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It is now more than 25 years since the WTO TRIPS Agreement entered into force, setting intellectual property (IP) standards at the centre of multilateral trade rules. The quarter-century since then has seen a fundamental transformation in the scale, diversity, and very nature of cross-border commercial transactions in knowledge and knowledge products. An array of technological, economic, social and policy factors has driven this transformation and diversification. The disruptive impact of technological change - the prospects that it brings for sustainable development and for a more equitable world, along with concerns about its potential to displace and disenfranchise, and to entrench inequities - has placed it at the centre of policy debates and practical initiatives about economic and social development, and indeed a host of wider public policy issues today. The framing of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 - a blueprint for international cooperation and national action towards an ambitious set of targets in 2030 - was striking for the high degree of recognition of the need for the development and implementation of new technologies to address fundamental development needs. Innovation, as such, was recognized as a development goal in itself.

Cette étude analyse le cadre légal applicable au statut et à la rémunération des artistes et propose des solutions et des recommandations concrètes. Elle est la première étude à aborder ce thème et les solutions de façon aussi complète et approfondie, y compris sous l’angle du portage salarial, qui prévoit la création d’une structure d’accompagnement pour les artistes, de l’indépendance et du chèque emploi. Il est précisé que l'étude est limitée au domaine artistique, mais que les questions discutées, dont le portage salarial, peuvent aussi concerner de nombreux autres secteurs (p.ex. travail domestique et travail de plateforme), dont les défis sont amplifiés à l’ère numérique.

La proposition de suspension de la protection des droits de propriété intellectuelle (connue sous la désignation en anglais de « IP waiver») actuellement en discussion à l’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) dans le but d’assurer « la prévention, l’endiguement ou le traitement du covid-19 » comporte en particulier la suspension de la protection juridique des secrets d’affaires (soit les « renseignements non divulgués » selon la terminologie de l’art. 39 ADPIC). Ce volet a une grande importance pratique dès lors que la fabrication des vaccins contre le covid-19 est complexe et repose aussi sur des secrets d’affaires. Le présent article présente quelques réflexions choisies concernant la mise en oeuvre d’une telle suspension de la protection des secrets d’affaires, en particulier sous l’angle de la création d’un mécanisme de transfert non-volontaire de secrets d’affaires (licence obligatoire), qui serait très délicate et suscite de nombreuses questions. The proposal to suspend the protection of intellectual property rights (known as the «IP waiver»)currently under discussion at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for “the prevention, treatment or containment of Covid-19” includes in particular the suspension of the legal protection of trade secrets (i.e. “undisclosed information” pursuant to the terminology of Art. 39 TRIPS). This is of great practical importance since the manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines is complex and relies on trade secrets. This article presents selected thoughts on the implementation of such a suspension of trade secret protection, in particular about the creation of a mechanism providing for the non-voluntary transfer of trade secrets (compulsory licensing), which would be very tricky and raises many questions.

Taxation of philanthropy is a heterogeneous topic that extends to multiple scientific disciplines. For academics and practitioners working in philanthropy, it is not uncommon to turn to branches such as philosophy, law, sociology, and economics to obtain thorough answers to the questions they encounter in their research and work. To date, however, there has been no comprehensive multidisciplinary analysis of the interaction between taxation and philanthropy. The present volume seeks to fill this gap. Through this handbook, the editors also endeavored to contribute to the emerging multidisciplinary domain that can be referred to as “the science of philanthropy.” It is hoped that the readers will find the contributions in this volume not only useful but also thought provoking and that they will be encouraged to pursue such studies further.

The Routledge Handbook of Taxation and Philanthropy ventures into a territory that is still widely unexplored. It contains 30 academic contributions that aim to provide a better understanding of whether, why, and how philanthropic initiatives, understood as voluntary contributions for the common good, can and should be fostered by states through tax incentives. The topic has been addressed from a multidisciplinary and multicultural perspective - covering neuroeconomics, sociology, political science, psychology, affective sciences, philosophy, behavioral economy, and law - because of its global and multifaceted nature. It also contains the OECD report on Taxation and Philanthropy released in November 2020, which was prepared in this context as a result of a collaboration with the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy of the University of Geneva. The book is divided into four sections, exploring, respectively, the justification of tax incentives for philanthropy, theoretical and empirical insights about taxes, efficiency and donor behavior in that context, and tax incentives for cross-border philanthropy and for hybrid entities and social entrepreneurship. It is believed that this volume will be a landmark yet only the beginning of a journey in which a lot remains to be studied, learned, and said.

