The Internet, Technology, and Organized Crime

Digital technology has transformed organizational life. Developments in communications, and in information storage and retrieval, to name just two areas, have greatly enhanced the efficiency with which legitimate organizations operate. Unfortunately, the benefits of digital technology are not lost on criminal organizations, which exploit digital technology to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their own operations. This paper will discuss the organized criminal exploitation of digital technology, by looking at a number of illustrative cases from Asia and around the world. It will discuss the various types of “conventional” organized crime that can be facilitated by digital technology, as well as terrorism, which itself can be regarded as a special kind of organized criminal activity. One fundamental question that the paper will seek to address is whether the activities of Asian organized crime have become substantively different as a result of technology, or whether traditional organized criminal activities in Asia are merely being conducted on a more efficient and effective basis. The paper will note the transnational nature of much organized criminal activity, and will discuss mechanisms for the control of organized crime in the digital age.     

Digital evidence and the crime scene

Many criminal investigations maintain an element of digital evidence, where it is the role of the first responder in many cases to both identify its presence at any crime scene, and assess its worth. Whilst in some instances the existence and role of a digital device at-scene may be obvious, in others, the first responder will be required to evaluate whether any ‘digital opportunities’ exist which could support their inquiry, and if so, where these are. This work discusses the potential presence of digital evidence at crime scenes, approaches to identifying it and the contexts in which it may exist, focusing on the investigative opportunities that devices may offer. The concept of digital devices acting as ‘digital witnesses’ is proposed, followed by an examination of potential ‘digital crime scene’ scenarios and strategies for processing them.     

博物馆知识产权法律问题探析

随着我国经济的飞速发展,博物馆行业迎来了快速发展的良好机遇。然而,数字化、三维技术等高科技的应用,以及文物复仿、衍生制品的兴盛给博物馆带来了很多知识产权问题。博物馆应当重视知识产权的管理与保护,针对具体的著作权问题、商标问题和其他知识产权问题,制订相应的解决措施。只有这样,博物馆才能更好地维护自身的利益,避免纠纷,为博物馆业的发展保驾护航。     

Patterns of industry interaction with federal laboratories

This article describes the results of a study of interactions between corporate members of the Industrial Research Institute and federal laboratories. The data were derived from a survey conducted in 1992, building on a similar survey conducted in 1988. The survey addressed questions about the barriers to more frequent and effective interaction, the types of interactions that pay off most for the firm, and the form that payoffs take. Since 1988, federal labs have become a more visible source of external technology and information for large, research-intensive companies, but they still lag considerably behind universities and other companies. The greatest increases in interaction with federal labs have occurred in technology licensing, contract research, and cooperative research, with cooperative research regarded as having the greatest future promise for companies. Perhaps the most significant result of the survey was that companies tend to interact with federal laboratories for reasons that have far more to do with long-term, less tangible payoffs than with expectations of business opportunities or technology commercialization. Both federal policy makers and lab managers should consider incentives to promote types of interactions that have high payoff, especially cooperative research, and initiate the kinds of informal contacts that must occur before downstream commitments are made: professional interactions at the person-to-person level, workshops, and seminars. Additionally, companies and federal labs should clearly acknowledge the high value offered by some of the less tangible payoffs from interaction, and work to develop evidence of these kinds of payoffs that will have as much credibility as the more tangible forms, such as expected profits from new business opportunities.     

The future of technological law: The machine state

Advances in technology will challenge and change the current manner in which legal regulation occurs. It has always been possible to describe governance and law as a form of technology in itself, but the growth of digital technologies provides a new means by which to regulate the population. This article posits the theory that the inherent characteristics of technology will become inherent within the digitisation of law. As law becomes an increasingly digital entity, it will become more concerned with perfect reproduction of law upon the person, and so more encompassing in its scope. In addition, the increasing use of digital technologies in augmented reality, in 3D and 4D printing both in solid and biological matter, poses a fundamental change in the regulatory relationship between the State and the individual – a challenge the State will need to address.     

Intellectual property law and practice in the blockchain realm

Blockchain technology is claimed to be and perceived as one of the revolutionary technologies that will have an enormous impact on our lives in the forthcoming years and decades. The legal questions surrounding blockchain appear to be among the most controversial issues surrounding this novel technology, which create uncertainties as to the scope and speed of its eventual adoption. Is it legal to use blockchain technology? Does or should any governmental authority or court take a record stored in blockchain into consideration in their decisions? Is blockchain reliable? Can the technology be used for the protection and enforcement of legal and property rights?The technological advancements offered by blockchain promise wide ranges of use in a variety of sectors and legal areas, including intellectual property (IP) law. This paper will focus primarily on the possible opportunities that blockchain may offer with respect to the future of IP law and discuss its potential impact on the registration, management and enforcement of intellectual property rights. We will proceed to offer blockchain-based solutions to foster the operation of IP offices, reinforce customs procedures in detecting counterfeit products, and enhance the efficiency of IP rights management by the right holders. The paper concludes by providing some suggestions to pave the way for the advancement of blockchain technology and to increase the number of people that this technology reaches, as well as its successful integration into the various services and registration/transaction channels that we use today.     

