A legitimate trespass

No editor can fail to be conscious of the burden placed uponhis shoulders when he begins to select the words that introducea new publication to an audience of unfamiliar readers. Howshould he justify a further trespass on their limited time andresources? At the launch of a new title such as JIPLP the editor can scarcelypoint to its self-evident     

Surveying support for child and youth political participation in Australia and New Zealand

Recent decades have witnessed increased empirical and policy interest in children’s citizenship, particularly since the ratification of the United Nations Declaration of Children’s Rights. However, support for children’s active citizenship is often hindered by the pervasiveness of discourses that characterise children as innocent, developing, and free from responsibility. Public and governmental decision-making largely excludes children’s consultation and contributions, often determined by age alone. To quantifiably assess the amount of public support for children’s political participation, we commissioned a Likert scale survey question on degrees of support for children and youth (across four age groups between 3 and 18 year olds) having the opportunity to influence government decisions, in the Australian and New Zealand 2016 versions of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). Analysis of responses to this question in relation to demographic survey data indicate variation in preferences for different age groups, and that age, gender, and political party preference of respondents were variables of significance for both nations. These variables point to potential predictors of attitudes toward political participation of children and youth which have relevance for policymakers and educators in relation to provision of programmes that will increase the engagement of children and youth in government decision-making.     

Consensus or compulsion?

When a person receives the same message often enough, from intelligentpeople whose opinions are not only valued but are handsomelypaid for, he is apt to believe it. Yet, acceptance within thecanon of generally accepted wisdom does not of itself qualifya widely held belief as being true. In the field of IP as elsewhere, opinions are often accepteduncritically on the trusting assumption that     

Office politics

The main focus of the IP student is on the substantive law:what can you patent, which acts infringe a trade mark, whenwill freedom of speech arguments trump a copyright-based actionfor an injunction, and so on. Once in practice, this focus broadensto take in wider interests, for example how to advise and guidea client without misappropriating its decision-making capacityor how to work within a team     

Treatment, diagnosis--or just testing the water?

The Gowers Review of IP was published in early December. Nowthat its contents have been revealed, the IP community in Britainand elsewhere is coming to terms with its contents. Althoughthe Review proposes relatively few changes to the IP systemas we know it, many are wary of its potential impact. One reason for the wariness lies in the approach taken by theReview. The most natural avenue for investigation is that whichtackles IP rights in turn: patents,