Estimating Time to Clear Pendency of Cases in High Courts in India using Linear Regression on NJDG Data

Indian Judiciary is suffering from burden of millions of cases that are lying pending in its courts at all the levels. In this paper, we analyse the data that we have collected from the HC-NJDG portal on 229 randomly chosen days spanning a period of more than two and a half years, starting August, 2017 to March, 20201. We show that (1) the pending cases in most of the high courts are increasing linearly with time, (2) the case load on judges of some high courts is more than a hundred times than the others, and (3) the number of pending cases have to be taken into account while deciding the number of judges in a high court.   &nbsp

Reimagining Copyright Collective Management for Nigerian Creators: Learning from International Models

This paper examines the challenges hindering the effectiveness of collective management of copyright (CMO) in Nigeria and its impact on the nation\u27s creative industry. It identifies key controversies, including allegations of corruption, lack of transparency, potential mismanagement of funds, and the debate surrounding a single CMO structure. By drawing on successful strategies implemented in other jurisdictions, the paper explores how Nigeria can address these issues and foster a more efficient and equitable CMO system. This analysis provides valuable insights and recommendations for policymakers, stakeholders, and creators seeking to strengthen copyright protection and ensure fair remuneration for Nigerian creators in the global marketplace

Utilising IP as Security for Financing in South Africa

Companies or Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have the ability to raise funding for their objects either by selling their shares or through direct debt finance which means approaching banks or financial institutions for external financing. These financial institutions or individual creditors such as moneylenders, in order to mitigate their own risk, would typically require some form of security or collateral which could be in form of tangibles such as land, buildings or intangibles such as stocks, shares and intellectual property. Intellectual Property (IP) are creative works which reward creators with exclusive rights which often yield economic value, the purpose is to provide an incentive for these creators to innovate more. IP are intangible assets which are ‘non-monetary assets which are not identifiable and without physical substance’ (either being separable or arising from contractual or other legal rights).[1] IP can be defined as A category of intangible rights protecting commercially viable products of the human intellect. The category comprises primarily trademark, copyright and patent rights, but also includes trade-secret rights, publicity rights, moral rights and rights against unfair competition.[2]   The value of IP cannot be overemphasised, for instance, the top 100 brands in the world in 2021 account for a worth of $7.1 trillion which is equivalent to the combined GDP of France and Germany, the top three brands Amazon, Apple and Google are worth$684 million, $612 million and$458 million respectively.[3] IP securitization is quite common in music and film industry for instance David Bowie in 1997 issued 10-year asset-backed bonds on the basis of future royalties on publishing rights and master recordings from 25 pre-recorded albums, and raised US$55 million. The purchaser of the bonds gained the right to receive future royalties from Bowie’s albums until the principal plus 8% annual interest was repaid.[4] This paper examines the nature and classification of IP and the various ways security interests could be created over various forms of IP in South Africa. It examines the various challenges that could be faced in the utilisation of IP as security especially with regards valuation and it recommends possible ways to enhance the utility of the value of IP through securitisation.   [1] International Accounting Standards ‘IAS 38 — Intangible Assets’ available at https://www.iasplus.com/en/standards/ias/ias38 accessed on 17 September 2021. [2] BA Garner and HC Black ‘Black’s Law Dictionary’ 9th Edition (2009) at 960. [3] Nathalie Burdet ‘What are the most valuable global brands in 2021?’ available at https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/brands/what-are-the-most-valuable-global-brands-in-2021 accessed on 17 September 2021. [4] WIPO ‘Intellectual Property Financing- An Introduction’ available at https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2008/05/article_0001.html accessed on 17 September 2021

Open Science and Data Protection: Engaging Scientific and Legal Contexts

This paper analyses the relationship between open science policies and data protection. In order to tackle the research data paradox of the contemporary science, i.e., the tension between the pursuit of data-driven scientific research and the crisis of repeatability or reproducibility of science, a theoretical perspective suggests a potential convergence between open science and data protection. Both fields regard governance mechanisms that shall take into account the plurality of interests at stake. The aim is to shed light on the processing of personal data for scientific research purposes in the context of open science. The investigation supports a threefold need: that of broadening the legal debate; of expanding the territorial scope of the analysis, in addition to the extra-territoriality effects of the European Union’s law; and an interdisciplinary discussion. Based on these needs, four perspectives are then identified, that encompass the challenges related to data processing in the context of open science: (i) the contextual and epistemological perspectives; (ii) the legal co-ordination perspectives; (iii) the governance perspectives; and (iv) the technical perspectives

Scientific research processing health data in the European Union: data protection regime vs. open data

