Structuring modern life running on software. Recognizing (some) computer programs as new “digital persons”

Saudi Arabia grants nationality to an AI robot; the first “clash of robots” took place in Japan; and, Bill Gates suggests that robots start paying taxes. We believe that these developments justify new legal fiction interventions. Software has long now exceeded the intellectual property boundaries. It is no longer merely property; it has assumed life of its own. It does not matter that such life is imaginary today. Legal persons were brought to life through legal fiction intervention that was based on much less motivation – merely the human incentive for profit. Software is certainly connected today with profit, given that the world's most valued corporations are software companies. However, it has moved much further than that, to assume in many ways artificial life of its own. We think that it is time that the dichotomy between natural and legal persons, that has served humanity so well over the past centuries, now be trisected: A new, digital person, ought to be added to it.     

Hyperlinking under the lens of the revamped right of communication to the public

For more than a decade now, the right of communication to the public has been developed and interpreted by the CJEU, leading to a complex set of criteria that must be analysed on a case-by-case basis. When confronted with the copyright status of hyperlinking, the Court built upon that background in a string of cases that ended up reshaping the traditional contours of the exclusive right. The practice of linking, an essential element of the Internet and a crucial tool for any online activity carried out by entities and individuals, is now affected by the new scope of the communication to the public right, with direct consequences on the liability hyperlinkers may incur. This article will examine the status of the Court's case law to provide insights that may facilitate its interpretation and application. It will consider in particular how hyperlinkers are exposed to liability and which duties of care result from the Court's approach. It will also examine how the new understanding of hyperlinks from a copyright perspective may be relevant in the context of the proposed Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market.     

“I couldn't find it your honour,it mustn't be there!” – Tool errors,tool limitations and user error in digital forensics

The field of digital forensics maintains significant reliance on the software it uses to acquire and investigate forms of digital evidence. Without these tools, analysis of digital devices would often not be possible. Despite such levels of reliance, techniques for validating digital forensic software are sparse and research is limited in both volume and depth. As practitioners pursue the goal of producing robust evidence, they face the onerous task of both ensuring the accuracy of their tools and, their effective use. Whilst tool errors provide one issue, establishing a tool's limitations also provides an investigatory challenge leading the potential for practitioner user-error and ultimately a grey area of accountability. This article debates the problems surrounding digital forensic tool usage, evidential reliability and validation.     

Restrictions on cryptography in India – A case studyof encryption and privacy

The developments of technology in communications industry have radically altered the ways in which we communicate and exchange information. Along with the speed, efficiency, and cost-saving benefits of the digital revolution come new challenges to the security and privacy of communications and information traversing the global communications infrastructure. As is with any technology the misuse of technology is noticed similarly the encryption technology. Encryption and other advanced technologies may be used, with direct impact on law enforcement and therefore some restrictions are necessary in the interests of national security. The problem, however, is ensuring that the restriction is legitimate and solely for in the interests of national security, the state not being allowed to interfere and keep a track on individuals' activities and private lives without sufficient cause. The individual needs encryption to protect their personal privacy and confidential data such as medical information, personal financial data, and electronic mail. In a networked environment, such information is increasingly at risk of being stolen or misused. Therefore, encryption is critical to building a secure and trusted global information infrastructure. Digital computers have changed the landscape considerably and the entire issue, at its simplest level, boils down to a form of balancing of interests. The specific legal and rights-related problems arising from the issue of cryptography and privacy in the Indian context are examined in this paper.     

Digital identity – The legal person?

This paper examines the concept of digital identity which the author asserts is now evident in the United Kingdom as a consequence of the Identity Cards Act (UK) 2006 and the National Identity Scheme it establishes. The nature and functions of the concept, particularly the set of information which constitutes an individual's transactional identity, are examined. The paper then considers the central question of who, or what, is the legal person in a transaction i.e. who or what enters into legal relations. The analysis presents some intriguing results which were almost certainly not envisaged by the legislature. The implications extend beyond the United Kingdom to similar schemes in other jurisdictions, and to countries, like Australia, which may implement such a scheme.     

