IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law

https://link.springer.com/journal/40319

List of Papers (Total 486)

Overview of Compliance with the Requirements of Directive (EU) 2019/1 with Regard to the Independence and Resources of National Competition Authorities: The Examples of France and Poland

The aim of this article is to critically reflect on how two EU Member States – France and Poland – meet the requirements of the ECN+ Directive with regard to the independence and resources of national competition authorities (NCAs). The article provides an overview of the ECN+ Directive in this respect. It also provides an overview of the French and Polish legal frameworks for...

Mapping the Patent Landscape of Quantum Technologies: Patenting Trends, Innovation and Policy Implications

Recent technical breakthroughs underscore the potential of second generation (2G) quantum technologies including quantum simulation, quantum sensing and metrology, quantum computation, and quantum communication. Patenting trends of such technologies are an indicator of the pace of innovation at the invention stage. Empirical studies looking at the real-world patenting activity...

Free Movement of Audiovisual Content for Benefit of European Consumers of Culture

One of the EU’s founding premises was the establishment of the internal market, in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured. However, in the present online era, the internal market remains far from frictionless. To address this failure, the EU launched the Digital Market Strategy in 2015. One component of this strategy is the removal of barriers...

Copyright Compensation in the Finnish Sanctioning System – A Remedy for Ungained Benefit or an Unjustified Punishment?

Copyright compensation is a special civil remedy for copyright infringements and the unlawful use of copyright according to Finnish copyright legislation. Its purpose is to ensure compensation to the rightholder in situations where the infringement is evident, but proving the harm or loss is difficult. Copyright compensation aims to prevent the unlawful and infringing use of...

Resisting IP Overexpansion: The Case of Trade Secret Protection of Non-Personal Data

This article analyses how intellectual property rights (IPRs) affect access to non-personal data (NPD). In so doing, it homes in on a quasi-IPR, trade secrecy, and shows how applying it to NPD can lead to the overexpansion of IP protection. The risks of overprotection relate to the perpetuity of trade secret protection and the predominant interventions to correct market failure...

Towards Comprehensive European Agricultural Data Governance: Moving Beyond the “Data Ownership” Debate

Farming has become more productive and less costly thanks to the effective usage of data-driven “digital agriculture” services. However, this new form of “smart farming” has also brought about data-related concerns connected with the ambiguity regarding who owns the data, who has what rights over it, and ultimately whether there is a need for regulation. The idea of providing a...

Non-Distinctive Uses of a Trademark: The CJEU’s “Function Theory” (and Its Adoption by Italian Courts) – Future Prospects in Light of EU Trademark Law

The paper takes its cue from recent amendments to EU trademark law to scrutinize the issue of non-distinctive uses of another’s mark and of the limits on the exclusive right stemming from the need for the free use of signs or for the protection of fundamental rights other than that of the trademark proprietor. The aim of the study, therefore, is to identify the perimeter of the...

Robustness Check: Evaluating and Strengthening Artistic Use Defences in EU Trademark Law

The 2015 EU trademark law reform introduced a peculiar rule for reconciling trademark rights with freedom of artistic expression. According to Recital 21 EUTMR and Recital 27 TMD, artistic use can be deemed fair as long as the artist ensures compliance with “honest practices in industrial and commercial matters”. The honest practices proviso forges a link with the provisions on...

Copyright and Digital Teaching Exceptions in the EU: Legislative Developments and Implementation Models of Art. 5 CDSM Directive

Article 5 of the 2019 EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (CDSM) attempted to modernize the regime of copyright exceptions and limitations related to teaching activities. Its aim is to enhance the flexibility behind permitted uses to the benefit of educational institutions regarding their digital and cross-border teaching. The pressing need for such a...

Patent Notice (Failure) in the Era of Patent Monetization

The most commonly provided economic rationale underlying the patent system is that it incentivizes inventive effort that may not be carried out in its absence. In addition to this utilitarian rationale, economic and legal scholars frequently refer to a second rationale: the dissemination of technological information to the public. This notice function is thought of as an...

“DABUS”

European Copyright Society – Comment on Copyright and the Digital Services Act Proposal

On 15 December 2020, the European Commission submitted a proposal for a regulation on a single market for digital services (Digital Services Act, DSA) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC. The legislative project seeks to establish a robust and durable governance structure for the effective supervision of providers of intermediary services. To this end, the DSA sets out numerous due...

United Kingdom Copyright Decisions 2021

This report highlights the main UK copyright decisions in 2021. Most of these decisions deal with the right to communicate the work to the public in the context of website blocking injunctions, and provide insight into the British courts’ likely approach to EU-derived copyright principles following the end of the Brexit transition period. The report also discusses the high...

United Kingdom Patent Decisions 2021

This report highlights a selection of the most important UK patent decisions from 2021, including: one Supreme Court judgment concerning the economic tort of unlawful means, which importantly maintained the status quo for litigating patents in the UK; four Court of Appeal judgments (one concerning sufficiency and functional claiming, which overturned the decision below; two where...