Data processing is fundamental for medical and biomedical scientific research. Data access and open sharing foster innovation and knowledge in these fields. However, supporting data-intensive research raises several data protection issues. The legal framework is complex and the proposal recently issued by the European Commission on the European Health Data Space aims at introducing rules to open research data. This paper provides an overview of the relevant data protection laws in the European Union, focusing on the key elements for researchers. It also deals with the policies and legislation on Open Science and Open Data, and discusses the new acts within the Data Strategy that may be relevant for a scientific project to open medical research. Then, the tensions between the data protection regime and the open research data framework are analysed to find the viable solutions for data access and sharing

JOAL Special issue on "Open Science and Data Protection" Part I Commentary: On Not Taking Open for Granted

Part I of this special double-issue on "Open Science and Data Protection" from the Journal of Open Access to Law (Vol 11, No 1) presents four papers that grapple with the larger picture of today’s digital-era move to open science

Enabling Open Science in Medicine Through Data Sharing: An Overview and Assessment of Common Approaches from the European Perspective

Open Science involves the sharing of knowledge and data as well as the exchange of research results. This is particularly important in the biomedical field, as it can foster validation studies in response to the replication crisis and improve resource utilisation. Since medical data is particularly privacy sensitive, its processing is subject to strong data protection requirements. Agencies, institutions, and projects in the European Union are still struggling with the establishment of widely accepted mechanisms supporting the sharing of data for Open Science practices. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of different methods that have been used for this purpose and to discuss their technical properties and legal challenges. Our assessment is based on well-known conceptualizations, such as the Five Safes Framework. The result shows that different approaches provide different trade-offs between the functionalities and the degree of data protection provided, and that there are open legal issues. Current legislative initiatives in the EU, including regulations for the European Health Data Space and the Data Governance Act, have the potential to address some of the resulting uncertainties

Private and Academic AI Collaboration: Opportunities and Challenges to Open Science in the US

Academic scientific research is undergoing a transformation in many respects. One relevant aspect is that it has become common practice for companies and private actors to fund and support scientific research. The field of scientific research in Artificial Intelligence provides an illustration of this phenomenon. The article, which adopts a US perspective, aims to provide an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of this phenomenon particularly in light of the Open Science approach. A particularly relevant consequence on which the investigation focuses is the handling of personal data and privacy management in academic research projects involving the development of AI systems funded by companies and private actors

(Un)informed consent in Psychological Research: An empirical study on consent in psychological research and the GDPR

In many instances, psychological research requires the collection and processing of personal data collected directly from research subjects. In principle, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to psychological research which involves the collection and processing of personal data in the European Eco- nomic Area (EEA). Further, the GDPR includes provisions elaborating the types of information which should be offered to research subjects when personal data are collected directly from them. Given the general norm that informed consent should be obtained before psychological research involving the collection of personal data directly from research participants should go ahead, the information which should be provided to subjects according to the GDPR will usually be communicated in the context of an informed consent process. Unfortunately, there is reason to believe that the GDPR’s obligations concerning information provision to research subjects may not always be fulfilled. This paper outlines the results of an empirical investigation into the degree to which these information obligations are fulfilled in the context of psychological research consent procedures to which European data protection law applies. Significant discrepancies between the legal obligations to provide information to research subjects, and the information actually provided, are identified

Circulation of personal data and non-personal data within the European Research Area for research and health purposes

The availability and circulation of data, information, knowledge and materials are essential in all fields of research, but they are particularly important in a period in which it is necessary to tackle a global phenomenon like the COVID- 19 pandemic. Awareness of the importance of the circulation of information derived from data, the European Commission has been elaborating a strategy for the circula- tion and sharing of personal and non-personal data. The European strategy needs the data to circulate and be shared in the economic, academic, and social environments. To achieve those objectives, EU documents use the metaphor of building a ‘European Data Area’, that is to say, legal, economic, and cultural frameworks governed at the continental and national levels, such as European Research Area (‘ERA’, see Article 179 TFEU) and the proposed European Health Data Space (‘EHDS’). An analysis of the current legislation seems to indicate several legal constraints on the circulation of data (information, knowledge and material), able to affect the building of an effective European Data Area. These limitations aim at protecting individual rights, such as privacy or other interests. However, such limitations to the circulation of data may affect other relevant rights and interests such as freedom of research and health. For this reason, this paper intends to show what are the legal means to find the points of equilibrium between the different viewpoints and allow the sustainable function of the European Data Area. Because proper global governance of health data and materials is required, the paper tries to the analysis of the main EU instruments which at this moment are able to regulate it, in order to implement an effective system for the exchange of data, in the meantime that the scientific community is waiting for the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) guidance on the processing health data for research purposes, still pending