Protection of competitors, consumers and the general public--The new German Act against Unfair Competition

Legal context. In 2004 the German legislature passed the newGerman Act Against Unfair Competition, replacing the old Actof 1909. By ensuring effective protection against unfair competitionpractices the Act promotes honest and conscionable conduct inthe marketplace for the benefit of competitors, consumers, andother market participants. Key points. The main provision of the Act in section 3 prohibitsunfair commercial practices in the marketplace which are capableof distorting competition to the detriment of competitors, consumers,and other market participants. The general clause is complementedby a non-exhaustive list of categories of commercial practicesconsidered to be unfair under the more recent 1909 Act caselaw. Further provisions deal separately with the categoriesof misleading, comparative, and intrusive advertising, transposingthe relevant provisions of several European Directives intoGerman law. The Act also encompasses provisions on civil remediesand on litigation such as procedural regulations concerninginjunctive relief actions, competence and jurisdiction, andthe role of mediation boards. Practical significance. The prime focus of the new Act is tofurther liberalize German unfair competition law after the repealof the laws governing discounts and bonuses in 2001. Furthermajor accomplishments of the new Act include the explicit emphasisof a high level of consumer protection: for the first time theconsumer is explicitly mentioned together with competitors andthe general public as a subject of protection under unfair competitionlaw in Germany (tripartite protection). Furthermore, the Actprovides greater transparency than the old Act by introducinga catalogue of definitions and by codifying established caselaw with respect to certain categories of commercial practicesconsidered to be unfair.     

Electrospray-ionization MS/MS library of drugs as database for method development and drug identification

An ESI MS/MS library of 800 compounds has been developed and a collection of data is now available for Analyst 1.4 and higher. Compounds include forensically important drugs, such as illegal drugs, some deuterated analogues, hypnotics, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, neuroleptics, antidepressants and many others. For setting up the library of product ion spectra, 20-200 ng of the compounds have been injected either by flow injection or via a short LC-column, the precursor ions were chosen from the Q1 scan spectra, and product ion spectra were generated by CID in the collision cell using three different collision energies (20, 35 and 50 eV). Three spectra of each compound have been collected and compound names, CAS numbers, formulas and molecular weights have been added in the database, which has been generated by the Analyst software. The library can be used for compound identification during general unknown screening analysis by combination of Q1 scan techniques and subsequent MS/MS analysis in a second analytical run. Quantitative procedures for multi drug analysis using Multiple Reaction Monitoring can be established by selection of product ions and suitable collision energies from the library. For publication of the spectra, PDF-files have been generated and can be viewed on-line as supplementary data or from the website in alphabetical order: (supplementary data, should be made available via ELSEVIER-WEBSITE or via ).     

Civil Liberties vs. Security: Why Citizens Accept or Reject Digital Security Measures

Fundamental changes to security policy in European democracies raise the question of the acceptance of new security measures. This paper aims to explain why new measures are accepted (or not). It combines three core elements that are typically analysed separately in the literature: individual attitudes (especially trust), social context and cost/benefit balancing. Comparing Germany and the UK, the model is tested using data from two countries with different societal perceptions of two prototypical security measures: communications data retention and passenger name records. The analysis confirms that trust is crucial, but in a more complex way than usually argued. Trust in specific institutions and actors, related to the specific security measure, is decisive for acceptance. Furthermore, individual cost/benefit balancing is also important for acceptance. Consequently, our model shows that a more detailed analysis than in former studies is needed for understanding the acceptance of security measures in European democracies such as Germany and the UK.     

Supply and demand structure for international offset permits under the Copenhagen Pledges

International carbon offsets from developing countries and emerging economies, such as permits from the clean development mechanism, could potentially play an important role for cost containment in domestic greenhouse gas regulation by industrialised countries. Assuming that major emitters such as the EU, the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand implement the “Copenhagen Pledges” and seek cost containment, the potential demand for offset permits is estimated to be 627–667 MtCO₂e per year. To describe the supply structure, marginal abatement cost curves for developing countries and emerging economies are derived. Developing countries and emerging economies could supply 627–667 MtCO₂e p.a. at costs of approximately EUR 10 (in 2004 EUR), neglecting transaction costs and country-specific risks. The highest potentials for the generation of carbon offsets are present in China, India and the rest of Asia.