Archive for the 'Intellectual Property' Category

Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Intellectual Property in the Twenty-First Century: Perspectives from Southern Africa

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08-09 Computer Editor
on December 28, 2008
in Book Reviews, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Intellectual Property and International Law
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Book Review By: Garth Mashmann

Abstract: This book is a collection of papers written by South African professors regarding Indigenous Knowledge Systems and indigenous peoples’ rights to Intellectual Property protection. The articles focus on the tension between existing intellectual property regimes and indigenous knowledge systems, highlighting the fact that African concepts of ownership are significantly different from Western concepts. Systems which protect intellectual property rights in the West are not adaptable to Africa. Many of the articles call for significant change in national and international intellectual property regimes.

About the Authors: John Kiggundu is a professor at the University of Botswana and is a professor in the department of law. After studying Law at Makerere University he earned his Doctorate in Law from Queen Mary and Westfield College in 1985. He then taught at South Bank University, London. He specializes and has been published in Company Law, Intellectual Property, Mercantile Law, and Private International law.

Mogomme Alpheus Masoga has a PhD and was employed by the National Research Foundation in Pretoria, South Africa.

Kgomotso Moahi is a lecturer at the University of Botswana and teaches health information systems and information science. She has earned a PhD and is the head of the Department of Library and Information Studies.

Isaac Mazonde is Director of Research and Development at the University of Botswana where he has been an associate professor since 1978.

Siamisang Morolong has lectured on the topics of Property Law, Intellectual Property Law, Business Law and Environmental Law at the University of Botswana.

Mogege Mosimege is the manager of the Bilateral Relations Unit in the Department of Science and Technology in South Africa. He has been extensively involved in the Indigenous Knowledge Systems debate and helped to develop IKS Policy in South Africa. His research focuses on ethnomathematics.

Otsile Ntsoane has researched and published widely on Indigenous Knowledge Systems and technology transfer. He is Deputy Director in the Department of Science and Technology in Pretoria, South Africa.

Francis B. Nyamnjoh has published widely in Cameroon and Botswana and taught sociology, anthropology and communication studies. He is an Associate Professor and Head of Publications and Dissemination with the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA).

Wapula Nelly Raditloaneng is currently a lecturer at the University of Botswana in Adult Education.

Alinah K. Segobye is a member of the Archeology Unit of the Department of History at the University of Botswana.

Pradip Thomas has published articles and books relating to intellectual property and communication rights. He is an Associate Professor at the School of Journalism & Communication at the University of Queensland.

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Steal This Music: How Intellectual Property Law Affects Musical Creativity

Published
by
08-09 Computer Editor
on December 26, 2008
in Book Reviews, Copyright, Intellectual Property and Student Publications
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Book Review By: Paul G. Lyons

Abstract: Musicologist Joanna Demers introduces the reader to the world of transformative appropriation, where artists and arrangers borrow from other musical works. The author, through a careful study of various musicians, warns the reader of the possible negative effects of increasingly protective IP law. Her research of IP law and the affect on musical and cultural creativity aims to make readers aware of a threat that could potentially stifle transformative appropriation and the creation of new musical works in general.

About the Author: Joanna Demers is an Assistant Professor of Musicology at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. Her work focuses on 20th and 21st century popular music as well as intellectual property rights. In 2002, she received her PhD in musicology from Princeton University, and her doctoral dissertation, Sampling as Lineage in Hip-hop, received the Alvin Johnson AMS 50 Fellowship in 2001. Ms. Demers contributes significantly to the music and intellectual property community. Her work has appeared in Popular Music, the Journal of Popular Music, and the Social Science Research Network.

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From Turntables to Digital Technologies: Striking a Balance Between Disc Jockey Performances and Moral Rights of Musicians

Published
by
08-09 Computer Editor
on March 3, 2008
in Articles, Computer Law, Intellectual Property and Licensing
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By Jason R. Wachter

Every night of the week club-goers wait in line for hours to get into the hottest clubs in some of the hottest cities in the world. If they are lucky enough to get past the velvet ropes and through the club doors, in a matter of minutes, they could hear the music of as many as ten different artists ranging from the likes of Madonna, the Rolling Stones, and Nirvana to Christina Aguilera, Kanye West, and Snoop Dogg blended into one musical track. This unique phenomenon in the music industry is the work of celebrity disc jockeys (“DJs”), who splice, scratch, and mix classic and popular songs together to create an entertaining musical work of their own. These creations are so entertaining, in fact, that celebrity DJs have developed a new music industry phenomenon that club-goers, club owners, and even radio stations have come to depend on night after night.

Celebrity DJs have created such a demand for their services that they are able to earn up to $1,000 per hour. Most celebrity DJs have “residences” at various nightclubs, often performing a few nights a week. However, due to their popularity and demand, there are times when celebrity DJs may perform at different events every night of the week in different cities across the country. In many cases, DJ performances at nightclubs are even broadcast live on radio stations or over the Internet allowing millions of listeners to enjoy their music. In addition, celebrity DJs pull in profits by hosting private celebrity parties and corporate events. One reason for this rise in the popularity of celebrity DJs is the advent of new technology, which allows not only professionals, but amateurs to remix and package music in their homes with increasing ease and clarity. But is this new age of the celebrity DJ all it is cracked up to be?