Contract law is a key component of the intellectual property (IP) ecosystem: contracts are the legal vehicles by which IP rights can be lawfully used by third parties. Contracts are the essential tools by which IP owners can monetize their rights. Making sure that contract law can perform these critical missions requires understanding the complex interactions between IP law and contract law. Analysing these interactions is obviously not a new research venture. However, there are still many areas that call for further research and scientific activity. Exploring the interactions between IP and contract law is not only scientifically relevant, but it also has a high practical significance because of the uncertainty surrounding certain legal issues arising in (international) IP transactions which generate high transaction costs. The interactions between IP and contracts are multifaceted and raise numerous methodological challenges and doctrinal questions. This short piece will focus on a few of them (obviously without claiming to be exhaustive). These legal issues can be classified into two categories on which the article will focus and which depend on whether these issues relate to the internal relationship between the parties to an IP transaction or whether they affect external third parties.

Data access is central for the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Data may be however subject to a multitude of rights and actors (e.g. copyrighted works or personal data posted on social media or collected through captcha and used for AI training purposes), leading to a fragmented legal framework and legal frictions. This contribution explores how to apply open and free licenses to all kind of data and collective governance of data through data trusts, in order to allow complex management of data subject to multiple legal regimes and to increase data flows, while improving trust and control over the data. Free or open licenses are traditionally used in connection with Open Source and Creative commons, but could be eventually extended to personal data due to their common characteristics. Collective governance could be improved by creating data trusts, inspired by pilot projects and by the collective management of copyright.

Establishing liability for damages caused by AI used to be rather straightforward when only one or few stakeholders are involved, or when the AI could only take a limited range of pre-defined decisions in accordance with specific parameters defined by a human programmer. However, AI usually involves several stakeholders and components (e.g. sensors and hardware, softwares and applications, data itself and data services, connectivity features) and recent forms of AI are increasingly able to learn without human supervision which makes it difficult to allocate liability between all stakeholders. This contributions maps various possibilities, identify their challenges and explore lines of thought to develop new solutions or close the gaps, the whole from a global perspective. Existing liability regimes already offer basic protection of victims, to the extent that specific characteristics of emerging technologies are taken into account. Consequently, instead of considering new liability principles (solutions that require certain amendments of the current liability regimes), one should consider simply adapting current fault-based liability regimes with enhanced duties of care and precisions regarding shared liability and solidarity between tortfeasors, which could potentially be done through case-law in most jurisdictions. When it comes to the calculation of damages, given the difficulties in calculating the damage and to take into account the specificities of IPR or privacy rights, economic methods may be considered to calculate the damages in general, such as the Discounted Cash Flow Method (DCF) and the Financial Indicative Running Royalty Model (FIRRM), as well as the Royalty Rate Method and case-law about Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory license terms (FRAND). This path will lead to a certain “flat-rating“damages (“barémisation“ or “forfaitisation“), at least when IPR and personal data are illegally used by AI-tools and mostly not visible, hence barely quantifiable in terms of damages.

We introduce behavioural philanthropy, a novel interdisciplinary approach examining philanthropic decisions from the perspective of individual decision-makers. Such an approach is relevant to policymakers and law researchers who design tax-based incentives to stimulate private engagement in philanthropy. Behavioural philanthropy relies on insights from psychology, economics, and law to understand the motives that drive individuals, unveil patterns in behaviour, and identify the key forces that shape decisions in the context of philanthropy. In the first section, we highlight the relevance of individual contributions to philanthropy. Following this, we review and discuss extant research that underlies the motivations of individuals engaging in philanthropic behaviours, analyses some weaknesses of the existing approaches, and highlights the benefits of producing data in controlled environments, such as in laboratory settings. We believe that integrating the benefits of these approaches into behavioural philanthropy will: 1) promote the understanding of the psychological and affective mechanisms supporting philanthropic decision making, 2) help build new sound theories that rely on precise computational models and allow for a mechanistic understanding of the complex behaviours in philanthropy, and 3) provide implications for behaviourally informed policy that could help design efficient tax schemes to generate the most impactful giving and welfare systems across the globe.

