Journal of World Intellectual Property最新文献

There are conflicting regulations affecting subscribers' property in telephone numbers in Nigeria. This article conceptualises telephone number as property capable of ownership in the jural sense and in the prism of bundle of rights theory of property. It analyses developments in advanced jurisdictions to highlight possibilities for reform. The analogy of treatment of property in domain name is used to demonstrate that contract can beget property rights. Some property concepts and theories are espoused to support the intellectual property in telephone number for the subscriber including privacy, trademark, acquisition theory, rule of capture, bundle of rights, goodwill, and so on. These are all used to demonstrate and advocate that there is property in telephone number vested in the subscriber in Nigeria, not only from a statutory perspective but also from some legal theories and approaches to property and any reform should approach it from those perspectives.

This paper reviews the experience with access to vaccines during the pandemic. Its inquiry is the extent to which pharmaceutical patents have hindered or enhanced access when compared to other factors or conditions like health spending, manufacturing capacity, and regulatory competence. To conduct the review, the paper queries the regulatory governance perspective when it suggests a decentralised field of legal pluralism will maximise access. It recalls the pre-COVID-19 experience with antiretrovirals to provide pointers to the present situation. It then examines the experience with COVID vaccines under the headings of invention, production, procurement, and distribution. The review finds while patents may hinder access to vaccines, other, essential conditions for access, like independent manufacturing capacity and commitment to procurement, are not established. Regulatory governance must now adopt a much more concerted, coordinated approach, mobilising both patent regulation and other key conditions to further access. The review is an opportunity to gather some of the copious commentary on this issue.

During the COVID 2019 pandemic, the healthcare sector faced major jurisprudential questions about the intellectual property system. During this period, the world was in the midst of a healthcare crisis, wherein the debate between the reward for innovation versus accessibility to all at equitable rates have become intense. In a such challenging scenario, the scientific community were dedicated toward the research while the healthcare industry was indulging in arguments over the incentives on creation. In this paper, the authors, as IP researchers, argue that in a scenario where there is an intense dispute over innovation versus accessibility, probably patent pool can serve as a mechanism to handle the tussle. The authors have analyzed a few patent pool models that were chosen on the basis of the types of patents in the pool. Additionally, an attempt is made to scrutinize the laws governing patent pools in developed countries and developing countries. In doing so, the authors draw the benefits and limitations of the patent pools in healthcare. We follow a qualitative research methodology. The research is based on secondary data and has some limitations because of this.

Farming communities have played a vital role in making plant genetic resources available to commercial plant breeders for development of new varieties of plants. They are instrumental in ensuring sustainability of agriculture, which is a must to meet the demands of an increasing world's population. Despite the above the contributions of farming communities are undervalued. Agriculture-based economies cannot do justice with these communities by treating them as steward of biological resources only. Attempts have been made in different jurisdictions to protect commercial plant breeders as well as farmers using different options available under the TRIPs Agreement. But, in no jurisdiction, farming communities have affirmative rights equal to or better than commercial plant breeders due to the demands of privatization of seed industries and technological developments in agriculture sector. An attempt has been made by the Government of India under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 to recognize the enormous contributions of farming communities and give them protection at par with commercial plant breeders. In fact, the Act recognizes the long-due customary claims of farming communities. The paper examines the rights of farmers as customary rights particularly in light of the UNDROP, 2018. It critically examines the recent decision of PPV&FR  Authority in Kavitha Kuruganti case to understand PepsiCo's concerns and its contradictions with customary rights of farmers in India.

Based on the enormous growth of financial technology (FinTech) and digital assets in banking financial transactions, this research has been conducted in an Islamic banking sector. It aims to discuss and elaborate the Islamic/sharia banking, the adoption of Islamic FinTech, the legal protection of digital assets, and their role in economic development in Indonesia. To achieve the study objectives, researchers applied a comparative and normative judicial approach along with perspective and descriptive analysis methods. The results revealed the significant adoption of FinTech by the Islamic banking sector. In contrast, the findings also showed that, regardless of the availability of laws and regulations regarding FinTech in the conventional banking system, no general regulations and laws are available regarding Islamic FinTech and the protection of digital assets under the Central Bank of Indonesia and Financial Services Authority. However, there are some important guidelines regarding the legal protection for Islamic FinTech and digital assets as per the Fatwa issued by the National Shariah Board of Indonesian Ulama. Furthermore, considering the utmost importance of financial technologies, Islamic banks should embrace the innovations linked with such technologies to cater to customers' needs based on an interest-free system.

