Art and copyright: some current issues

Legal context IP lawyers are increasingly having to advise onart-related copyright matters. Current issues include the strongcopyright protection given to images, uncertainty in the protectiongiven to innovative contemporary art works, problems in applyingthe fair dealing exceptions to art works, and the increasingrelevance of other IP rights. Key points Image rights receive strong protection - photographsof public domain art works are protected in the basis of long-standingauthority (although there are arguments against such a view).Whether an artistic work is protected by copyright depends onwhether the work falls into the closed list of categories insection 4 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (painting,drawing, engraving, sculpture, etc). Much contemporary art doesnot fall neatly within these categories. Categorisation willalso be in issue as far as Artist's Resale Right is concerned.There is lack of understanding amongst internet artists aboutthe copyright restrictions that apply to digital works and concernsare raised more generally about the lawfulness of appropriationart. Practical significance Lawyers advising artists and those exploitingartistic works need to be aware of the potentially broad scopegiven in UK law to protecting works of art (including photographsof public domain works such as Old Master paintings) and tothe conflict between copyright and the practice of appropriationart. Where infringement claims are being considered fair dealingarguments and the possible impact of human rights law in guaranteeingfreedom of expression will need to be carefully considered.There has been little reported litigation on moral rights butthis aspect cannot be ignored. Trade mark rights, design lawand passing off may also need to be considered.     

Democratizing the hospital: deliberative-democratic bioethics

The increased presence of moral consultants, or bioethicists, within hospitals and clinics in the last two decades has begun to raise questions about their sources of authority and norms of practice. Under pressure from critics in the social sciences, a number of bioethicists have recently raised the ideal of democratic deliberation to defend and reconstruct their place in the medical field. This article sheds light on these developments by placing bioethics in a historical context that shows an early tension between bioethicists as whistle-blowers and bioethicists as incremental reformers of medical practice. This article also develops a conceptual framework for analysis that indicates how such tensions have grown more complicated for contemporary bioethicists because they occupy a fluid and structurally ambiguous role in which there are multiple sources of normative expectations and little guidance for meeting these expectations. The liminality of the role and the overload of expectations have made bioethics vulnerable to methodological criticisms from social scientists. This article concludes that such methodological criticisms cannot address the more systemic problems of liminality and overload. The ideal of democratic deliberation, though imperfect, does address these systemic problems because it shows bioethicists how to gain guidance and share responsibility for moral consultation.     

中国《航运法》制定中几个基本理论问题之研究

针对中国正在制定的《航运法》,运用法理学和经济法的基本理论,结合航运经济和航运市场的特点,分析和探讨《航运法》的基本理论问题,包括《航运法》的调整对象、定义、地位、与其他法律的关系、立法指导思想、立法目的和立法基本原则。     

Introduction of a national electronic patient record in The Netherlands: some legal issues

The electronic patient record (EPR) is a major technological development within the healthcare sector. Many hospitals across Europe already use institution-based electronic patient records, which allow not only for electronic exchange of patient data within the hospital, but potentially also for sharing medical data with external healthcare providers, involved in the patient's care, such as general practitioners or pharmacists. In this article, we discuss the attempt made by the Dutch government to introduce a nationwide electronic patient record (n-EPR). Describing and analyzing the new legislation that is currently being developed to establish the infrastructure for the n-EPR and the related legal issues, we conclude that the introduction of a n-EPR give rise to some substantial concerns. These vary from technical and quality issues such as the reliability of patient data and sufficient standardization and interoperability of the systems used, to issues in the field of data security and confidentiality. For a successful introduction of the n-EPR within the healthcare sector, a condicio sine qua non is that the related legislation provides sufficient safeguards and clarity with respect to the responsibilities and liabilities of its main users: the healthcare professionals.     

再论中医药立法的几个问题

《中华人民共和国中医药法》正在有条不紊的制定中,但中医药基本法立法中出现的问题也折射出了中医药发展过程中的不足。通过对中医药法立法过程中几个问题的再思考,进一步理顺中医药发展的脉络,为中医药基本法立法工作提供参考。