La définition et la classification des stupéfiants et des substances associées constituent le fondement du système de contrôle des "drogues". Ce contrôle a un impact profond sur les droits fondamentaux de nombreuses personnes en Suisse. Les auteur-e-s proposent une analyse critique des définitions et de la classification des substances soumises à contrôle selon la loi fédérale du 3 octobre 1951 sur les stupéfiants (LStup ; RS 812.121). Ils/elles émettent des recommandations pour une refonte du système actuel de classification de ces substances.

La prescription de benzodiazépines et de Z-drugs (zolpidem, zopiclone, zaléplone) est fréquente en Suisse, y compris en traitement de longue durée. Il peut s'ensuivre une dépendance physique ou psychologique, et plus rarement un syndrome de dépendance. En l'absence de directives reposant sur des évidences scientifiques consolidées, les pratiques effectives des professionnels de la santé sont sujettes à débat. L'est également l'obligation d'obtenir une autorisation cantonale préalable à la mise en place d'un traitement contenant ces substances soumises à contrôle. Le présent article décrit les conditions dans lesquelles une telle autorisation est requise ou non.

Cette étude examine les structures actionnariales des sociétés cotées en Suisse et repose sur la distinction entre actionnariats dispersés, dans lesquels chaque actionnaire détient une participation atomistique au capital social, et actionnariats concentrés, dans lesquels un actionnaire ou un groupe d'actionnaires détient une participation suffisante pour se faire entendre du, ou même contrôler le, conseil d'administration. Constatant la prépondérance des actionnariats concentrés en Suisse et le désintérêt qu'ils suscitent dans le débat de corporate governance, cette étude examine les problèmes de gouvernance des sociétés à l'actionnariat concentré, leur organisation et propose des arrangements de lege ferenda pour améliorer les régimes des transactions entre parties liées, des changements de contrôle et des décotations.

L'article est basé sur un rapport rédigé par les auteurs sur mandat de la République et Canton de Genève. Il analyse et discute les mesures concernant la cyberassurance qui sont susceptibles d'être prises par les autorités publiques afin d'améliorer la cybersécurité des entreprises et spécifiquement des petites et moyennes entreprises utilisatrices de technologies et ainsi exposées aux cyberrisques dans une perspective suisse en prenant en compte des sources internationales et étrangères.

Direct tax incentives for individual investors are one of the policy measures that governments use to generate funds to develop the sustainable business sector. There are a number of arguments in favor of these measures. Existing research in behavioral science shows that the majority of investors perceive sustainable businesses as less profitable. It is also known, at least so far, that companies which follow sustainable commercial practices find it harder to attract investors. Several governments have identified this issue and enacted tax incentives specifically designed to encourage investors to turn to sustainable businesses. This type of economic policy approach is, however, still very rare, and the literature on the topic is sparse. This article seeks to provide input from a legal standpoint, highlighting the rationale and feasibility in the light of the fundamental principles of taxation, as well as of EU state aid rules, because this is an issue that inevitably arises. In particular, it analyzes whether encouraging sustainable investments via direct tax relief for investors is compatible with the legal framework for EU state aid and Swiss legislation. Depending on how such tax incentives are structured, we argue that they can be compatible with both.

