税收执法不严的法律经济分析

税收流失问题是我国乃至世界上许多国家都存在的现象,税收执法不严是其成因之一。从法律经济学的角度对税收执法不严进行相应的分析可以进行更有效地防范。征税主体主观执法不严与其客观执法不严都有不同的成因,对此所采取的对策也应区别对待。     

Biomedical patents and ethics: a Canadian solution

World Trade Organization member states are preparing for the upcoming renegotiation of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. One of the important elements of that renegotiation is the ethical considerations regarding the patenting of higher life forms and their component parts (e.g. DNA and cell-lines). The interface between the genetic revolution, patentability, and ethical considerations is the subject of this article. The author identifies, explores, and critiques four possible positions Canada may adopt in respect of patentability of biomedical material. First, Canada could do nothing. This approach would mean keeping biomedical materials outside the patent system and outside the stream of commerce. Canada would simply wait for an international consensus to develop before adopting a position of its own. Second, Canada could go it alone. It could implement a policy that balances the incentive effects of patents with the need to incorporate ethical and social values into the decision-making process regarding the use of biomedical materials. In respect of this option, the author proposes a model whereby non-profit bodies would hold the exclusive rights to research, use, and exploit biomedical materials. Third, Canada could follow the United States, Europe, and Japan by providing for almost unrestricted patenting of biomedical materials. This would be the most industry-friendly alternative. The fourth and final option is to use the medicare system to promote discussion of ethical considerations involved in the use of biomedical materials. The power of provincial health agencies may be used as a lever to ensure the discussion of ethical considerations concerning the use of biomedical materials. The author concludes that the fourth and final option is the best alternative for Canada while waiting for an international consensus to emerge.     

Screening technology transfers: Lessons from invention managers

Innovative ideas will not be transferred between organizations unless they pass the screening tests managers use to choose innovations for transfer. This paper suggests that most screening methods have been developed for analyzing incremental improvements in existing businesses. As such, these methods militate against the transfer of new technologies. The paper describes screening methods in use at invention-management organizations as an alternative. These methods stress the development of business concepts for innovations, i.e., the integration of product specifications with the targeted market's characteristics, the user's capability, and convergent technologies that use and/or are used by the innovation. His recent work includes an OECD study of the innovation policies of the western provinces of Canada and a study of the commercialization of agricultural biotechnology for the US Department of Agriculture.     

Patent-based investment funds: from invention to innovation

In the context of entrepreneurial ecosystems the transformation of inventions to innovations is a crucial measure of success. Yet, the exploitation of inventions stemming from academic or corporate research is not as extensive as we would wish leaving room for improvements. Drawing on the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship we investigate the phenomenon of patent-based investment funds as a new type of intermediary in the knowledge spillover process, which could facilitate the transformation from invention to innovation. Using a qualitative research design we analyze data from 21 expert interviews and complementary archival data. We find common characteristics of funds’ activities which decrease knowledge filters and fill the financing gap in the early stages of technology development. We propose a classification of commercialization strategies and link them to a specific set of invention characteristics. Our insights contribute to the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship and to the knowledge filter model by providing empirical evidence for the division of labor between knowledge creator and commercialization agent. This adds to our view on entrepreneurial ecosystems as we shed light on different players in the transition process from invention to innovation and thus enhance our understanding of the multifaceted aspects in such an ecosystem. In addition, we refine the literature on patent-based investment funds by providing a classification of the entire commercialization spectrum used by funds and add to extant theorizing on how the nature of a technology determines its commercialization.

     

Unspecified technical means do not a patentable invention make

The exclusions from patentability under Articles 52(2) and 52(3)EPC may be considered independently of the question of inventivestep, and the excluded activities listed in this Article remainunpatentable even if they may be put into effect by technicalmeans.     

Stem cell technologies: regulation, patents and problems

Human embryonic stem cell research promises to deliver in the future a whole range of therapeutic treatments, but currently governments in different jurisdictions must try to regulate this burgeoning area. Part of the problem has been, and continues to be, polarised community opinion on the use of human embryonic stem cells for research. This article compares the approaches of the Australian, United Kingdom and United States governments in regulating human embryonic stem cell research. To date, these governments have approached the issue through implementing legislation or policy to control research. Similarly, the three jurisdictions have viewed the patentability of human embryonic stem cell technologies in their own ways with different policies being adopted by the three patent offices. This article examines these different approaches and discusses the inevitable concerns that have been raised due to the lack of a universal approach in relation to the regulation of research; the patenting of stem cell technologies; and the effects patents granted are having on further human embryonic stem cell research.     

