Post-termination use of licensed intellectual property by licensees

Legal and practical context: The ongoing dispute between Nokia and Qualcomm exemplifies thecomplex issues that arise when the licensor–licensee relationshipbreaks down. It illustrates that any means by which a licenseecan secure rights to use licensed IP after termination of alicence agreement can be of great commercial importance, notto mention significant economic value. If a licensee can continueto use licensed IP notwithstanding that its agreement has beenterminated, a licensor's ability to control and derive maximumeconomic benefit from its IP may be fundamentally compromised. Key points: The means available to licensees to secure such rights varydepending on the kind of IP right licensed, but there are severalcommon themes, which draw on a diverse range of legal rulesand concepts, including specific IP concepts and laws (includingthe rules relating to assignment and licensing, the exhaustionof rights, revocation and invalidation, and defences to infringementclaims), contract law and competition law. This article discussespractical implications to be considered when drafting IP licenceagreements. Conclusions: From a licensee's perspective, the termination of its licenceagreement is not necessarily the end of the road. Licenseesshould be aware of these post-termination rights when expectingto face difficult renegotiations with a licensor. From bothparties' perspectives, but particularly that of licensor, thisarticle should demonstrate the importance of drafting to avoidany uncertainty that may arise on the termination of a licenceagreement.     

Who are the expressive voters?

Brennan and Hamlin (1998) predict that moderates are more likely to be expressive rather than instrumental voters, but do not test this hypothesis. Greene and Nelson (2002) claim to reject this, by finding that extremists are as likely to vote as moderates. We argue that Greene and Nelson's study was not a complete test of Brennan and Hamlin's hypothesis and we extend their analysis to provide a more thorough test. Our results imply that there is some evidence to suggest that extremist non-voters are less likely to be instrumentally motivated, providing some support for the predictions of Brennan and Hamlin.     

Certification – An Overview

Delinquents are better managed in the juvenile court, though the adult system may be necessary for the few cases in which juvenile facilities and jurisdictional time remaining cannot adequately protect the public.     

FAMILY CARE COMMITMENT DISCRIMINATION: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN WORK AND FAMILY

This Note discusses the pervasive problem of employment discrimination based on family responsibilities, or family care commitment discrimination. Employees with family care commitments often find themselves being pulled in opposing directions—between work and family. When an employee is forced to choose work, for financial reasons, over family, his or her family ends up suffering. The current state and federal statutes aimed at employment discrimination are insufficient to deal with family care commitment discrimination. This Note proposes a change to the current legislation and explains how this change will protect employees and families, while causing employers to internalize externalities by adopting more family‐friendly policies.     

Speaking Softly Without Big Sticks: Meta-Regulation and Public Sector Audit

Australian government has undergone an "audit explosion" in the last twenty years. This article observes, first, that the constitutional function of public sector audit institutions (AIs) gives them a strong cultural commitment to the assessment of the regularity and legality of public expenditure. New functions connected with performance audit and evaluation of nonfinancial performance indicators are liable to be interpreted through the lens of these more traditional concerns. The second observation is that, if we think in terms of "regimes" of financial control, we find that AIs form only part of the overall regulatory regime. This calls into question the coherence and potential for effectiveness of regimes of financial control. However, AIs could also be conceived as "meta-regulators" with the capacity to steer the self-regulatory capacities of public sector organizations in respect of financial controls. Auditors may be effective as meta-regulators through speaking softly, even though they demonstrably lack big sticks.