Competing with MNEs: developing manufacturing capabilities or innovation capabilities

A challenge facing local firms in China is the selection of effective technology strategies to compete against MNEs in the era of globalization. The existing literature suggests two alternatives, developing strong manufacturing capabilities or developing innovation capabilities, but provides no clear answer to the question of how to select one strategy or the other. This paper explores this issue by introducing two concepts: “barriers to appropriability” and “opportunities for improvement.” We develop four propositions to specify the boundary conditions for local firms to choose their technology strategies and analyze two local firms’ technology strategies to illustrate two of the propositions. We find that development of strong manufacturing capabilities will not necessarily be an effective strategy for local firms competing against MNEs. If there are opportunities for improvement, it might be possible for local firms to compete against MNEs by developing innovation capabilities and core technologies.     

由一起官司看网络环境下数字作品的著作权保护问题

信息技术的飞速发展,使得网络环境下的数字作品创作和传播方式相对于传统方式发生巨大变化,与之俱来的是数字作品的著作权保护问题形成了对传统著作权的巨大挑战。从一起相关案件入手,分析了产生数字作品著作权问题的原因,并提出网络环境下的数字著作权保护问题应从法律及信息技术两方面寻求解决的出路。     

数字网络环境中著作权实现的困境与出路——基于P2P技术背景下美国音乐产业的实证分析

数字网络技术给著作权的保护带来了巨大的挑战。技术保护措施、侵权诉讼以及逐级响应机制等既有网络著作权保护方式已陷入困境。网络著作权与传统财产权、著作权的差异、新技术发展的不可预测性以及来自盗版的竞争,要求网络环境下必须采取以授权为中心的整体性著作权实现机制。随着云技术、大数据以及3D打印技术等新兴技术的发展,整体性著作权实现机制在网络环境中将发挥越来越重要的作用。     

区块链技术下数字版权保护管理模式创新研究

区块链技术能够准确、及时、完整地记录数字版权产生、使用、交易、许可及转让等一系列过程,解决数字版权确权、交易问题,也为侵权行为的追踪提供支撑。因此,区块链技术的出现,为当前数字版权管理提供了新的选择:构建了分布式账本区块链技术登记确权共信机制、智能合约区块链技术的数字版权交易履行机制、时间戳区块链技术版权电子证据存证溯源机制、智能合约区块链技术数字版权监管机制等四大机制,探索出版权确权、交易和维权一体化的版权管理模式创新路径,并从法律、技术、标准等角度建立统一的数字版权保护管理创新模式。     

Copyright as Talisman: Expanding 'Property' in Digital Works

Digital technology facilitates the distribution and use of computer programs, graphical works, sound recordings, audio-visual works, and database products. This creates new commercial market opportunities, but ones compromised by the great ease and low cost of making and even disseminating unauthorized exact copies. Copyright generally makes such conduct unlawful, yet monitoring and enforcement costs severely limit the utility of direct enforcement. Content producers therefore seek adjunctive protection through laws regulating circumvention of producers' technological safeguards and enforcing contract restrictions on copy use and transfer. They also promote enactment of strong criminal penalties for copyright infringement and violation of new digital work protection laws. This increasingly has made copyright less the object of protection than a talisman in promoting and framing new protections that accord digital works substantially greater 'property-like' stature and legal protection than that created by copyright.     

Producing Leisured Laborers: Developing Higher Education Courses for the Digital Creative Industries

This article attempts to detail the range of assumptions and challenges in designing an undergraduate university degree in digital creative industries. Leaders in digital industries, who bemoan the general skills shortage and lack of “industry-ready” graduates, have identified the need for post-secondary education in this area. But in developing these new courses, how do we reconcile the traditional reflective, critical modes of academic practice with the fast and dynamic pace of the dot.com industries? How can slower-paced higher education and lifelong learning be meaningful to the current and future generations of digital natives who thrive on “just-in-time” knowledge? These important issues are analyzed and built upon to showcase the unique qualities and opportunities associated with tertiary education in this area. Overall, the article develops these high-level considerations practically by applying them to a pioneering undergraduate course in Australia that was launched in 2014.     