Research and standardisation in nanotechnology: evidence from Germany

Nanoscience and nanotechnology are science fields which are growing extremely dynamically. Germany occupies the top position in Europe and is only second to the US worldwide, which can be attributed to growing research promotion by the state. Based on a general conceptual framework on the role of different types of standards in the research process and technology life cycle, we argue that the market success of nanotechnology applications depends very much on the development of corresponding standards, which clarify not only terminology, measurement and testing methods, but also regulate safety and health aspects and specify interfaces. Other countries, European and international standardisation organisations have launched first initiatives rather early. However, Germany was not able to translate its excellent starting position in nanotechnology research into a leading position in standardisation initiatives, which pave the way for future commercialisation of nanotechnology and also the basis for the next generation of research activities. Based on a survey among stakeholders of German nanotechnology research, we are able not only to provide a first empirical validation of our conceptual model on the role of standards in the research process, but also to define the major problems at the interface between research and standardisation, and finally, to recommend possible options for their solution.

技术与创新支持中心(TISC)的法律定位与制度研究

技术与创新支持中心(TISC)是世界知识产权组织和国家知识产权知局合作共建机构.当前国内外TISC机构迅速铺展开来,其在发展过程中产生诸多权利义务关系.但当前TISC机构的法律定位依旧不甚明朗,究竟适用法人抑或非法人组织规制并不清晰,其内部组织机构也存在诸多疑问.权力机构和监督机构是否有存在必要及如何建构,执行机构如何...     

制度变迁背景下东北装备制造业集群的演进——以瓦房店轴承产业集群为例

与浙江、江苏和广东等地日趋成熟的轻型加工业集群相比,东北装备制造业集群的发展还处于起步阶段.近年来,推动产业集群发展已成为振兴东北老工业基地的重要举措,然而,东北装备制造业集群有其鲜明的特点,在推进产业集群发展的过程中照搬国内外的做法将难以奏效.为此,选择东北地区具有代表性的瓦房店轴承产业集群为研究对象,通过实地调研和深度访谈,理清了产业集群萌芽、发展和成熟的演进过程,利用核心企业的技术外溢是该产业集群的原动力,市场化进程拉动了中小企业的发展,由此产生的竞争压力迫使核心企业逐步转向高端产品,进而拉动整个产业集群技术水平的提升,核心企业和周边企业间竞争互动形成的"拉-推作用"推动着集群的持续发展;在此基础上,研究了制度变迁对装备制造业集群演进的作用机制,研究表明,以大企业为核心的产业聚集为发展东北装备制造业集群提供了一条有效途径,而产业集群的后续发展还需要社会信用体系的进一步完善.     

数字电视、IPTV的发展对房地产开发项目的影响

数字技术和网络技术的发展使信息交流的途径变得更加广泛和便捷,信息互动将成为人类数字生活史上的又一个里程碑,其发展给房地产开发项目提出了新的挑战,开发商在开发中要进行合理预测,以适应快速发展的信息技术。     

Local aid workers in the digital humanitarian project: between “second class citizens” and “entrepreneurial survivors”

This paper examines the experiences of Filipino workers recruited for technology and communications work by international aid agencies involved in the Typhoon Haiyan response. Filipino workers, many of whom were personally coping with the social and economic impact of this disaster, were hired on short-term contracts to test and implement various digital humanitarian innovations such as feedback and hazard mapping technological platforms. These workers were doubly marginalized: first, as tech workers whose work was viewed by aid officers on the ground as less substantial than that of food or shelter programs; and second, as local voices often drowned out by national and international colleagues. Moving beyond the usual figure of the cosmopolitan and adventure-seeking Western humanitarian acting on distant suffering, this paper draws attention to local aid workers’ aspirations for personal and professional mobility as they seize novel opportunities opened up by the digital humanitarian agenda. It outlines how the digital humanitarian project’s ambition to facilitate the inclusion of disaster-affected communities is fundamentally undermined by labor arrangements that doubly marginalize local aid workers.