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This chapter explores IP and oil and gas frameworks particularly in the UK and in Canada, and the different approaches taken to information sharing and some litigation at national level and through Investor State Dispute Settlement. This chapter notes that the existence of clear goals of a regulatory system, an assertive regulator with robust enforcement powers, and industry support for new regulatory approaches may seem to have created oil and gas regimes which can prevail over IP rights when the two fields clash in respect of information of sharing and re-use. It is suggested that the two sets of decision makers are in fact taking a blinkered, or at least incomplete, approach to addressing this apparent battle of equals. This chapter then builds arguments which can have an impact on all regulatory and legislative actions to address a public goal when the response (properly viewed) involves more than one policy area and field of law, and also involve private rights.

The selection of low-radioactive construction materials is of utmost importance for the success of low-energy rare event search experiments. Besides radioactive contaminants in the bulk, the emanation of radioactive radon atoms from material surfaces attains increasing relevance in the effort to further reduce the background of such experiments. In this work, we present the $^{222}$Rn emanation measurements performed for the XENON1T dark matter experiment. Together with the bulk impurity screening campaign, the results enabled us to select the radio-purest construction materials, targeting a $^{222}$Rn activity concentration of 10 $\mu$Bq/kg in 3.2 t of xenon. The knowledge of the distribution of the $^{222}$Rn sources allowed us to selectively eliminate critical components in the course of the experiment. The predictions from the emanation measurements were compared to data of the $^{222}$Rn activity concentration in XENON1T. The final $^{222}$Rn activity concentration of (4.5 $\pm$ 0.1) $\mu$Bq/kg in the target of XENON1T is the lowest ever achieved in a xenon dark matter experiment., Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures

The DARWIN observatory is a proposed next-generation experiment to search for particle dark matter and for the neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{136}$Xe. Out of its 50$\,$t total natural xenon inventory, 40$\,$t will be the active target of a time projection chamber which thus contains about 3.6 t of $^{136}$Xe. Here, we show that its projected half-life sensitivity is $2.4\times10^{27}\,$yr, using a fiducial volume of 5t of natural xenon and 10$\,$yr of operation with a background rate of less than 0.2$~$events/(t$\cdot$yr) in the energy region of interest. This sensitivity is based on a detailed Monte Carlo simulation study of the background and event topologies in the large, homogeneous target. DARWIN will be comparable in its science reach to dedicated double beta decay experiments using xenon enriched in $^{136}$Xe., 12 pages, 9 figures

Using a case study, this article explores the extent to which one area of law (privacy and data protection) can intersect with, and be challenged by, proposals by delivery of another goal greater energy efficiency. The article then explores the extent to which these fields are becoming more integrated; and also the risks of relying on technology (notably through Privacy by Design) to do this, particularly given the uncertainties embraced by lawyers and which can be problematic to technologies. Having identified challenges in meeting both energy efficiency and privacy/data protection goals at the same time, the article develops two responses. One looks more widely in law, to competition, to prevent particular activity and to confirm the relevance of greater legal interdisciplinarity. The other is a more multi-faceted collaborative governance approach, involving legal and technical expertise and consumer perspectives, with standards having a valuable role. Addressing climate change should be an appropriate motivation to bring about this second approach, which draws on wider environmental governance developments. With largely a UK and EU focus, but seeking to be of transnational relevance, the article makes key contributions as to the capacity and limits of how law can address societal challenges; explores the risks of assuming that social and legal problems can be readily addressed by technology; confirms the need for lawyers to look to other fields of law; and assists progress in an increasingly intersectional and dynamic field. peer-reviewed 2019-03-10

In contemporary technological society, bodily extension has become a regular occurrence for many people. Extensions can attach to or connect with human bodies to adjust, change or augment them in p...

This chapter considers the evolution of modern copyright law against the background of its historical development in the UK and the international and European legal frameworks within which UK copyright law has been increasingly set since the nineteenth century. It examines the rationale and justifications for copyright and identifies the general policy context within which law and policy has developed in the UK and the EU. It also highlights the rapid development of new technologies which has brought copyright reform to the forefront in recent times, the difficulties which this new environment presents for the copyright framework, and how the framework has developed to such challenges.

