An injunction to prevent access to copyright infringing content,or perhaps not yet: UK perspective

In 2010, the United Kingdom High Court found an indexing company liable for the copyright infringements of its users when they downloaded materials from the Newzbin website. While its servers were located within UK jurisdiction and the majority of infringing content was in claimants' repertoire of films, the website was forced to cease operation. However, shortly after the ruling, it is believed to have moved its servers offshore and resumed operation from the same location, still accessible to UK users but beyond reach of the UK law. This prompted the case, Twentieth Century Fox & Ors v British Telecommunications Plc (2011), by the film studios to seek an injunction against one of UK's internet service providers, to force it to block its users' access to the Newzbin2 website. With the order granted and more UK ISPs also required to block their users' access to infringing content in Dramatico Entertainment Ltd & Ors v British Sky Broadcasting Ltd & Ors (2012), evidence also suggest that technical possibilities exist to render such a blockade ineffective. Beside debates on conflicting interests and proportionality, this paper argues that it may still, in reality, prove harder to achieve a stricter regulation.     

Mind the Gap: Using UK Parliamentary Sources to Enhance Teaching

Online primary parliamentary sources can be of great value in teaching Parliament-related courses and a valuable means of promoting the development of students' research and analytical skills; particularly taking into account the research habits of the modern student population. Through a series of focus groups with politics students and a national survey of politics lecturers, the perceptions and current use of the UK Parliament website in teaching are analysed. It was found that a considerable number of lecturers are making use of the website for teaching purposes, though this is usually at a very basic and often superficial level. Barriers to the use of parliamentary resources include a lack of awareness of the types and variety of parliamentary material, difficulties in finding appropriate material on the Parliament website and a lack of understanding on the part of lecturers as to how to use this material effectively in lectures and seminars.     

Unblocking the Digital Economy Act 2010; human rights issues in the UK

Through an example of a study utilizing the case-law research method, this paper critically assesses whether taking into account both the findings of Mr La Rue (the United Nations Rapporteur on Human Rights) as well as some Court of Justice of the European Union's (CJEU) case-law, website blocking could be implemented in a way which is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), in particular, with Article 10. Drawing upon, inter alia, Ofcom site blocking review, sections 17 and 18 of the Digital Economy Act 2010 (DEA), section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA), and some independent expert evidence, this paper's major argument is that in view of the CJEU SABAM v Scarlet and SABAM v Netlog, the UK government's decision to repeal the website blocking provisions of the DEA appears appropriate. The paper examines the findings of Fox v BT. It contrasts such findings with the CJEU's case-law and in light of the incompatibility of any website blocking measure with the cumulative three-part test set out in the United Nations Rapporteur on Human Rights discusses a number of implications. It concludes that given that the implementation of content blocking systems, such as Cleanfeed is likely to result in general monitoring being carried out; the UK government could possibly be in breach of EU law, namely, Article 15(1) of Directive 2000/31.     

EU Directive on unfair commercial practices--a UK perspective

Legal context. Lack of any catch-all law of unfair competitionin the UK – difficulty for brand owners in protectingtheir IP rights with regard to look-alike products. UK remediessuch as passing-off and trade mark infringement have provedtoo narrow. EU Directive will add to the remedies availableand may assist brand owners in their battle against look-a-likeproducts. Key points. Legal position on look-a-likes in the UK –objectives of the new Directive. Analysis of the two main waysto establish a commercial practice is unfair in the look-a-likecontext. The likely effect of the Directive in the UK on copycatsyndrome and looking to the future. Practical significance. Brand owners may use the new law alongwith the old to stamp out look-a-like activities. Practicalapplication of the test under the Directive. Remedies includecourt orders to stop and prevent unfair commercial practiceto optional possibility of court-imposed requirement to publisha corrective statement or fine – if latter is introducedinto the UK would be an additional deterrent factor of practicalvalue.     

AN EXAMINATION OF RETAIL CLIENTS’ INVESTOR SUITABILITY RULES IN THE COBS AND THE LESSONS FOR CHINA

Nowadays, the complexity of financial products makes it difficult for retail clients to identify investment risks, and there is an increasing tendency for firms, stipulated by the maximum profits, to recommend or enter into unsuitable transactions to or for retail clients while providing services of investment advice and portfolio management, which causes great losses to a significant number of investors. So, in the contemporary society, the investor suitability rules through which retail clients can purchase suitable financial products are the indispensable legal basis of investor protection. Currently, the regulations concerning investor suitability management in China have several problems, including the chaotic legal system, low effectiveness level and defective contents, which may make it difficult for suitability to be applied in justice and managed effectively. Since the UK’s investor suitability rules in the Conduct of Business Sourcebook that apply to retail clients whose contents include requirements of obtaining retail clients’ information, requirements of information to be provided to retail clients and criteria of assessing suitability are clear and comprehensive, the authors believe that the UK’s experiences can provide a great enlightenment for China to better investor suitability management rules, including integrating legal documents and optimizing effectiveness level, rationalizing application scope, adding criteria of assessing suitability and revising specific clauses.     