Partout en Europe, les agences de conseil de vote, communément appelées proxy advisors, ont gagné en influence au cours de cette dernière décennie. Les investisseurs institutionnels font généralement appel à leurs services pour les assister dans l'exercice de leurs droits de vote aux assemblées générales des sociétés cotées. La présence des conseillers en vote sur les marchés de capitaux suscite de nombreuses réactions, et parfois des controverses. D'une part, ils sont perçus comme des forces motrices de la bonne gouvernance d'entreprise, d'autre part, leur activité commerciale et leur position de pouvoir soulève des interrogations quant à la manière dont ils élaborent leurs recommandations de vote et dont ils gèrent les conflits d'intérêts. Face à l'influence grandissante des conseillers en vote, les régulateurs et légis- lateurs ont entamé une réflexion sur un encadrement réglementaire approprié à leur égard. En incluant des exigences de transparence détaillées pour les proxy advisors dans la directive révisée sur les droits d'actionnaires de 2017, l'Union européenne a joué un rôle de précurseur en la matière . La Suisse, en tant que pays tiers, n'était pas tenue de transposer les exigences de la directive européenne sur les droits des actionnaires dans son droit national. Et pourtant, comme nous allons le voir, l'entrée en vigueur de la directive a des conséquences juridiques et pratiques pour les conseillers en vote suisses. Face à ce contexte, l'objectif de cette contribution est d'examiner dans quelle mesure la réglementation européenne affecte la situation des agences de conseil en vote établies en Suisse et de proposer des paramètres quant à un encadrement

Given Big Data's increasing importance, it seems im-portant to develop a clear and coherent body of law and to organize the different relationships among all stakeholders and legal regimes that grant different property-like rights. There are already numerous stud-ies on the interactions between Big Data and intellec-tual property and/or privacy, but less that map all legal regimes, including the question of licensing and overlaps between legal regimes. In a first part specifi-cally addressed to data producers or data users active in Big Data (collectively referred to as “organizations”), this article suggests a holistic approach, where we map all legal regimes from a comparative law perspective and suggest a three-step approach, according to which each organization needs to assess whether a given data is subject to a property right; if yes, whether that rele-vant data may be used thanks to exceptions or other flexibilities notwithstanding the property right and, if not, how to license them (below II). In a second part specifically addressed to policymakers, this article ex-plores selected policy considerations, including the question of overlaps between legal regimes, the creation of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure that all data processes function seamlessly, and the promotion of co-regulation in developing digital stand-ards at an age of de-regulation to increase democratic control and the participation of all stakeholders (below III).

L'accès aux médicaments à titre compassionnel permet à des patients en situation d'impasse thérapeutique, d'accéder à des médicaments non (encore) autorisés selon la procédure ordinaire. Ces médicaments pouvant présenter des bénéfices mais également des risques, il s'agit de déterminer comment atteindre l'équilibre entre, d'une part, accès aux médicaments pour les patients qui en ont besoin et d'autre part, protection de ces patients, de la santé publique et contrôle des coûts de la santé. Cette thèse porte principalement sur le droit administratif suisse en matière de produits thérapeutiques, tout en examinant les enjeux du sujet avec une perspective interdisciplinaire.

The screening of foreign investment has become a growing concern for many countries. In the midst of a trade war between the US and China as well as issues related to state-owned companies' interference in the EU, it is bound to become a subject of heated debates in Switzerland. As we continue to live through a global pandemic, some countries are seeing themselves lacking or at least vulnerable in terms of access to energy, essential goods and critical technologies. As such, the widespread growing feeling of protectionism is stronger than ever as countries try to defend themselves against foreign states' intrusions into their national markets at the detriment of the free movement of capital. For that reason, this paper's objective is to study three different approaches to capital control, namely (i) the restrictive US, (ii) the indecisive EU and (iii) the liberal Swiss frameworks. This paper underlines two main schools of thought. On the one hand, administrative mechanisms harmonized under one main state body may oversee any foreign attempts to penetrate the market. This can be achieved by justifying such state intervention through the necessity to safeguard national security. This notion will be defined in a way to make it as expandable as possible, thereby engulfing, on the same occasion, unexpected areas and therefore flourishing concerns on whether moral considerations still trump pure financial ones. On the other hand, it is also possible to deliver adequate tools to individuals such as shareholders and directors based on the assumption that they are the most suited to adjudicate on the opportunity of a foreign investment in their own businesses. As attractive as this mechanism may seem, as it requires little to no administrative supervision, it can well be argued that companies are not suited to act as exclusive proxies for the state. At times, the public interest will be confronted to the shareholders' best interests, posing a real dilemma for the management.