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Global Biopiracy: Patents, Plants, and Indigenous Knowledge (Book Review)

Published
by
08-09 Computer Editor
on November 22, 2007
in Biotechnology, Book Reviews, Intellectual Property and Medicine, Health & Wellness
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By Catrina Sveum

This book provides an overview of the legal and scientific concepts involving the appropriation of plants for biotechnological purposes. The book focuses on the tension between developing nations and industrialized nations as plant resources become the subjects of patents.

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Going Straight: Whether P2P Technology can be Legitimized in the Wake of Grokster

Published
by
08-09 Computer Editor
on February 3, 2007
in Articles, Computer Law, Intellectual Property, Internet Law and Licensing
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By Eric Waldman

Peer-to-peer (“P2P”) technology distributors, particularly Grokster and Streamcast Networks, will not miss the year 2005. In June of that year, the United States Supreme Court handed down one of the most anticipated copyright cases in recent memory. In MGM Studios Inc. v. Grokster, the Court held that a distributor of software may be liable for acts of infringement by third parties who use the software if that distributor has taken “affirmative steps to foster infringement” regardless of the device’s lawful uses, a test now known as “active inducement.”

Grokster and Streamcast Networks are two P2P companies whose software was used by individuals to distribute copyrighted works. The Court found that the defendants could be liable for inducing copyright infringement. After the decision, the only content found on Grokster’s website contained a couple of paragraphs, one of which read, “[t]here are legal services for downloading music and movies. This service is not one of them.” The decision not only made a statement to Grokster, but also to all P2P companies who actively induce infringement.

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The Copyright Implications of Web Archiving and Caching

Published
by
08-09 Computer Editor
on February 3, 2007
in Articles, Computer Law, Emerging Technologies, Intellectual Property and Internet Law
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By David Ray

Try to imagine life without the Internet. Over the last half century, the dramatic growth of the Internet has fundamentally changed the way humans shop, communicate, and entertain themselves. The Internet’s one billion users make nearly six billion searches a year. The growth of the Internet has been dramatic, with usage increasing 200 percent since 2000. According to the Department of Commerce (DoC), e-commerce now accounts for over fifty-six billion dollars in retail sales annually in the United States (U.S.) alone.

After providing a brief history of the Internet and a review of how the DNS operates, this paper examines a number of criticisms that have forced ICANN to confront the challenge of an increasingly hostile international community. This paper identifies several international alternatives to ICANN and evaluates their effectiveness. Ultimately this paper concludes management of the DNS by an international organization is unrealistic, inadvisable, or both. This reality necessitates a restructuring of ICANN to adequately address the international concerns surrounding the current framework.

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Did I Save My Seed for This? United States Intellectual Property Law, the Continuing Shift in Protection From Growers to Developers, and Some Potential Implications for Agriculture

Published
by
08-09 Computer Editor
on October 18, 2006
in Articles, Biotechnology, Food and Drug Law, Intellectual Property and Medicine, Health & Wellness
. 0 Comments

By Ryan Crawford

Advances in genetic modification techniques enable the creation of crops with commercially desirable characteristics. Recombined gene sequences may be inserted into a crop’s genome to protect it against herbicides, insects, or rodents. In the United States, a variety of patent and trade secret protections are afforded the developers of such crops and other genetically modified organisms. The scope of these protections has been interpreted more broadly over the years by the courts. This broadening of legal protections has occurred as the relationship between the developers of seed, the government, and farmers has changed from one in which seed development was largely the work of the government and academia, especially public universities and land grant colleges, to one in which seed development is increasingly privatized, or accomplished through the alliance of private and public forces.

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Golf Club Technology: Intellectual Property and the Counterfeiting Epidemic

Published
by
08-09 Computer Editor
on March 18, 2006
in Articles, Computer Law, Intellectual Property and Licensing
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by C. Bradford Jorgensen

For those who enjoy the game of golf, whether you are brand new to the game or have been playing for years, the contents of this article will peak your curiosity and open your eyes. While the article does focus on intellectual property law and the obstacles that golf club manufactures face in the ever-changing world market, there is none of the traditional “legalese” normally found in most law articles. Instead, Mr. Jorgensen’s article is one that could easily be found in Sports Illustrated while providing a brief history of the sport and describing the evolution of the process for manufacturing golf clubs.

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Preserving the Patent Process to Incentivize Innovation in the Global Economy

Published
by
08-09 Computer Editor
on March 18, 2006
in Articles, Intellectual Property and Licensing
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By Katherine E. White

America’s ability to innovate at a rapid pace is an important factor in staying competitive in the global marketplace. Currently, one of the most powerful remedies available for non-manufacturing patentees and patent marketers is the injunction, which makes it possible to immediately stop an alleged infringer from its prohibited activities. Manufacturers may hinder America’s ability to innovate at a rapid pace, by trying to drastically change the patent laws to make them more favorable to patent owners who develop their inventions into products for commercial sale at the expense of those who do not. One proposed change in the patent laws would eliminate the injunction, allowing a manufacturer to continue to infringe, drag out the litigation, and pay the reasonable royalty rate if it loses the infringement suit. Monetary damages are often inadequate to compensate for infringement because the alleged infringer is able to gain market share while the litigation is pending.

Without exclusive rights and the ability to define the metes and bounds of one’s invention, others would wait for an invention to take place, steal it, and use it for their own. If the injunctive power of the courts is eliminated, a leading case stated that the express purpose of the Patent Clause of the U.S. Constitution, to promote the progress of science and innovation, would be seriously undermined. Patent laws historically have been, and should continue to be, used to promote innovation and the progress of science, not manufacturing.

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