This paper discusses how African organisations and countries construct their geographical indication (GI) systems. It makes three primary arguments. First, that the nascent GI agenda in Africa is driven by the European Union (EU) to principally promote European interests. Nonetheless, African countries can benefit from GI regimes by crafting laws that promote African interests. Second, that simply embracing the introduction of GI laws will not result in the EU's promised socioeconomic development in Africa. This is because multifarious factors including infrastructure, investment, branding, marketing and security are required to realise successful GI regimes. Third, that African countries must leverage contextually customised GI regimes to maximise the potentials they present. Contextually customised GI regimes can engender socioeconomic development. Beyond the EU's agenda-setting technologies, international affiliations and treaty boundaries shape GI laws in Africa, which inform the marked variation in its GI systems. This variation reflects the dissonance in international treaties for GIs. While African countries align with demandeurs that espouse stronger GIs laws at the international level, the only regional instrument on GIs in Africa is its Continental Strategy for GIs. In examining examples from the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, this timely paper maintains that although GIs present promises of socioeconomic development, policymakers, lawmakers and relevant African stakeholders must caution against their often-overlooked pitfalls. As ultimately, it is the responsibility of Africans, not foreigners, to guarantee the generation of thriving GI ecosystems for African products.

Scents have been used by business organizations for commercializing their products since historic times. Because of the psychological connect that a consumer immediately makes as he smells something unique, olfactory branding is considered as a very productive and effective marketing tool. Trademark law attempts to protect a brand's identity with the ultimate motive of preventing consumers from deceptively similar goods. Scholars and businesses have been raising their voice in a demand call for smell mark protection under trademark law, arguing that smell is just as important for identifying the origin-point of a product for a consumer as is the brand's logo or name or product shape. While the US courts have been liberal in granting smell mark registrations, EU courts have interpreted the “graphical representation” requirement under trademark law very strictly. Indian law, though not entirely closed on the prospect of smell mark protection, is inclined toward the EU position. After analyzing the current legal scenario, this article explores the more fundamental question as to the feasibility of smell marks, questioning their justification under the philosophical foundations of trademark law, the subjective associations of consumers with respect to smells, the difficulty in evidence analysis by courts in infringement suits and the apprehension relating to the functionality doctrine.

Toy Story 2 only exists because one of the movie's directors had made a backup copy of the movie while she worked from home, otherwise the movie would have been lost due to a computer malfunction. Just as though content access through the internet was intended to allow for works to become more easily accessible, there is no guarantee that they will remain this way. How, then, do we assure users and creators have not only a right to access content made available online, but also a right to preserve such access? This article intends to answer this question by analyzing US Copyright regulation, how it regulates access and preservation of works, and, especially, how it does not. I argue that a policy proposal regarding a right to preserve access could be had based on data protection regulation. Getting inspiration from the way recent data regulation legislation forced different providers that operate on the internet to adapt their terms into a regulatory “common ground,” this article claims users would be benefited if they could preserve the right of access to works they legally acquired the same way as they have access to and can make copies of their personal data in these services.

Indonesia declared Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) a Public Health Emergency based on Presidential Decree No. 11 of 2020 considering the extensive victims and extraordinary impacts. This study analyzes how Indonesia addresses the social function of intellectual property and government intervention in mitigating the pandemic. This study shows that outside the patent waiver provisions, implementation is the key. Indonesian Government has set a strategic framework in accordance with the guidelines of the WHO by simultaneously takes two strategies of vaccine provision and procurement: First, purchasing vaccines from abroad and/or collaborating with national and/or international institutions, Second, the development of ‘Vaksin Merah Putih’ (Red and White Vaccine) independently in the country through a triple helgix synergy involving the government institutions/ministries, universities, and industries. The provision of COVID-19 Vaccines in Indonesia is free as a form of responsibility and presence of the state. Government is also continuously expanding its public communication network to eliminate vaccine hesitancy. Lastly, Indonesia has adopted the TRIPs Waiver provisions through the Indonesian Patent Law, Government Regulation Number 77 of 2020 concerning Procedures for Patent Implementation by the Government, Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights No. 14 of 2021 concerning Amendments to the Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights No. 30 of 2019 concerning Procedures for Granting a Compulsory Patent License. These regulations will later become the basis for the government, whether it will eventually implement a patent license through a compulsory license system or a government use the patent system not only for the COVID-19 vaccine but also other essential medicines in mitigating the pandemic.

The development of intellectual property jurisprudence in Trinidad and Tobago has been slow despite the existence of a robust statutory framework. In the context of copyright law, there has been limited litigation, which has left most areas of copyright law undefined and uncertain. Recent case law on the right of reproduction and moral rights has revealed the problems with the law being untested and uncertain. This included the use of conflicting precedent in similar legal scenarios and a general lack of appreciation for the nuances of copyright law and resultantly a lack of desire to develop a coherent framework for copyright law. Trinidad and Tobago has the opportunity to forge a coherent copyright framework that will reflect its individual needs. However, to do this, policy-driven decisions must be made that account for the specific intricacies of the copyright environment and the norms present in Trinidad and Tobago. As such, this article analyses the issues with the existing copyright framework in Trinidad and Tobago and provides guidance as to what can be done to assist its development. Furthermore, the article identifies a number of lessons that will be useful for Commonwealth countries with underdeveloped copyright frameworks.