NOPR Collection:

Intellectual Creation in Database: A Superfluous Test?

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Intellectual Creation in Database: A Superfluous Test? Authors: Manap, Nazura Abdul; Hambali, Siti Naaishah; Tehrani, Pardis Moslemzadeh Abstract: Prior to amendment of Section 8(1)(b) of the Malaysian Copyright Act 1987 in the year 2000, copyright protection was conferred to a database product, provided that sufficient effort had been used in the making of the work. In contrast, the current Section 8(1)(b) requires a more stringent test of originality, i.e., it should be an intellectual creation. However, the ambiguity of meaning in the amended provision has resulted in problems in applying that section. The lack of precise definition of what amounts to a database in the Copyright Act has caused confusion on whether or not the newly introduced test of intellectual creation is needed. This is due to the fact that a database seems to be protected as literary work which itself is protected only on the basis of sufficient effort. This paper discusses originality requirements applicable to databases according to the Copyright Act 1987 and the ambiguities in the Copyright Act 1987. Page(s): 369-376

How Europe has learnt how to Deal with Exclusions from Patentability

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Title: How Europe has learnt how to Deal with Exclusions from Patentability Authors: Cook, Trevor Abstract: The issue of subject matter that is excluded from patentability as not being patentable subject matter is one of lively current interest in the USA. European patent law, albeit under a different legislative framework, and one which unlike that in the USA specifically lists certain exclusions from patentability, has had to grapple with similar issues, but has over time largely resolved these so as to focus instead on the more familiar issues of novelty and inventive step. This article discusses how this resolution has taken place in Europe and what conclusions can be drawn from this experience for other jurisdictions. Page(s): 377-381

Impact of IP on Public Health: The Developed Country Scenario

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Impact of IP on Public Health: The Developed Country Scenario Authors: Agitha, T G Abstract: Patents and data exclusivity affect health care costs even in developed countries and health care costs are rapidly increasing in those countries. Pharmaceutical product prices form substantial portion of health care costs and strong intellectual property protection is one of the major reasons for high health care costs. High drug prices affect patient access to medicines and thereby universal healthcare coverage. Left to market forces universal health care coverage, which is a fundamental obligation of states will remain an unaccomplished goal. Page(s): 382-389

Copyright Regulation in Russia: Rejection of Classical Theories or Legislative Mistakes?

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Copyright Regulation in Russia: Rejection of Classical Theories or Legislative Mistakes? Authors: Matveev, A G Abstract: Since 2008 standards determining the relationships in the field of intellectual property have completely been integrated into the Civil Code in the Russian Federation. This intellectual property law codification has introduced some principal changes into the regulation of key institutes, one of which is copyright law. This article presents critical analysis of the Russian copyright regulation from the perspective of its correlation with the international law standards and traditional copyright legal theories. Comparative legal, historic and formal dogmatic methods are used in the analysis. The correlation between a Russian notion ‘intellectual property’ and related international standards is discussed in the article. A new category ‘intellectual rights’ for the Russian law is characterized. Correlation between exclusive and author’s moral rights is analysed and the drawbacks in the regulation of these author’s rights are revealed in the paper. In the author’s opinion, Russian rights model to the integrity of the work does not comply with the Article 6bis of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Page(s): 360-368