人工智能技术在智慧法院建设中实践运用与前景展望

无论理论研究还是实践经验,我国智慧法院建设已经产生了大量的智慧成果,但在可持续发展的制度化逻辑方面与既有实践成果之间尚未实现科学衔接,智慧法院建设还存在着实践应用不充分、系统融贯性不畅和在线诉讼不足等问题。进一步推动人工智能技术在智慧法院建设中实践运用的基本方案是,在"人工智能+司法"的格局之下,借助数字孪生、拓展现实、隐私计算、情感计算等新兴人工智能技术拓展智慧法院建设的实践运用;在运用前景上,以人工智能技术系统指导智慧法院4.0建设,特别是以人工智能技术推动智慧法院在线诉讼规则,并通过人工智能技术与制度的协同融合推动智慧法院内涵发展,以此推动司法理论与智能技术深度融合、诉讼需求与智能技术深度融合、通用技术与专有开发深度融合,为智能时代中国智慧法院建设提供技术机理和法理结构。     

Multi application smart card schemes: Data protection: multi-application smart cards: the use of global unique identifiers for cross-profiling purposes — Part I

This article, consisting of three parts, will comment on how the opportunities offered by multi-application smart card schemes can be reconciled with data protection requirements. In the first part, the focus will be on the regulatory framework of the smart card manufacturer and the legal requirements to develop less privacy-killing technologies. Hereafter, some technical solutions will be proposed to demonstrate that multi-application smart card technology can be reconciled with the principles of personal data protection legislation. In the third and final part, the communication of personal data through electronic communications networks will be analysed. In relation hereto, it must be indicated that intelligent servers will become increasingly important to assure the interoperability between different application providers and different smart card schemes.     

Public Digital Libraries: Observations and Prospects from the Chinese Experience

In recent years, the digital revolution has created both challenges and opportunities for cultural industries. The ever-increasing production and diffusion of culture through new media via the Internet have profoundly challenged the basic infrastructure and modes of operation in many sectors of the cultural industries. This has been most evident in the case of heritage organizations—including public libraries—where the digital revolution has brought with it a number of significant challenges with respect to courting visitors/users and remaining relevant in the context of evolving digital technologies. This article discusses the rise and evolution of public digital libraries in the 1990s as a response to these new challenges. After formulating some observations about this global trend, which is now more than two decades old, this article discusses the case of public digital libraries in China. In particular, this article points to the importance of cultural policy for the development of this new form of cultural institution. Finally, after reviewing some of the challenges faced by most of these new digital libraries, this article discusses the importance of professional culture in addressing the changing needs of users.     

The Global Dimension of Cybercrime

Cyberspace and thus cybercrime know no boundaries. This chapter reviews some of the basic forms of cybercrime, draws specific attention to the issues that arise when offences occur across borders and in relation to organised criminal groupings, and provides illustrations based on some of the more celebrated cases of the past few years. The borderless nature of cyberspace and the exponential take-up of digital technology throughout the world guarantee that transnational cybercrime will remain a challenge. Fortunately, many nations are rising to this challenge, individually and collectively, but the web of international cooperation does have its holes and those nations that lag behind the leaders risk becoming havens for cybercriminals of the future.     

Symposium overview: Accelerating the conversion of science to technology

Conversion of science to technology typically represents a transition across cultures, organizations, time scales, perspectives, personal motivations and philosophies. The purpose of this special issue is to address the specific problem of efficient and effective conversion of science to technology. This special issue will focus on the ideas, concepts and principles (for improving the science to technology conversion) that can be derived from past and present practices, and will complement recent special journal issues on Research Impact Assessment (Evaluation Review, February 1994) and Performance Measures for Government Sponsored Research (Scientometrics, July–August 1996). The theme that permeates this special issue is that efficient science to technology conversion is a contact sport. It is critical that interested parties (from each side of the science-technology barrier) develop early awareness of, and subsequent early involvement in, each other's culture, problems, and potential to maximize opportunities for removing impediments to successful transition. Awareness and involvement can be greatly enhanced through the use of the latest findings and tools resulting from advances in information science and technology. The various papers in this special issue present concepts and successful examples for enhancing mutual awareness and deepening the breadth and period of involvement that eventually result in transition obstacle removal.     

Technology, Criminology and Crime Science

Developments in technology have changed the environment of crime, which, in some of its new forms, poses a serious threat to society. At the same time the technologies of crime control are being transformed. If criminology is to respond adequately to this changed environment, it must make radical changes in its mission, its theories and its methodologies, the collective result of which would be to make the discipline more directly relevant to crime control and prevention. This would enhance the effectiveness of these activities and would also open up new and exciting career opportunities for criminologists. If criminology does not change, it will become eclipsed by crime science and will find it increasingly hard to survive – even in the protected environment of universities.