Introducing the Open Clause to improve copyright flexibility in cyberspace? Analysis and commentary on the proposed “two-step test” in the Third Amendment to the Copyright Law of the PRC,in comparison with the EU and the US

The so called “three-step test”, that the limitations and exceptions of copyright shall be allowed in certain special cases, provided that they do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author, grants copyright flexibilities to balance the interests of all stakeholders, especially within the European system of circumscribed limitations and exceptions. This is essential for the domain of computer law, confronted by rapid and unpredictable global technological developments, and is, thus, enshrined in the most important international intellectual property (IP) treaties. Through the proposed third amendment to the Copyright Law of the PRC, the legislature intends to adopt this test while also introducing an open-ended list of limitations and exceptions that constitutes a China-specific “two-step test.” This contravenes prima facie the thesis endorsed by the WTO Panel in the case concerning Section 110(5) of the US Copyright Act in 2000. In contrast, court decisions in China frequently apply the fair use doctrine of US copyright law, neglecting to consider its peculiar context of the US common law tradition and, thus, unduly expanding the Chinese courts' discretionary power.This paper summarizes the case law in China and takes a comparative approach to address the divergence between the judicial application of cyber copyright law and the existing legislation. It suggests revising the proposed Article 43 of the Copyright Law of the PRC to capture the due interpretation of the three-step test, thereby finessing the delineation between rights protection and free use with the compensation of remuneration under the principle of proportionality. It argues that transplanting the US fair use doctrine into Chinese copyright law is feasible, but with the preconditions of endeavouring to strengthen judicial reform to integrate the IP adjudication systems, enhancing the coherence and efficiency of copyright enforcement, and facilitating consistent dialogues between scholars, practitioners, and lawmakers.     

论环境新闻传播对社会发展的功能

环境新闻具有广泛性、冲突性、刺激性、相关性、复杂性等特性,对社会发展起着不可替代的积极影响。环境新闻的社会功能主要体现在扩大认知视野、守卫环境生态、增强情感交流、提高思想教育、凸显经济价值、产生审美愉悦等方面。我国的环境报道在重视长期效应、拓展题材领域、强调内容科学等方面都还存有不足,尚待改进提升,以更好地发挥其应有的作用。     

党政领导干部问责制的调查与分析

据2010年4月向B市中青干部培训班学员的问卷调查,大部分学员对B市实施问责制情况的评价不高,但对近年来全国性"问责风暴"的认同度要高得多,官员们的法治意识有所增强,但对问责制的学习和宣传还要加强。为进一步构建有效的问责制度,应明确问责决定机关,加强人大在问责中的作用,充分发挥司法机关、新闻媒体、人民群众的监督作用,还应明确问责对象、拓宽问责内容、统一问责标准。为优化问责制运行环境,还应建立有效权力监督机制,实现权力无缝隙配置。     

Instituting Peace: Third Party Principles and the Mitchell Effect

Abstract

The notion of legitimacy in international peacebuilding is an assumed one; there is an expectation that the formal, Weberian state institutions advanced therein will automatically be condoned by those in whose name they are delivered. But such bodies have, since at least colonial times, been suspect in many postconflict spaces and have routinely been ignored, resisted and bypassed when their local propriety does not reflect social preferences, and the empirical evidence does not suggest this pattern has stopped. The persistence of this null legitimacy derives from the exclusionary nature of liberal interventionism, which neither seeks local knowledge from which to design institutions nor considers their requirements important in relation to popular legitimacy. This article uses survey data drawn from Southern Sudan to discuss how legitimacy is seen from within and what it might look like.     

Leadership Styles as Perceived by Career Senior Service Executives

Abstract

This study identifies the prevailing leadership styles of career Senior Executive Service (SES) members of the Federal Government. This study also determines if an association exits between SES member's self‐perceived leadership style and personal characteristics, such as gender, years in the Federal Service, and highest academic degree earned. The study population consists of 6395 career SES members. A random sample of 364 career SES members was selected. The selected group was asked to respond to a demographic data questionnaire and the Styles of Leadership Survey (SLS). Over 34% of the sample completed the instrument and data questionnaire. This study reveals that Strategic Leadership Style (5/5) is the dominant self‐perceived leadership style of career SES members. The personal characteristics of gender, years employed in the Federal Government, and educational attainment were identified as being significant factors influencing leadership styles of Federal Government executives.     

试论政府“有权不可任性”的三重政治意蕴——兼谈2015年《政府工作报告》学习体会

"大道至简,有权不可任性"是李克强总理在作《政府工作报告》时的幽默表述,这不仅是一句流行的话语,更是建设现代政府的宣言,有着深刻的政治意涵。从宏观上讲,"有权不可任性"要求优化政府职能,实行简政放权;从中观上讲,"有权不可任性"要求建立健全科学合理的政绩考核体系;从微观上讲,"有权不可任性"要求党员干部树立并践行正确的权力观。     

Informality and Circumscription: The Blair Style of Government in War and Peace

In the latest of his periodic 'overflights' of the Blair style of government since 1997, Peter Hennessy examines the significance of the 2004 Butler Report (on intelligence and weapons of mass destruction prior to the Iraq War) for Tony Blair both as war premier and also as an indicator of his governing practices in general. He concludes that the Cabinet's overall performance on the road to war was seriously inadequate, and is especially critical of its failure to test out fully the Attorney General's opinion in the legality of the war.     

云南省德宏州毒品犯罪及禁毒情况调查报告

云南省德宏州毗邻毒品产地“金三角”,是境外毒品渗透我国的主要通道。近年来,全国缴获的毒品四分之一来自德宏。二十多年来,德宏州克服困难,多方努力,采取有力措施,在打击遏制毒品犯罪方面取得了明显成效,但还存在一些不足和薄弱环节。本调研报告试图通过对德宏州的个案研究,对我国今后的禁毒工作提出建议:即打击与预防相结合;司法控制与社会控制相结合;整合社会各种力量打一场全方位的禁毒人民战争;禁毒宣传教育要分层次分重点,因地制宜、因人而异,实现民族化、地方化。     

Women and Penal Reform: Two Steps Forwards,Three Steps Backwards?

Since publication of the Corston Report in 2007, initiatives with regard to women and criminal justice in England and Wales have been marked by positive steps on the one hand, but reversal and failure on the other. A central element to this narrative has been the enthusiastic development of community‐based services for women, only to be followed by the subsequent dissipation of government energy, a diminution of interest, and a decline in funding. In this article, some of the complexities of the reforms are considered, a detailed reading is provided of the various initiatives as an historical record, and the context(s) in which the steps forward and backward can be understood is reflected on. In light of the evidence, it is argued that if women's centres are to be successful in facilitating and supporting movements away from crime, then there is an urgent need for a consistent strategy derived from evidence‐based research and experience.     

“金三角“地区毒品形势系列调查报告(一)——临沧、德宏境外毒品对我渗透形势的调查

开展对“金三角”地区毒品新形势的调查研究是我国特别是我省调整禁毒策略和措施的重要基础工作。本文仅就“金三角”地区毒品对我渗透形势新变化的战略意义和临沧与德宏境外种毒、制毒以及贩毒势力对我渗透形势新变化的调查结果这两个问题分析阐述。