医疗机构在医药产品侵权中的责任研究——以中外对比研究为重点

由于医药产品在医疗活动得到了广泛应用,医药产品侵权问题也成为一个热点问题。世界各国对医疗机构在有缺陷的医药产品侵权中是否承担责任以及如何承担责任主要有两种做法：一是,医疗机构作为医疗服务的提供者不承担产品责任,而由产品的生产者和销售者按照严格责任原则承担产品责任。这一做法以英国和美国为代表。二是,医疗机构通过提供医药产品获得经济,其行为性质与销售无异,因而与产品的生产者、销售者按照严格责任原则承担连带责任。这一种做法以欧盟为代表。笔者认为,我国《侵权责任法》采第二种做法。本文采用共同侵权的连带责任原理对《侵权责任法》的相关规定进行分析。连带责任产生外部法律效果和内部法律效果。就外部法律效果而言,对医疗机构和生产者同时适用产品责任的严格责任原则,患者既可以向生产者请求赔偿,也可向医疗机构请求赔偿。就内部法律效果而言,对医疗机构和生产者分别适用过错原则和产品责任的严格责任原则,即医疗机构在经患者请求赔偿其损害后,如果对医药产品的缺陷没有过错,可以向生产者追偿。我国《侵权责任法》的规定在倾斜保护患者利益的同时,有可能产生负面影响。医疗机构应当积极应对。     

Elemental profiling using ICPMS of methylamphetamine hydrochloride prepared from proprietary medication using the Moscow and hypophosphorous synthesis

Illicit drugs manufactured from clandestine laboratories are often impure due to poor laboratory conditions, variations in synthesis and impure starting materials extracted either from common household products or pharmaceutical grade chemicals. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) can be utilised as a multi-element analytical tool to elicit the inorganic impurities which may be present in such samples, however the interpretation of the resultant data can be problematic and complex. This is particularly true when dealing with seized samples of unknown provenance. In this work, we have presented and interpreted inorganic profiles as a means to explore within and between batch variations in known provenance samples produced via two different popular synthetic routes. Samples were prepared from essential chemicals recovered from household materials and pharmaceutical medication available in the UK and extracted using different solvents. The presence or absence of elements in the final synthesised products could be linked to the synthesis route, salting out method and potentially the solvent used in the precursor extraction process.     

设置国家安全部网站实证研究

长期以来，在国务院所有正部级机构中，国家安全部是唯一没有对外设置网站的政府部门，域外法制化国家和地区则大都设有公开的国家安全机构网站。本文在分析国家安全部网站建设之必要性与可行性的基础上，提出建设该网站的操作性建议，包括自身定位、网站设计以及网站管理等三个方面。     

电子商务合同主体地位与法律关系研究——以淘宝网C2C交易模式为例

电子商务合同具有合同主体虚拟化、交易介质无纸化等特殊法律品格,对传统法律形成了一定冲击。淘宝网等网络服务提供者为作为合同当事人的经营者与消费者提供了电子媒介支持,成为C2C交易中不可或缺的第三方。淘宝网与经营者、消费者分别通过订立网络服务协议,形成服务关系,对因自身过错或违反法定义务造成的损失应当承担赔偿责任。     

效果规则在美国网络案件管辖权领域的适用

Zippo案所确立的滑动标准在美国网络管辖权实践中得到了广泛依循 ,然许多判例表明 ,美国法院在确定是否应对涉网案件行使管辖权时 ,有偏离滑动标准而采用更为宽泛的以行为后果为基础的效果标准的可能。依此标准 ,法院在确定应否行使管辖权时 ,不再将其注意力集中在对所涉网站自身的特性及其潜在影响的考察上 ,而是集中在所涉网站在管辖区内所产生实际后果的分析上。具体到实践中 ,不同法院在不同类型的案件中对效果规则的适用则有所不同     

Assessing sheriff’s office emergency and disaster website communications

Sheriff’s offices are an integral component of the public health emergency preparedness and response system in the USA. During a public health emergency or disaster, sheriff’s offices need to communicate with people affected by the event. Sheriff’s office websites are logical sources for information about disaster preparedness and response efforts. No prior research evaluates emergency preparedness and response resources available through sheriff’s office websites. The current research is a national study of sheriff’s office websites to assess the availability of information relating to emergency preparedness and response. A content analysis of 2590 sheriff’s office website homepages was conducted to determine the presence or absence of nine communications elements important to people seeking information during an emergency or disaster. We found that 71.9% of sheriff’s office website homepages include links to agency services and programs, but only 6.5% provide links to emergency preparedness information. The findings of the study are useful to assess emergency preparedness and the amount of response information available, as well as to identify opportunities to improve sheriff’s office website homepages.     