This chapter deals with who is entitled to be a patentee, the rights that a patentee enjoys (which are some of the strongest within intellectual property law), the circumstances in which infringement actions might be brought, the defences that are available, and some points on exploitation practices. A key thread is the construction and interpretation of the patent and the inextricable link between the power conferred by the patent and questions of novelty and obviousness. This chapter also looks at sufficiency, the circumstances in which a patent may be revoked, and the risk of a claim for revocation of the patent.

Contemporary Intellectual Property: Law and Policy, fifth edition, offers a unique perspective on intellectual property (IP) law, unrivalled amongst IP textbooks. An accessible introduction to IP law, it provides not only a comprehensive account of the substantive law, but also discusses the overarching policies directing the legal decision-making, as well as areas for further debate. Intellectual property law is an increasingly global subject, and the book introduces the relevant European and international dimensions to present a realistic view of the law as it actually operates. It explores IP law as an organic discipline, evaluating the success with which it has responded to new challenges. Images and diagrams, with analysis of key cases and key extracts, are all incorporated alongside the author commentary to clearly illustrate the core principles in IP law. Exercise, questions, and discussion points are provided to help the reader to engage with the material, and additional material is provided in the Online Resources. Beyond providing an up-to-date account of IP law, the text examines the complex policies that inform modern IP law at the domestic (including Scottish), European, and international levels, giving the reader a true insight into the discipline and the shape of things to come. The focus is on contemporary challenges to IP law and policy, and the reader is encouraged to engage critically with the text and the subject matter. The book has been carefully developed to ensure that the complexities of the subject are addressed in a clear and approachable way.

This chapter provides an overview of the tension between the application of competition law and the exercise of IPRs. Key issues are the circumstances in which competition law may be applied to moderate the exercise of IPRs in the relevant market; clauses in intellectual property (IP) licensing agreements between undertakings that might be permissible in terms of EU competition law and those which are not; the conditions under which a refusal to supply products protected by an IP right might constitute an abuse of a dominant position by the right holder; and when competition law can provide a defence to an infringement action.

This chapter discusses intellectual property enforcement and remedies available to an IP right holder in the event of an infringement of a right. It considers the UK rules on liability for groundless threats of infringement, including recent UK legislative developments in this field. It goes on to consider a range of interim remedies (including interim injunctions) and final remedies (including injunctions, intermediary injunctions, publicity orders, damages, and accounts of profits), all in the context of the EU IP Enforcement Directive and recent Court of Justice and UK case law developments. It also reviews criminal IP enforcement and enforcement considerations arising at an international level under TRIPS.

This chapter first examines the subject matter in which copyright subsists and the criteria for copyright protection as set out in the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). This centres on the concept of the ‘protected work’ and makes use of a distinction between what are sometimes known as ‘author works’ (literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and film works) and ‘media works’ (typographical arrangements, sound recordings, broadcasts, and adaptations). It then considers the identification of the first owner of copyright when it comes into existence. It discusses the concept of joint authorship and ownership of copyright works when created in the course of employment. The final section discusses the duration of copyright.

This chapter introduces the key features of registered trade mark law, highlighting core aspects of registered trade mark protection and its differences to other IP rights. It discusses the theoretical underpinnings for registered trade mark protection and also the accompanying policy tensions, in the context of an increasingly visible place of brands in society. The chapter introduces the legal regime for the protection of trade marks from an international, EU, and national (UK) perspective. Reflecting relevant agreements and treaties, the chapter outlines various standards established for the protection of trade marks, along with the systems by virtue of which traders can register and protect marks in many countries throughout the world.

