OI activities, and patent achievements of Korean biopharmaceutical firms were collected and organized into a database. Samples with missing or incorrect information were excluded, and 527 firms were analyzed. Negative binomial regression analysis was performed considering the characteristics of patent performance, which is the dependent variable, and a time lag of one to two years was assumed considering the time required to generate results. OI in the form of technological cooperation, rather than technology purchasing, has a positive effect on patent performance. Meanwhile, the greater the absorptive capacity and government R&D support, the greater the positive impact of technological cooperation on patent performance. Conversely, the greater the alliance management capacity, the greater the positive impact of technological cooperation. These results indicate that the impact of OI activities on technological innovation performance may vary depending on context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the qualification of crimes in the field of intellectual property. It is noted that the basis of the criminal-legal qualification process is exclusively the criminal law. Only the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides an exhaustive list of criminal offenses, definitions of acts that are not crimes, and characteristics of post-criminal behavior, which in each specific case have their own criminallegal significance. That is why, for the correct application of the criminal law, it is necessary to have deep knowledge, a systematic understanding and a clear and unanimous interpretation of all elements of the composition of a criminal offense, acts that are not criminal, as well as certain post-criminal behavior, if they were not disclosed by the legislator in the law itself. That is, the qualification of a criminal offense in the field of intellectual property becomes a logical continuation of the previous criminal-legal qualification only when the result of the latter turns out to be the recognition of a certain act as criminally illegal. In addition, it was established that during the criminal-legal qualification, first of all, it should be determined whether the committed act is provided for in a certain prohibitive article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Then it is necessary to establish the conformity of the signs of this actually committed act with all the signs of a criminal offense in the field of intellectual property, which are provided for by the specified article of the criminal law. The author also emphasized the fact that an important aspect of the qualification of criminal offenses in the field of intellectual property is their combination with other criminal acts. That is why the accuracy of the qualification of the investigated criminal offenses must be achieved regardless of whether it will affect the future punishment or in some other way in the future will affect the legal position of the suspect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The pharmaceutical industry is a cornerstone in the global healthcare system, renowned for its pioneering discoveries and unwavering commitment to addressing complex health challenges. Over decades, it has proven its resilience in ensuring the availability of life-saving treatments. However, this stalwart industry is not without its challenges, from high costs and intricate regulations to the complexities of intellectual property protection, drug pricing, and the ever-looming spectre of emerging health threats, (as witnessed in recent pandemics). Amidst these diverse challenges, technological advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerge as a beacon of hope, positioned to transform the industry. Study: This article explores the transformative role of AI within the pharmaceutical industry, unravelling its multifaceted impact across crucial domains. From revolutionizing drug discovery and development to optimizing clinical trials, enabling personalized medicine, enhancing manufacturing and quality control, ensuring pharmacovigilance, streamlining supply chain management, and even influencing drug marketing and sales, AI's influence is pervasive. The integration of AIs into the pharmaceutical industry signifies a transformative moment in the course of healthcare evolution. Conclusion: In summary, as we navigate this era of unprecedented technological advancement, the pharmaceutical landscape is poised for a profound and drastic change, signalling a leap toward enhanced patient outcomes and a more resilient healthcare ecosystem. The integration of AI offers numerous benefits, including faster and more cost-effective drug discovery, enhanced precision in personalized medicine, improved clinical trials through better data analysis etc. However, AI also faces limitations such as the need for high-quality, unbiased datasets, regulatory and ethical concerns regarding transparency and data privacy, and the inherent complexity of biological systems that can sometimes outstrip AI's current capabilities. In light of these opportunities and challenges, the future of AI in pharmaceuticals hinges on careful implementation, continuous innovation, ethical considerations and a collaborative approach to addresses these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital economy has brought innovative power to the manufacturing transformation. This study aims to investigate the nonlinear effects of digital development on manufacturing innovation using provincial panel data from China from 2011 to 2018. A two-way fixed effects model is used to examine the inverted U-shaped curve that represents the nonlinear impact of digital development on innovation. To explore the reasons behind the nonlinear digital innovation spillover, this study considered both the internal factors and external boundary conditions. We employ a moderation effect model to verify the interaction between