吉林省政府系统互联网站绩效评估指标体系诊断与再设计

本文对吉林省政府系统互联网站2007年绩效评估指标体系以及赛迪顾问提出的政府互联网站绩效评估指标体系的内容进行了分析和评价,在此基础上提出进一步完善互联网站绩效评估指标体系的几点建议,初步设计2008年吉林省政府系统互联网站绩效评估指标体系。     

The battle over global drug markets: enforcement of pharmaceutical patents in the United States, Europe and Japan

Legal context: Pharmaceutical patent litigation is on the rise. The focal pointof this increasingly contentious area of litigation is the surgein pharmaceutical patent challenges mounted by generic drugmanufacturers. Pharmaceutical companies need to identify viableenforcement strategies that can survive these challenges andeffectively manage the life cycle of their pharmaceutical productsaround the world. Key points: The degree to which pharmaceutical companies can capitalizeupon the value of their second generation patents to extendthe protection given to existing drug products depends in parton the patent landscape, country by country, and also on theregulatory landscape for generic drug products and their entryinto the marketplace.This paper will examine the patent laws,drug approval regulations, and court decisions on the validityand enforceability of later stage or second generation patentsdirected to combination compounds, selection inventions, andnew indications, in three major jurisdictions: The United States,Europe/UK, and Japan. Practical significance: Successful pharmaceutical companies can maintain a competitiveadvantage in the global pharmaceutical industry by evaluatingand strengthening the way existing drug products are protectedand, in many cases, changing the nature of protection underthe patent laws by improving upon the pharmaceutical productitself.     

Integrating the view of the public into the formal legislative process: public reading stage in the UK House of Commons

Recent years have seen increasing calls to integrate the public's voice into the parliamentary process. This article examines the impact of public reading stage (PRS) on the UK Parliament's scrutiny of a bill. A new stage of the legislative process piloted by the House of Commons in February 2013, PRS invited the public to comment on a bill undergoing parliamentary scrutiny (the Children and Families Bill). The PRS was designed to encourage members of the public to participate in the scrutiny of legislation through a specially designed forum on parliament's website. Over 1000 comments were submitted. Drawing on a content analysis of the comments given by the public to the bill, complemented by interviews with members of parliament, key officials and PRS participants, it was found that although the public reading stage had an impressive response, it failed to make much of a tangible impact on the parliamentary scrutiny of the bill. This was largely due to the choice of bill being used for the pilot and its lack of appropriate integration into the formal legislative process.     

E-participation and e-participants: solving the patent ‘crisis’

One of the major planks of some visions for E-Gov is that there is a willing participatory group who are more than happy to be involved in new forms of democracy and will be active and useful suppliers of input to e-consultation or e-participation processes. This group is different from that which goes online to the government website and signs a petition asking the prime minister to resign. It is becoming clear, though, that the commitment to e-participation may well be there in theory, but difficult to access in practice. Further, the participation that is most welcome can frequently require training and expertise that is not widely available or there may be differences in opinion as to the point of participation. In this paper I will look to the attempts to encourage participation in the patent system. The UK has initiated a trial system utilising New York Law School's Peer-To-Patent project, but has also attempted to involve participants in previous consultation exercises. I will use these as demonstrations of the sorts of problems that e-participation has met, and consider whether this new form of E-Gov is perhaps being oversold. The interesting question is whether participation is a growing tool that can ensure better public services from the State. My conclusion is that consultation and participatory projects can demonstrate involvement and are certainly educative, but e-participatory projects are most likely incapable of achieving the goals set by their more optimistic advocates. The paper emphasises the patents field, but the lessons from it can – I suggest – be viewed as indicators having wider governance relevance. The primary point being made is that the technocratic view is always over-optimistic.     

ASP动态网站信息电子取证方法

本文综述了对于asp类型网站的电子取证知识及应用技术。分别从ASP网站结构、IIS信息及日志文件的获取、网站文件内容的取证、后台数据库信息的获取几个方面展开进行介绍。     

Hyping and Spin-doctoring - the UK Network Antidote

The development of e-commerce, the stability of networks, the drive for greater bandwidth and the voice/data convergence are areas affecting a wide range of computer professionals. The field is clouded by manufacturers hyping their own products and industry factions spin-doctoring new technologies. This research, involving 764 networking professionals from a spectrum of UK businesses provides a snapshot of the current situation.     

谈政府信息公开环境下政府网站的建设

政府网站作为政府信息搜集、发布和管理的平台,为政府行政提供了一个有效的信息交流和传递通道。但目前我国现有的一些政府网站在提供政府信息服务方面存在着许多不足,严重地影响了政府网站作用的正常发挥。本文分析了我国政府网站存在的主要问题,并据此提出了相关的对策与建议,以期对提高我国政府网站的服务水平起到一定的作用。     

BHB falls at the final hurdle (UK Court of Appeal)

In July 2005 the Court of Appeal allowed William Hill's appealagainst Laddie J's decision that the company infringed BHB'sdatabase right in pre-race data by publishing lists of horsesrunning in races on its website; the significance of this case,though, goes far beyond William Hill's website.     

政务信息公开满意度影响因素分析——以政府网站为例

以政府网络为视角,研究政务信息公开满意度影响因素,有助于政府部门改进信息化服务工作,提高公众满意度.本文通过对美国顾客满意度指数模型(A CSI)进行改进并参考欧洲顾客满意度指数模型(ECSI),构建了我国政府网站政务信息公开满意度模型,运用问卷调查和结构方程模型(SEM)对所构建模型进行实证检验,从公众视角揭示我国政...