This chapter discusses contemporary law and policy relating to the protection of confidential information, under the common law. It considers the key elements of breach of confidence: the nature of confidential information, circumstances imparting obligations of confidence, and unauthorised use of confidential information. The chapter also considers the increasing impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) and the relevance of international perspectives and approaches. The chapter summarises some key cases to give examples of the issues that arise, discusses the evolving relationship between secrecy and innovation, and the impact of other forms of information control and the relevance of freedom of expression.

This chapter examines the definition of a registrable trade mark, absolute grounds for refusal or invalidation of a registered trade mark, the extent to which objections can be overcome through proof of distinctiveness acquired through use and the rules on revocation of a registered trade mark, both at national and EU levels. It examines these issues looking at many different kinds of trade mark, from traditional work marks and logos to so-called ‘non-conventional’ trade marks such as three-dimensional product shapes, sounds, smells, colours, and ‘position’ marks. The chapter reflects evolving legislation at an EU level (particularly the EU’s 2015 trade mark reform package), a rich base of case law, and links to the the theroetical debates seen in Chapter 13.

This chapter discusses the relative grounds for refusal or invalidation of a registered trade mark, the circumstances in which a trade mark can be infringed, and defences to an action of infringement and their limits. As relative grounds and infringement overlap, these are considered together. Important additional legal issues on infringement—such as what constitutes infringing ‘use’ of a trade mark—are also considered. Key questions are the power conferred by a trade mark over the activities of others and the extent to which activities of others can prevent the registration of a trade mark. Again, the chapter reflects evolving legislation at an EU level (particularly the EU’s 2015 trade mark reform package), together with a rich body of case law.

This chapter considers the extent to which individuals can and should be able to prevent others referring to them and their activities and, conversely, the extent to which individuals and companies should be able to commercialise and control a reputation that they have built up. The discussions cover the evolving right to personal privacy (through the tort of misuse of private information) and its base in human rights, particularly in respect of photographs; obtaining and dealing with trade marks in respect of well-known personalities; the relationship between passing off and endorsement and merchandising; and the extent to which individuals and businesses can and do control the use of their image through endorsement and sponsorship. The chapter also considers data protection, as well as the balancing of privacy and freedom of expression.

This chapter explores the criteria that are applied by an intellectual property office in examining a patent application. These applies to all forms for innovation and are novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability. The chapter also explores additional requirements and barriers which apply in relation to biotechnological inventions, which has proved to be a particularly controversial issue in Europe, and the patentability of computer software and related inventions, such as business method patents. The chapter demonstrates the evolution in legal and policy thinking in these two fields, which provide a means to an understanding of developments in patent law in general.

This chapter begins by examining the rights granted exclusively to authors—moral rights and artist’s resale right. It discusses ‘moral rights’ first, that is, the right to be identified as the author of the protected work, and to have that work’s integrity respected by others, followed by the artist’s resale right. The rest of this chapter discusses fundamental rules and controls on exploitation and use of copyright. This includes dealings in copyright, such as assignment and licensing; specific features of copyright exploitation, for example collective licensing; and also contemporary issues related to the use of copyright works, for example the challenge of orphan works for users, and the application of technological protection measures by right owners to prevent unauthorised use of or access to protected works.

This chapter examines the European Union rules on the free movement of goods as they impact on intellectual property rights. It discusses the tensions arising between the aims of creating a common market and intellectual property, with particular reference to the Treaty provisions relevant to this area. The chapter examines the relevant case law with a focus on intra-EEA parallel imports, repackaging, legitimate interests in opposing the further circulation of goods within the European Community, international exhaustion of rights, and the relation between IP rights and free movement of services. The chapter concludes with discussion of recent developments in exhaustion of rights in the online environment.

This chapter examines the action of passing off, ie the means by which one trader may prevent another from misleading customers by representing (or ‘passing off’) goods or services as emanating from the former party. It analyses the leading judicial definitions of passing off, from which emerge the key elements of goodwill, misrepresentation, and damage, as well as considering extended passing off by reference to multiple examples of groups of producers seeking to protect the goodwill associated with their products. It concludes with discussion of key issues regarding the future of passing off, in particular in relation to the internet and its possible development as a law against unfair competition.

