Category Academic Resources

Open Educational Resources through the European Lens: Pedagogical Opportunities and Copyright Constraints

[Giulia Priora and Giovanna Carloni] Abstract: The adoption of Open Educational Resources (OERs) in schools and universities is a phenomenon on the rise also in Europe. Increasingly relying on digital, open, freely adaptable materials that are specifically designed for educational purposes is not only a response to the disruptions brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, but a consistent policy step towards a more inclusive, diverse, and quality education in the EU. The article examines the potential and constraints of OERs from both a pedagogical and legal perspective.

Reconceptualizing Open Access to Theses and Dissertations

[Orit Fischman Afori and Dalit Ken-Dror Feldman] ... The modern perception of TD has generated a call for their greater accessibility, as part of the Open Science movement. Nevertheless, in many countries around the world TD are not published in an open access format. While the normative basis for open access approach to publicly funded academic research is extensively discussed in the literature, there is a lack of legal and normative discussion concerning the special case of TD. The present study aims at filling this gap. We argue that the essence of TD as unique outputs of academic research merits a special stance compelling the publication of these studies in open access format, subject to certain exceptions.

Trade Secrets in Biologic Medicine: The Boundary with Patents

[Robin Feldman] Abstract: ... There is a dearth of legal literature on the topic of trade secrets in the biologic space and almost nothing regarding how trade secrets interact with the patent system in that domain. These scientific and legal areas are sufficiently complex that even the most intrepid scholars fear to tread. This article explains in detailed and accessible language how the systems are working together to the detriment of society. To address the problem, this article argues that a company receiving a patent on a drug product should be required to disclose the full range of trade secrets necessary to make that drug.

The Right to Repair, Competition, and Intellectual Property

[Michael Carrier] Abstract: Manufacturers have made it difficult for consumers to repair their products. And they have justified their restrictions in large part by claiming the need to protect their intellectual property (IP). This essay explains how justifications based on IP--in particular, copyrights, design patents, trademarks, and trade secrets--are not persuasive.

A Week of Events on Copyright and Access to Knowledge in South Africa

[PIJIP] A coalition of academic and civil society organizations are co-organizing a week of debates on copyright and access to knowledge in South Africa, beginning on January 23rd. The organizers for these events are American University's PIJIP, the University of Pretoria's Future Africa, the University of Cape Town IP Unit, the Strathmore University Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law, the South Centre, Electronic Information for Libraries, Masakhane and the Wikimedia Foundation.

Mechanical Licenses for Video Games

[Lukas Ruthes Gonçalves] Abstract: Mechanical licenses are a scheme used in the music industry to not only allow publishers and songwriters to be compensated for their work, but also to allow this important cultural product to be better distributed in society and not get lost in time. Video games have accrued great importance culturally, but are at an increasingly greater risk of vanishing, due to being locked into a certain hardware. Allowing fans and other creators to utilize mechanical licenses to remake their favorite video games would help preservation efforts and serve as a reliable income stream for its original publisher.

Compelling Trade Secret Transfers

[David S. Levine and Joshua D. Sarnoff] Abstract: The unprecedented COVID-19 virus has brought to the forefront many challenges associated with exclusive rights in information, data, and know-how, all of which may constitute protected trade secrets. While patents have received more attention, trade secret information has limited the ability to perform research, develop, test, gain regulatory approval for, manufacture, and distribute globally and at sufficient scale and affordable prices the needed vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, and personal protective equipment. Voluntary licensing efforts have proven inadequate to supply pandemic needs. Thus, compelling the transfer or licensing of trade secrets is needed to properly address COVID-19, but more importantly, to address future pandemics and other serious global problems such as climate change.

Monopolising Trash: The Critical Analysis of Upcycling under Finnish and EU Copyright Law

[Péter Mezei and Heidi Härkönen] Abstract: Exhaustion is a fundamental doctrine of copyright law, allowing for the resale of lawfully acquired copies of protected subject matter without prior authorization and payment to the rightholder. Following the debates on parallel importation, freedom of movement of goods, property rights v. copyright, and, most recently, resale of digital files, it is time to assess the relevance of the doctrine for a sustainable economy. More precisely, this paper addresses whether upcycling (transformative redistribution of materials based on the use of pieces/copies of, inter alia, works of authorship) fits into the doctrine of exhaustion.

The Italian Implementation of the New EU Text and Data Mining Exceptions

[Deborah De Angelis] The legislative decree implementing the CDSM Directive in Italy was adopted on November 8th, 2021, and published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on November 27th. It came into force on December 12th, 2021, amending the Italian Copyright Law. This blog post analyses the implementation of the copyright exceptions for Text and Data Mining, which is defined in the Italian law as any automated technique designed to analyse large amounts of text, sound, images, data or metadata in digital format to generate information, including patterns, trends, and correlations (Art. 70 ter (2) LdA). As we will see in more detail below, the Italian lawmaker decided to introduce some novelties when implementing Art. 3, while following more closely the text of the Directive when implementing Art. 4.

Examples of Text and Data Mining Research Using Copyrighted Materials

[Sean Flynn and Lokesh Vyas] Last week, Science Magazine published a joint academic opinion by leading copyright scholars from around the world calling for copyright reform to enable text and data mining (TDM) research. The opinion calls for all countries to evaluate their laws, and for international institutions to guide them, so that text and data mining research can take place everywhere, including through cross-border collaborations between researchers in different countries. In this article, we survey some of the kinds of important TDM projects that need copyright permission to be enabled everywhere. 

The Role of Copyright Law in Text and Data Mining Research

Natasha Karanja & Chebet Koros] When evaluating the copyright ecosystem within the African continent, a perceived imbalance is identified, where researchers face barriers in accessing materials protected by copyright.1 It has been claimed that African copyright regimes do not accommodate public interests because they do not support the research of various stakeholders, specifically within the new era of Artificial Intelligence research. For this reason, and according to one African scholar, African copyright regimes are considered “not fit for purpose”.2 The majority of the African copyright laws provide for a closed list of copyright exceptions, with none applying specifically to Text and Data Mining research.3 This article will define what Text and Data Mining (TDM) research is, its benefits, and outline the role of copyright in TDM research within the Kenyan context vis a vis other countries’ perspectives.

Access Shrugged: The Decline of the Copyleft and the Rise of Utilitarian Openness

[Aram Sinnreich, Patricia Aufderheide, Maggie Clifford and Saif Shahin] Abstract: This article maps patterns of interest in key terms associated with copyright and online culture in the US context. Using exploratory factor analysis of data from Google Trends, authors examined patterns in keyword searches between 2004 and 2019... These data show empirically that the public curiosity about alternatives to strict copyright have changed during the study period. Earlier, more idealistic movements contrast with later, more practical approaches.