digital development and user literacy which has a positive impact on manufacturing innovation. Especially, higher education can help users enhance digital literacy in driving digital innovation spillovers. Threshold effect model is used to examine the boundary conditions such as Internet penetration rate, information resources, and protection of intellectual property rights that contribute to the nonlinear effects. The research findings suggest that when these factors reach a critical point, the positive impact of the digital economy on manufacturing innovation turns towards a declining trend. The study provides insights into the complex relationship between digital development and manufacturing innovation and proposes policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debates on intellectual property rights and open source frequently stem from the business sector and higher education, where goals are typically oriented toward profit, academic status, credit, and/or reputation. What happens if we reconsider the ethics of intellectual property rights and open source when our driving motivation is advancing women's health and rights? How does this prioritization complicate our assumptions of copyright and open access? How can we embark on a journey that validates the complex realities of multiple stakeholders who have good intent, but do not always consider the unintended impacts and the broader power dynamics at play? This paper explores the tensions and nuances of sharing methodologies that aim to transform harmful gender norms in an ecosystem that does not always consider the complex challenges behind intellectual property and open-source material. As a thought-collective dedicated to using a feminist approach to unpack and promote the principles of ethical, effective, and sustainable scale, we hope to underscore how the current research and debates on intellectual property rights and open-source material have good aims but may also fall short in encompassing the realities of gendered social norms change in and with communities around the world. We conclude with key recommendations for donors, researchers, International Development Corporations, International Non-Governmental Organizations, and those interested in using or adapting dynamic, gender transformative materials created by others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is focuses on the research of issues concerning the acquisition of legal protection by olfactory trademarks. As a result of unceasing technological development, means of individualization in the marketing of services or products are acquiring new patterns of expression, in particular in the form of olfactory trademarks. Nowadays, the legislation of only a few countries provides for the possibility of obtaining legal protection for trademarks with this form of expression. It is obvious that with the further development of technology, the registration of olfactory trademarks is bound to become more widespread. This is due to the likelihood that technology will in the future be able to adequately transmit scents at a distance, based on its success over the past centuries in transmitting sound and images. However, since the transmission of scents at a distance by technological means is not currently provided for, the legislator faces a significant dilemma with respect to the legal protection of olfactory trademarks. Since, as a general rule, in order to obtain legal protection, a trademark must be represented in the register, the question arise how to represent olfactory trademark in the register in such a way in the same unambiguous and certain manner as other trademarks. The presence of this aspect which is caused by the specifics of olfactory trademarks naturally raises the question of the legal protection of such trademarks. Thus, the issue of legal protection of olfactory trademarks has thus been reflected the scientific legal doctrine. However, the absence of an unequivocal approach to the legal protection of olfactory trademarks requires further research on this issue. In this study the author examines the specifics of olfactory trademarks, the peculiarities of obtaining legal protection, and the legal approaches to ensuring legal protection of olfactory trademarks. In the course of the study, the author established the criteria for obtaining legal protection for olfactory trademarks and considered the prospects for granting legal protection to such trademarks in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 5 June 2024, the German Association for Intellectual Property Law (GRUR) and the University of Luxembourg organised a conference on Intellectual Property and the European Courts at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg. This one-day event featured fruitful discussions on the role of courts in protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights. Among the renowned speakers and moderators were judges from European courts, prominent attorneys, representatives of various organisations and associations, and leading academics from across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of a competitor's trademark as a keyword in digital advertising, specifically in the context of sponsored links on search engines like Google. It argues that this practice constitutes unfair competition, leading to confusion among consumers and parasitic competition. The text also delves into the legal implications, including civil liability for search engine providers and the need for compensation for damages caused by such actions. The article emphasizes the importance of protecting trademarks and preventing consumer confusion in the digital advertising landscape. [Extracted from the article]