Software patents in the United States: A balanced approach

This paper tracks the interesting journey of software patents in the United States from both a historic and current standpoint. The U.S patent system has drifted from being strict in the 1970s to being fairly lenient in 1990s and now again strict since 2007. The revolutionizing and famous Bilski case that is redefining the boundaries of software patents is described, and the impact of this Court case on software patents is discussed. The challenges in issuing software patents in terms of proving novelty and non-obviousness are presented in an attempt to bring forward some of the questions in the software patent debate. The uniqueness of software as an invention is analyzed to understand why software should be considered differently compared to other industries. The advantages and disadvantages of software patents are discussed. The paper concludes by providing recommendations and proposing a balanced approach to software patents.     

Population bio-banks: a juridical analysis based on Icelandic and Estonian experience]

Large-scale collections of human biological samples and associated data are becoming increasingly common as a means of identifying, in a particular population, genetic predispositions to complex diseases that result from an interaction of environmental, lifestyle and genetic factors. This paper compares the recent experiences of Iceland and Estonia in the establishment of population biobanks as well as the specific law passed by both countries to deal with this matter. In the light of this comparative analysis, this paper summarizes the main ethical and policy dilemmas posed by large-scale biobanks and suggests some possible solutions to these new challenges.     

Extraterritorial enforcement: US court refuses to enforce foreign patents

Upholding principles of territoriality, the US Court of Appealsfor the Federal Circuit has refused to extend its jurisdictionto enforce related foreign patents.     

Nanoscience and technology publications and patents: a review of social science studies and search strategies

We undertake a comprehensive review of more than 120 social science studies on nanotechnology, 90% of which are based on the analyses of the nanotechnology publications and patents. We discussed four intellectual debates formed by these studies, namely whether nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary field, whether nanoscience and nanotechnology are closely interlinked, whether nanotechnology development is path dependent and who is winning the global nanorace. We also conduct a comparative analysis of bibliometric search strategies used in the literature to harvest the publications and patents, including lexical queries, evolutionary lexical queries, citation analysis, and the use of core journal sets to identify nanotechnology articles. Because most of the compared strategies, except the one using 10 core journals in the field, share a core set of keywords and thus harvest a common batch of publications, they produce very similar ranking tables of the top subject areas and journals and the most prolific countries and institutions. Moreover, the core journal strategy does not provide a robust delineation of an emerging field such as nanotechnology due to the fact that nanotechnology related articles are published in a wide range of journals. Also, the different criteria for selecting the core journals will affect the analytical results dramatically.     

The private value of patents by patent characteristics: evidence from Finland

I use renewal rates and fees to estimate the private value of Finnish patents by patent characteristic. I disaggregate the value estimations by applicant, patent breadth, and technology. Firm patents are 1.5 times more valuable than patents owned by individuals. This holds also when controlling for technology and breadth. There are large differences in values between technologies but in contrast to the usual assumption made in the theoretical literature, broader patents are not necessarily more valuable than narrower ones. Patent value is skewed and therefore the number of patents should be weighted by an index when measuring technological change. I construct this index for Finnish patents and find that renewing a patent one more year signals a 1.5 times more valuable patent.      

WTO: US and Argentina settle dispute over patents and data protection

In May 2000, supplementing an earlier complaint filed in May 1999, the US filed a complaint against Argentina, alleging that its patent laws violate the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (the TRIPS Agreement). The gist of the US complaint was that Argentina's law failed to provide: (1) adequate protection against "unfair" commercial use of undisclosed test data submitted in order to get market approval of pharmaceutical products; (2) certain safeguards for compulsory licences on an invention granted on the basis of inadequate working by the patent holder; and (3) adequate measures to prevent infringements of patent rights. The US also alleged that Argentina denies certain exclusive rights of patent holders, such as the exclusive right to import the patented product into the country. At the end of May 2002, the US and Argentina notified the WTO that they had reached a "mutually agreed solution," without prejudice to their respective rights and obligations under WTO agreements, and the US has withdrawn its complaint.     

The invention of Peel's principles: A study of policing ‘textbook’ history

Beyond noting the importance of the Act for Improving the Police in and near the Metropolis (1829) (hereafter referred to as the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829) to the origins of modern policing, law enforcement and policing textbooks commonly include a list identified as Peel's principles. In researching the origins of such lists and their principles, this study found that they are largely the invention of twentieth century textbook authors. From this understanding emerge several considerations for the future of textbook history and of Peel's principles. These include the ongoing importance of incorporating new scholarship and changing historical interpretation into texts. In such an endeavor, however, care should be taken not to impose twentieth or twenty-first century concepts on the past.