The paper explores some of the main regulatory concerns and market barriers created by the digital transformation of the financial services industry and the implications for a more socially-inclusive financial system, particularly in developing and emerging market countries. The paper considers the potential for financial technologies to enhance financial inclusion, whilst minimizing the unintended risks and consequences. In doing so, the paper discusses some of the major international initiatives to support policymakers and regulators in managing the risks associated with advances in financial technology. The paper addresses how financial inclusion has become an important public policy objective by exploring its potential to contribute to social sustainability. The paper examines fintech's role as a driver for financial inclusion and highlights some of the main advantages and risks of the digital transformation of financial services. In considering these issues, we will analyse how the experience of some developing and emerging market countries illustrate some of the advantages and disadvantages in addressing these challenges. Finally, the paper discusses the potential for national policymakers and regulators to coordinate their efforts on a cross-border basis to take advantage of digital financial technologies whilst mitigating social inclusion risks.

Dans le cadre de ce rapport présenté à la Société suisse des juristes, la contribution s'intéresse à la place de la corporate social responsibility dans le droit des sociétés (anonymes) suisses. La réflexion s'oriente autour de deux questions: premièrement, la question de savoir dans quelles mesures les sociétés commerciales doivent prendre en compte une dimension social et environnementale dans leur activité. Visitant le débat shareholder value contre stakeholder value, le rapport conclut qu'il n'est pas possible de seulement respecter la loi. Une entreprise peut voire doit prendre en compte sa responsabilité sociétale. Cependant, cette conclusion est diluée par la business judgment rule et la liberté de vote des actionnaires, qui seuls ont formellement droit au chapitre Deuxièmement, renversant la question, la contribution examine le recours à la corporate social responsibility en tant que mise en oeuvre des politiques publiques, en illustrant la réflexion par trois questions: la transparence sur les versements aux gouvernements par les entreprises extractives, la question de la représentation des genres et, enfin, la questions des droits de l'homme.

Taking advantage of its single-payer, universal insurance system, Taiwan has leveraged its exhaustive database of health claims data for research purposes. Researchers can apply to receive access to pseudonymized (coded) medical data about insured patients, notably their diagnoses, health status and treatments. In view of the strict safeguards implemented, the Taiwanese government considers that this research use does not require patients' consent (either in the form of an opt-in or in the form of an opt-out). A group of non-governmental organizations has challenged this view in the Taiwanese Courts, but to no avail. The present article reviews the arguments both against and in favor of patients' consent for re-use of their data in research. It concludes that offering patients an opt-out would be appropriate as it would best balance the important interests at issue.

Commentaire d'un arrêt du Tribunal fédéral excluant la responsabilité pénale du médecin n'ayant pas détecté une erreur sur une ordonnance médicale tierce, faute de lien de causalité hypothétique.

Until recently, Switzerland applied a strict territorial approach to regulating financial services with a handful of a notable exceptions. After facing protectionist movements from other jurisdictions, the new Financial Services Act (FIDLEG, LSFin, FinSA) marks a clear departure from this approach. This article surveys the impact of the new regulation at the point of sale and at the point of production. It analyses how the FinSA regulates financial services providers who provide services to clients in Switzerland and subjects client advisors of foreign service providers to a registration duty unless they only serve professional and institutional clients and work for financial institutions that are under prudential supervision in its home country. It also considers the changes the regulation at the point of production. It also examines how the duty to prepare a prospectus approved by a Review Body applies to all public offerings for securities in Switzerland regardless of the jurisdiction of incorporation of the issuer. Similarly, it considers how the duty to prepare key information documents that applies, as a matter of principle, when financial instruments are provided to retail investors under an advisory relationship and, under certain circumstances, even for mere execution-only transactions create a form of product governance that was not part of the statutory goals of the new regulation. Finally, the article examines how the new rules apply to offerings of collective investment schemes. The article concludes by taking stock of the impact of this new regulation. It questions whether the new rules were necessary to protect investors in Switzerland and whether they contribute to improve Switzerland's international economic relations.