Intellectual property (IP) law is traditionally considered rigid, with little room for maneuvering in crisis cases. In this article, through three case studies, we discuss how health crises have affected IP rights, especially in Brazil, and the relationship of Brazilian decision‐making with internationally accepted legal frameworks. In the first case, on the AIDS crisis, we discuss the initiatives of compulsory licenses in Brazil and the debate on the Doha Declaration on public health, in which the international community recognized the national margin of appreciation of TRIPs in specific cases, making the Brazilian government's action viable. In the second case, on COVID, we discuss some proposals for waiver of IP rights that, although not effectively implemented, were important to pressure economic players to find solutions to transfer technology and expand the production of newly discovered vaccines, with the transfer of technology and expansion of Brazilian vaccine factories. In the third case, also on COVID, we discuss how the health crisis induced the Brazilian Judiciary, Executive, and Legislative branches to change different points of the IP law that had been under discussion for many years and reduced the extent of these rights, to increase access to medicines, but limited by international minimum standards. We conclude that IP law is essential for developing new drugs to deal with health crises. At the same time, these crises are essential for constructing Law that prevents abuses by dominant economic actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand is facing ongoing trade‐related challenges that threaten access to an affordable and sustainable supply of medicines. Despite Thailand's history of balancing trade pressures and public health priorities, little is known about the factors that enable or constrain a focus on access to medicines in trade‐related intellectual property (IP) decision making. Using document analysis and qualitative interviews, and drawing on Kingdon's Multiple Streams Framework, this qualitative study examines the factors that have enabled or constrained Thailand from focusing on access to medicines in three case studies of trade‐related IP policy: Thailand's patent law and its amendments; its issuance of compulsory licences; and its decision‐making about TRIPS‐plus trade agreements including potential membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans‐Pacific Partnership. The degree to which access to medicines has been prioritised in Thailand's trade‐related IP policymaking has varied across different types of policymaking and over time. Integral to its successes has been the involvement of the Ministry of Health and sustained advocacy by access to medicines coalitions which exert political pressure, generate evidence, and provide technical assistance to support evidence‐based policy reform. In addition, Thailand's compulsory licencing was made possible by a policy entrepreneur with the motivation and authority to implement policy change. Constraints to Thailand's focus on access to medicines have included its trade dependence on the United States (US), ongoing US trade pressure to implement TRIPS‐plus measures, and intense lobbying from Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the organisation representing US‐based major pharmaceutical companies, to increase IP protection for pharmaceuticals in Thailand. Through the use of Kingdon's framework, this study's focus on three different types of trade‐related IP policymaking has provided a detailed picture of the factors that have influenced the prioritisation of access to medicines and how these have played out in Thailand. Thailand's mixed history with regard to the prioritisation of access to medicines could provide lessons for other low‐ and middle‐income countries facing similar challenges to access to medicines by ensuring that the conditions are right in each of the three streams for windows of opportunity to emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate between patent rights of pharmaceutical firms and the rights of the poor to equal access to health is an old one. The basic purpose of any patent system that grants a temporary monopoly to an innovator is to stimulate innovation and investment in the production of the newly innovated goods and services, which in turn gives supernormal profits to the innovator. However, the equity considerations dictate the spread of this knowledge in the public domain. The dilemma of the patent system is that, in encouraging R&D, it prevents the diffusion of innovation and consequently creates a non‐competitive situation. This paper examines the impact of patent protection on the number of patent filings by the pharmaceutical companies in India after it signed the Trade‐Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and the trend in research and development expenditure by domestic firms. It questions the basis of this intellectual property right, especially, when a substantial amount of basic research is often carried out in the universities and federal funding is provided at the basic research and development level. It further investigates the success of various flexibilities provided under TRIPS which the Indian Patent Act has used and can potentially use, in comparison to other developed countries, to provide easy access to the medicines. The paper concludes by exploring other options available during public health emergencies and otherwise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terms of service (ToS) for social networking sites (SNS) like Instagram, Meta, X, and so on, is a clickwrap agreement that establishes a legal relationship between platform owners and users, yet probably it is the most overlooked legal agreement. The users of these sites often overlook the ToS while registering themselves on these sites and even if users (especially those with no legal background) are attempting to read them, it is difficult for them to understand because of the legal jargon. As a result, they end up signing away legal rights about which they are unaware. According to these sites' ToS, though the ownership of the