NOPR Collection:

The Proposal for a Directive on the Protection of Trade Secrets in EU Legislation

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Title: The Proposal for a Directive on the Protection of Trade Secrets in EU Legislation Authors: Cook, Trevor Abstract: One of the last few remaining areas of intellectual property not yet to have been touched by EU legislation, that of trade secrets, is set to be harmonised at an EU level under a proposal for a Directive on the subject issued by the European Commission on 28 November 2013. This article outlines this proposal, the divergences in national laws in Europe that it seeks to overcome, and those aspects of the law of trade secrets which it does not address or which remain controversial. Page(s): 54-58

Pokkali Rice Production under Geographical Indication Protection: The Attitude of Farmers

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Pokkali Rice Production under Geographical Indication Protection: The Attitude of Farmers Authors: Anson, C J; Pavithran, K B Abstract: In geographical indications (GI) protection, the position of the producer is significant since GI protection is granted to the association of producers who are responsible in maintaining the quality of the GI product. The certification and registration procedure decide and influence the market dominance and this remarkable reputation is of prime importance to producers of GI products. The GI certification is instrumental in providing immense opportunity and protection to producers from a particular geographical region. The attitude of these producers towards GI needs to be examined since their inclination and apprehensions about the GI system is vital for the protection to be used optimally. The present study is an attempt to assess the producer attitude towards the GI protection system. Page(s): 49-53

Design Patents for Animated Images: Development Trends

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Design Patents for Animated Images: Development Trends Authors: Chen, Rain; Shen, Sung-Yun; Tan, Su-Ping Abstract: Mobile devices have replaced computers and become the major tool to browse web pages. Such a result has enhanced the demand for animated image design and patent applications. Animated images, including graphical user interface (GUI) and computer-generated icons (CGI), are set to become mainstream applications in design patents. Taking the official database of animated images in the USA as the research sample, this study aims to analyse the animated image patents and their anticipated development trends. A total of 201 samples were screened for this study. The research concluded as follows: (1) The frequency of applications related to GUI and CGI increased annually and the number of GUI applications far exceeded that of CGI after 2010, showing that GUI is gradually replacing CGI and becoming the mainstream application in animated image patents. (2) The GUI applications focus on computers and mobile phones, indicating that the applications of computers and mobile phones are the major developments of GUI for the time being. It is worth noting that the number of applications of GUI patents with unspecified object is also increasing in the past years, revealing the diversified development trend of GUI, beyond the applications of computers and mobile phones. (3) An assignee analysis revealed Microsoft as the first enterprise to attain patent portfolios of animated images and has, to some extent, presented barriers to the entry of other enterprises. (4) As far as number of patent icons is concerned, seven dynamic icons have appeared in the US Animated Image Patent Gazette. Page(s): 43-48

Intellectual Property Paradoxes in Developing Countries: The Case of Software IP Protection in Iran

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Intellectual Property Paradoxes in Developing Countries: The Case of Software IP Protection in Iran Authors: Bagheri, Seyed Kamran; Casprini, Elena Abstract: In the context of developing countries, scholars have started to report at least two paradoxical phenomena related to intellectual property (IP) protection: (1) weak appropriability regime despite having fairly good IP laws and regulations, and (2) increased demand for intellectual property rights (IPRs) despite low level of IP protection. Beyond these paradoxes, prior research suffers in varying degree from two common flaws: (a) they either considered de jure or de facto IP laws, but not both, and (b) they did not represent all developing countries, being mostly focused on China with no empirical support. This paper aims at addressing these gaps by exploring both de jure and de facto software IP protection in Iran as a less-researched developing country. The authors look at the de jure software IP protection and, then, empirically investigate the de facto software IP protection in the country. The results show that despite having multiple legal mechanisms for protecting software innovations, Iranian software developers consider the overall level of software IP protection offered as low. Paradoxically, a vast majority of the surveyed software innovators had applied for various available IP rights. Page(s): 33-42