This chapter discusses exceptions and limitations to the rights of the copyright owner. Copyright law establishes many such exceptions and limitations, listed in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) as the ‘permitted acts’. These acts can be carried out in relation to the copyright work without the owner’s permission or, in some cases, can be performed subject to terms and conditions specified by the statute rather than by the copyright owner. The chapter discusses the influence of the international framework and EU Directives on exceptions and limitations. It analyses the ‘permitted acts’ and discusses the freedoms afforded through them to users of protected works in the UK, and also briefly considers how far they may be set aside by contractual provision.

This chapter considers two rights similar to copyright in many ways, in terms of both subject matter and the substantive contents of the rights: (1) the special or sui generis database right, which operates alongside the copyright in databases; and (2) performers’ rights. Both rights have been relatively recently introduced into the armoury of intellectual property law. The chapter gives an account of each of these rights, comparing them with copyright but also underlining the differences between the regimes, and the reasons behind these differences. The chapter considers relevant the relevant international and EU frameworks and also highlights the nature and importance of these rights.

This interdisciplinary co-authored Analysis piece introduces identity and integrity, which are argued to sit at the core of the person. It analyses approaches taken to these concepts by legal regimes, particularly in the context of individuals using artificial limbs or digital avatars. The piece concludes that law engages with identity and integrity to a limited and incomplete extent; and that law is thus inadequate in its engagement with the person, and its meaning making in this respect. This piece draws on two interdisciplinary funded projects, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

This interdisciplinary paper, drawing on empirical and doctrinal research regarding artificial limbs and digital avatars, analyses two concepts which are argued to be core to the person – integrity and identity. From the perspective of a person who is a prosthetic user, the paper then evaluates the extent to which two legal regimes which are highly relevant to prosthetics, medical devices regulation (and its delivery) and intellectual property (and its power), engage with the person, integrity and identity with a focus on approaches taken to authority and control. The paper criticises the meaning which law generates regarding the person. It calls for new approaches to be taken by the legal regimes explored to the person, identity and integrity; and for a new multifaceted interdisciplinary driven approach to the person.

Many legal fields are relevant to all kinds of problems; however, decision makers often take a narrow approach, looking only at the base of the claim or the issue they are established to consider. This can led to imbalanced outcomes. There is a particular risk of this in respect of decisions regarding key societal challenges, which might be the subject of law and policymaking from several different perspectives. This paper explores the need and bases for a more integrated approach to decision making. It does so using a case study, and explores a range of laws that could be relevant to a business seeking to use technology and resources that could address climate change, the different decisions that courts can make with a focus on the nature of the action, outcome and forum, and the resulting conflicts, synergies and areas of enquiry.

This article brings together two different perspectives, dance and law, to ask questions about authorship and ownership in disabled dance. The focus is on Caroline Bowditch’s short film project, A Casting Exploration, in which she is recast as the female dancer in a duet section from Joan Cleville’s choreography for Scottish Dance Theatre, Love Games. We explore what medical law, human rights law and intellectual property law might say about Bowditch’s role. We show how the film project raises questions about the aesthetic properties of the double duet, the politics of sameness and difference, and who can claim ‘ownership’ of the dance.

Radioactivity is understood to be described by a Poisson process, yet some measurements of nuclear decays appear to exhibit unexpected variations. Generally, the isotopes reporting these variations have long half lives, which are plagued by large measurement uncertainties. In addition to these inherent problems, there are some reports of time-dependent decay rates and even claims of exotic neutrino-induced variations. We present a dedicated experiment for the stable long-term measurement of gamma emissions resulting from $\beta$ decays, which will provide high-quality data and allow for the identification of potential systematic influences. Radioactive isotopes are monitored redundantly by thirty-two 76 mm $\times$ 76 mm NaI(Tl) detectors in four separate temperature-controlled setups across three continents. In each setup, the monitoring of environmental and operational conditions facilitates correlation studies. The deadtime-free performance of the data acquisition system is monitored by LED pulsers. Digitized photomultiplier waveforms of all events are recorded individually, enabling a study of time-dependent effects spanning microseconds to years, using both time-binned and unbinned analyses. We characterize the experiment's stability and show that the relevant systematics are accounted for, enabling precise measurements of effects at levels well below $\mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$., Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures

