European Union law Part 22

 

Joint Ventures: Treatment under New Zealand, United States and European Competition Law
Alan Lear
New Zealand Business Law Quarterly
Volume 11, Number 2, May 2005 p.187

Joint ventures are a common means by which businesses combine to undertake risky ventures or enter a new market that they would not do on their own. Notwithstanding the benefits to consumer welfare such combinations can bring, New Zealand’s competition laws can impose unnecessary risk and compliance cost on the parties. This article compares New Zealand law against the US and European Union regimes which are more accepting of joint ventures. It also studies four recent New Zealand joint venture type cases, lists factors that affect compliance risk, and puts forward suggestions for reforming this neglected area of law.

Digital Signature Law of the United Nations, European Union, United Kingdom and United States: Promotion of Growth in E-Commerce With Enhanced Security
Stephen E. Blythe
Richmond Journal of Law and Technology
Volume 11, Issue 2, Winter 2005

Anti-Discrimination law and the European Union
Masselot
European Public Law
Volume 11, Number 1, March 2005 p.169

THE Administrative law OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Law and Contemporary Problems
Volume 68, Number 1, Winter 2004

Interpretation of Treaties in the Light of the Relationship Between International Law and the Law of the European Communities (European Union)
ARTUR KOZLOWSKI
Polish Yearbook of International Law
Volume 26, 2002-2003 p.115

Creating Incentives for Sustainable Buildings: A Comparative Law Approach Featuring the United States and the European Union
Nancy J. King & Brian J. King
Virginia Environmental Law Journal
Volume 23, Number 3, 2005 p.397

Communication from the Commission, COM(2003) 284 final, Modernising Company Law and Enhancing Corporate Governance in the European Union — A Plan to Move Forward
Columbia Journal of European Law
Volume 11, Number 1, Winter 2004/2005 p.213

CAMERON, PETER: Competition in Energy Markets: Law and Regulation in the European Union
Cambridge Law Journal
Volume 64, Issue 1, March 2005 p.254

THE RIGHT TO PRACTICE LAW IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: AN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE
JAMES P QUINN
Macquarie Journal of Business Law
Volume 1, 2004 p.113

Biret International SA v. Council of the European Union; Etablissements Biret & Cie SA v. Council of the European Union
Patricia Egli
American Journal of International Law
Volume 99, Number 1, January 2005 p.230

European Court of Justice ruling on whether EC beef hormone import violation of the WTO SPS Agreement gives rise to private rights under EC law

Sui Generis Database Legislation: A Critical Analysis
Samuel Trosow
Yale Journal of Law & Technology
Volume 7, Spring Issue, 2004-2005 p.94

Over the last decade, one of the most contentious issues in intellectual property has been the question of statutory protection for databases and compilations. A number of factors had converged during the 1990’s to place this issue on the policy agenda, including court decisions holding that the factual elements within collections of information are not necessarily covered by copyright laws, the adoption within the European Union of a Directive on the subject, and the continued advances in informational technologies that have made database collections increasingly vulnerable to misappropriation. The efforts of proponents of new, or sui generis database protections to enact new legislation in the United States had been unsuccessful in the 104th, 105th, 106th and 108th Congresses, and an effort to bring database protections within the ambit of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) system of Treaties failed to gain approval at its 1996 diplomatic conference. The continuing efforts of the European Union to place the issue of a new database treaty at the fore of the WIPO agenda through its Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, has been unsuccessful in the face of growing resistance from developing countries. In the United States, various efforts to mediate the disparate position of the various stakeholders have been largely unsuccessful. This paper presents the drive towards sui generis legislation for databases as a case study that exemplifies the expansionary nature of the contemporary intellectual property policy environment. Section I places the problem in context by discussing the strategic importance of databases for the contemporary research enterprise. Focusing on what databases are, how they are used by researchers, how they are becoming increasingly central to the process of scientific research, and how sui generis legislation would disrupt these processes helps frame the subsequent discussion of particular legislative proposals. Section II outlines and evaluates the three primary justifications advanced by proponents of sui generis database legislation; the need to fill in a perceived gap caused by lack of adequate protection under U.S. copyright law, the need to harmonize U.S. law with the European Union Database Directive, and the increased risks of misappropriation brought about by technological advances. Section III turns to the legislative response in the U.S., describing the database legislation that has been introduced in the 104th, 105th, 106th, and 108th Congresses, and setting forth the principle arguments raised by proponents and opponents of the measures. Section III also contains a discussion of the draft Database Treaty that had been considered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1996. Section IV provides an assessment of the validity of the claims of the proponents of database legislation by placing the database debate in a deeper political and economic context. The conclusion is reached that sui generis database legislation would hamper the goals of promoting scientific progress, and that such attempts should be rejected by policymakers.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Administrative law, European Union law, Treaties.