user‐generated content is bestowed upon the user but the users grant to these sites "a non‐exclusive, royalty‐free, transferrable, sub‐licensable, worldwide license" and this license can be used "to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate and create derivative works of user's content." These sites even bestow on themselves the right to modify the content which poses challenges to the right‐holders' moral rights. The fact that these platforms can sublicense the user's work creates complexities when a user intends to grant an exclusive license of his work. There is no clarity on the language of the terms like the manner of exploiting the user's content, what happens if the sublicensing is for a wrongful purpose? The problem magnifies as there is neither explicit indication about the duration of the license nor about the territorial extent. This would suggest that these sites can get a perpetual license on the content of the users. These SNS have consumers spread worldwide but in their ToS, they have forum selection clauses that list out the courts and districts in California. This means users will be discouraged to bring a copyright suit due to the lack of an option to file a claim in their home country. The US case Agence France Presse (AFP) v. Morel helps us conclude twofold mainly there is a hope that SNS will not take ToS to shield themselves from further use of the user's work and strengthen the idea that these platforms may choose to license to their partners. Further, in 2018, the Paris Tribunal declared most clauses of Twitter "null and void" due to the nature of the license and also, because it was not in compliance with French Intellectual Property Code. This gives a faint hope for a positive shift in the legal treatment of user‐generated content. Though these sites claim to retain the sublicensing right to run their sites smoothly but the licensing is very broad and carries the possibility of many usages of the content that too without paying compensation to the user. Therefore, this paper aims to highlight and give insight into the unfair licensing terms of the most often used social networking sites and its implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and its generative capabilities have propelled innovation across various industries, yet they have also sparked intricate legal debates, particularly in the realm of copyright law. Generative AI systems, capable of producing original content based on user‐provided input or prompts, have introduced novel challenges regarding ownership and authorship of AI‐generated works. One crucial aspect of this discussion revolves around text prompts, which serve as instructions for AI systems to generate specific content types, be it text, images, or music. Despite the transformative potential of AI‐generated works, the legal landscape remains fragmented, with disparate jurisdictional interpretations and a lack of uniform approaches. This disparity has led to legal uncertainty and ambiguity, necessitating a nuanced exploration of originality, creativity, and legal principles in the context of text prompts and resulting outputs. This article seeks to contribute to the ongoing debate by delving into the complexities surrounding AI‐generated works, focusing specifically on the originality of text prompts and their correlation with resulting outputs. While previous literature has extensively examined copyright issues related to AI, the originality of text prompts remains largely unexplored, representing a significant gap in the existing discourse. By analysing the originality of text prompts, this article aims to uncover new insights into the creative process underlying AI‐generated works and its implications for copyright law. Drawing parallels from traditional creative works, such as collages, the article will assess how legal principles apply to AI‐generated content, considering philosophical foundations as well as copyright principles, such as the idea‐expression dichotomy. Furthermore, the article will explore the divergent approaches taken by different jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, United States, and European Union, in determining originality in the context of copyright law. While refraining from providing definitive answers, the article aims to stimulate critical thinking and dialogue among stakeholders. By offering fresh perspectives and insights, it seeks to enrich the discourse surrounding the copyrightability of AI‐generated works and pave the way for informed policy decisions and legal interpretations. The article aims to contribute valuable perspectives to the ongoing debate on copyright and AI, shaping the future trajectory of intellectual property law in the era of artificial intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platforms that allow copyright owners to reach a large number of users and increase their economic fortune, contritely; enable the potential infringers preferring free‐riding to upload and distribute copyrighted materials. Under various theories of direct and secondary copyright infringement, the platforms now loosely called intermediaries are likely to become liable for copyright infringement. Like other jurisdictions, Indian law contains specific provisions to protect the intermediaries from such unanticipated liability. However, this intermediary liability and immunity law got muddied by inconsistent interpretations of the two operating statutes. Taking clues from the cross‐jurisdictional insights, this paper looks at the interpretative conundrum. Furthermore, the paper contends how the preferred interpretation is incompatible with the Berne Convention and Agreement on Trade‐Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights recommended three‐step doctrine for creating copyright exceptions. Ultimately, this paper advocates for a legislative intervention to clear the clouds of confusion in view of India's endeavour to enact a new law on ICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On February 27, 2015, as part of the Agricultural Growth Act, amendments to the Canada's Plant Breeders' Rights (PBRs) Act came into force, making Canada compliant with Union for the Protection of the New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) 91. One objective of adopting UPOV 91 was that it would encourage increased investment in plant breeding, giving Canadian farmers greater access to new and innovative plant varieties that enable them to be more globally competitive. To assess whether the adoption of UPOV 91 impacted crop variety investments, a survey of Canadian public and private plant breeders was undertaken in 2021–2022. Results indicate that the length of research grants play a significant role in plant breeders' perspectives. Previous research indicated that the adoption of UPOV 91 provided minimal incentives to increase investments. Results of this survey indicate that 52% of respondents, either agree or strongly agree, that the amendments to the PBR Act have provided an incentive to increase plant breeding investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study represents an attempt to establish the ethics of artificial intelligence in light of the second legislative source in Islam: the Sunnah of the Prophet. This study adopted the descriptive, analytical, and deductive approach through content analysis based on inferences from the Prophet's hadiths with the aim of clarifying the underlying approach to these ethics in light of this. It concluded with a set of ethics related to artificial intelligence, which were rooted in the light of the Prophet's Sunnah in a way that ensures its correct and disciplined use and achieves the integrity of the desired means and goals. These ethics were represented in the legitimacy of design and function; neutrality and impartiality; safety, control, and responsibility; respect for privacy; setting codified systems and regulations; environmental sustainability; respect for individual, institutional, and intellectual property; consideration of humanity; and achieving balance. The research established its roots in the honorable Sunnah of the Prophet and in light of the objectives of Islamic law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample of Chinese listed A-share firms from 2006 to 2017, we find that firms with more rookie independent directors have less corporate innovation. The result is more pronounced in private firms and firms located in lower intellectual property right protection provinces. We argue that firms with more rookie independent directors have lower corporate governance and tend to hold more cash, thus reducing corporate innovation activities. Our results have important implications from the practice, academic, and public policy perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes possible ways of protecting artificial intelligence systems and their elements with the help of intellectual property law from the perspective of European Union law. This paper deals with copyright law, patent law and sui generis database protection in relation to artificial intelligence systems. The paper begins with an analysis of whether and how an artificial intelligence can be protected by means of copyright. The author analyzes the European Union's copyright acquis and concludes that the elements of the Al system, as well as the entire artificial intelligence system, that are implemented in software, can be protected by copyright as a computer program if the originality requirements are met. However, the originality requirement is unlikely to be met in all cases in this context. The same issue with the originality requirement applies to potentially possible copyright protection of artificial intelligence systems as databases. Therefore, it is concluded that the fulfillment of copyright requirements for protection of an artificial intelligence system must be established in each particular case. The author also considers whether patent law is applicable to protect artificial intelligence systems. For this purpose, the provisions of the patent law of the European Union, in particular, of the European Patent Convention, are analyzed. The author concludes that the artificial intelligence system may be patentable as a "computer-implemented invention" in case all the requirements for patent protection are met. Sui generis database protection is also considered as an additional possibility for legal protection of artificial intelligence systems, taking into account that its applicability is limited to the European Union. Whether sui generis database protection is applicable to the artificial intelligence system should be decided on a case-by-case basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the torsional micro-nano stacking method with the state proprietary intellectual property rights, the dispersive regulation of inorganic particles by micro-nano stacking units was analyzed using a particle tracer technology, and it was compared with the twin-screw mixing effect under the same flow field. The results indicated that the micro-nano laminated element used in this study had a strong shear stress in the flow channel because of its unique torsional structure. Under the same conditions, the average shear stress was dozens of times as much as that of the twin-screw mixing. The outlet particle size of the micro-nano laminated unit had a larger proportion in the small size area, and its peak density was 0.09, which was 0.07 higher than that of the twin-screw mixing. Based on these characterization results, the used micro-nano stacked units exhibited a strong ability to disperse and regulate inorganic particles, resulting in better dispersion and mixing of particles in the polymer matrix. The mixing effect of inorganic particles and polymer melt by micro-nano lamination device was also verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]