This chapter discusses the current and potential impact of intellectual property (IP) on efforts to manage and reduce climate change through technological development. To that end it considers international IP and environment treaties (notably the TRIPS Agreement, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changes and its Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement, and the Aarhus Convention) and the extent to which their objectives can and do intersect or conflict. Particular reference is made to discussions at the TRIPS Council and to the activities of WIPO Green. It explores possible ways to increase the role of IP in addressing climate change issues, including limiting the availability of patents, fast-tracking certain patent applications, and promoting IP exploitation models based on sharing rather than control. Finally, it explores the benefits to be gained in developing the relationship between IP and climate change by looking more widely, to human rights and competition laws.

Increasing numbers of elderly patients are undergoing an increasing variety of surgical procedures. There is an age-related decline in physiological reserve, which may be compounded by illness, cognitive decline, frailty and polypharmacy. Compared with younger surgical patients, the elderly are at relatively higher risk of mortality and morbidity after elective and (especially) emergency surgery. Multidisciplinary care improves outcomes for elderly surgical patients. Protocol-driven integrated pathways guide care effectively, but must be individualised to suit each patient. The AAGBI strongly supports an expanded role for senior geriatricians in coordinating peri-operative care for the elderly, with input from senior anaesthetists (consultants/associate specialists) and surgeons. The aims of peri-operative care are to treat elderly patients in a timely, dignified manner, and to optimise rehabilitation by avoiding postoperative complications. Effective peri-operative care improves the likelihood of very elderly surgical patients returning to their same pre-morbid place of residence, and maintains the continuity of their community care when in hospital. Postoperative delirium is common, but underdiagnosed, in elderly surgical patients, and delays rehabilitation. Multimodal intervention strategies are recommended for preventing postoperative delirium. Peri-operative pain is common, but underappreciated, in elderly surgical patients, particularly if they are cognitively impaired. Anaesthetists should administer opioid-sparing analgesia where possible, and follow published guidance on the management of pain in older people. Elderly patients should be assumed to have the mental capacity to make decisions about their treatment. Good communication is essential to this process. If they clearly lack that capacity, proxy information should be sought to determine what treatment, if any, is in the patient's best interests. Anaesthetists must not ration surgical or critical care on the basis of age, but must be involved in discussions about the utility of surgery and/or resuscitation. The evidence base informing peri-operative care for the elderly remains poor. Anaesthetists are strongly encouraged to become involved in national audit projects and outcomes research specifically involving elderly surgical patients.

This chapter assesses the rationales and justifications commonly seen for and against patents, which inform all aspects of patent law. Against this backdrop, the chapter explains the architecture and procedures of contemporary patent systems as they operate in the UK, within the European patent system, and through international agreements, instruments, and procedures. The chapter considers the patent registration process in the UK. Unlike copyright—and like registered trade marks and registered designs—patent protection is a registered right, granted by an intellectual property office following an application and examination process. The chapter also reviews changes over time and areas of particular debate and possible future evolution.

This chapter considers the ‘economic rights’ the copyright owner enjoys while copyright protection endures. These are the rights that the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) calls ‘acts restricted by copyright’, which may be exploited by transferring them to others or licensing others to use them for a price. The chapter discusses the rights flowing from ownership of copyright and the international framework that underpins them, noting the influence upon UK law of a number of EU Directives. It identifies the general principles pertaining to infringement of economic rights, before turning to the detailed rules on each economic right: to make copies, issue copies to the public; rent or lend commercially to the public; perform, show, or play in public; communication to the public; and make adaptations. It discusses authorisation of infringement (accessory liability) in relation to these economic rights, and finally considers secondary infringement of copyright.