Public procurement in the EU: jurisprudence and conceptual directions

The present article reviews the emerging conceptual themes from the case law of the European Court of Justice which have triggered the revision of the public procurement Directives, and the alignment of the public procurement acquis with the Europe 2020 Growth Strategy. The Court's jurisprudence has instrumentally influenced the interpretation of public procurement legal concepts such as contracting authorities, the remit of selection and qualification criteria, the parameters for contracting authorities to use environmental and social considerations as award criteria and the principles which underpin the remedies in the award of public contracts.However, the exhaustive harmonization which is inherent in the public procurement directives has caused significant porosity and limitations in the effectiveness of the public procurement acquis. Service concessions, contracts awarded by a contracting authority to another contracting authority on the basis of exclusive rights, public-public partnerships and in-house contractual relations, and contracts which fall below the stipulated value thresholds all reflect upon the forthcoming reforms of the public procurement regime

Perceptions of Intellectual Property:A Review

In “The right to good ideas: patents and the poor”, The Economist depicts two driving forces in the contemporary discourse on IP and globalization. The one is interested in advancing the knowledge economy, an approach based on the belief that knowledge is the driving factor behind economic growth. The other resides on a belief that IP is a major means to advance the process of globalization. While the former is strongly motivated by new economic growth theory, as for example advanced by Stanford professor Paul Romer, the latter is based on typical anti-globalization arguments, such as for example the position that the IP system helps multinational companies to build up monopolies to the detriment of the poor, drives small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and local business in developing countries out of business and increases prices for consumer products, be they pharmaceuticals or software. The purpose of this review is to help understand the current discourse on intellectual property, to grasp underlying themes, assumptions and connotations associated with the term “IP”, so as to identify paths leading to a more comprehensive understanding of IP and the opportunities and pitfalls it may provide

The new face of digital populism

Populist parties and movements are now a force to be reckoned with in many Western European countries. These groups are known for their opposition to immigration, their ‘anti-establishment’ views and their concern for protecting national culture. Their rise in popularity has gone hand-in-hand with the advent of social media, and they are adept at using new technology to amplify their message, recruit and organise. The online social media following for many of these parties dwarfs the formal membership, consisting of tens of thousands of sympathisers and supporters. This mélange of virtual and real political activity is the way millions of people — especially young people — relate to politics in the 21st century. This is the first quantitative investigation into these digital populists, based on over 10,000 survey responses from 12 countries. It includes data on who they are, what they think and what motivates them to shift from virtual to real-world activism. It also provides new insight into how populism — and politics and political engagement more generally — is changing as a result of social media. The New Face of Digital Populism calls on mainstream politicians to respond and address concerns over immigration and cultural identity without succumbing to xenophobic solutions. People must be encouraged to become actively involved in political and civic life, whatever their political persuasion — it is important to engage and debate forcefully with these parties and their supporters, not shut them out as beyond the pale

The EU Copyright Directive: Fit For The Digital Age or Finishing It?

Since its proposal in 2016, the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Copyright in the Digital Single Market ( the Directive or the Copyright Directive ) has been controversial. While the Directive was rooted in good intentions, intended to improv[e] the bargaining position ... and the control rightsholders have on the use of their copyright-protected content in the digital space,\u27 critics loudly proclaimed it as the death of the internet as we know it. Notable architects and pioneers of the Internet, including Tim Berners- Lee (inventor of the World Wide Web) and Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia), penned a letter to European Parliament addressing some of their concerns. They particularly highlighted the dangers posed from Article 13 of the Directive. Article 13, at the time, suggested that websites bear the responsibility of automatically filtering all of the content their users uploaded. Critics like Tim Berners-Lee posited that this would not only contribute to the growing atmosphere of surveillance on the web, but it would also place too large a burden on the smaller internet platforms - to the advantage of larger companies like Facebook, Google, and YouTube. However, criticism of the Copyright Directive did not stop with Article 13. Commentators also noted that Article 11 would have similar negative effects, but on the spread of news and information around the web. Article 11 would require online platforms to pay a link tax to publishers of information such as news websites. This link tax had particular opposition from groups like Wikipedia and GitHub, which rely on users to share not just news, but academic information on their sites. While Article 11 was modified to provide that private, non-commercial internet users would be exempt from such a tax, the ambiguous language of Article 11, along with a failing history of similar implementations across Europe, lead some to believe it could result in the manipulation of access to news or even censorship. In response to these and other criticisms, the European Parliament has been working continuously on amendments and revisions, hoping to calm fears among critics and rally votes among MEPs. A number of these amendments were approved on September 12, 2018. The next phase will be a series of dialogues between the European Parliament, the European Commission, and member states to hammer down the details before the Directive comes up for final vote in the spring of 2019. Part II of this note will discuss Articles 11 and 13, as well as their amendments; the Articles\u27 effects on access to information in Europe\u27s digital space; and the Articles\u27 potential inconsistency with European concepts of fundamental rights. Part III will demonstrate that while the European Union is attempting to establish stronger property rights for creators, the steps it has taken pose great danger to the concepts of decentralization, access to information, and freedom of speech - all of which are foundational to the intemet\u27s origins. Part IV will conclude by arguing that Articles 11 and 13 ultimately disserve the Directive\u27s goals of stimulating the growth and creativity of digital content

An empirical study on the use of automated anti-piracy systems and the consequences for cultural diversity

EU policy makers are currently debating a copyright reform which aims at providing an ecosystem combating online infringements effectively through the use of algorithms while fostering, amongst others, cultural diversity. As the goals set by the EU Commission for the Digital Single Market Strategy will only be met if cultural diversity is adequately preserved and promoted, it is important to analyse how algorithms as copyright enforcement mechanisms operate. This article provides an empirical analytical framework on how cultural diversity can be measured in this context of a copyright reform suited for the digital environment

CHORUS Deliverable 2.1: State of the Art on Multimedia Search Engines

Based on the information provided by European projects and national initiatives related to multimedia search as well as domains experts that participated in the CHORUS Think-thanks and workshops, this document reports on the state of the art related to multimedia content search from, a technical, and socio-economic perspective. The technical perspective includes an up to date view on content based indexing and retrieval technologies, multimedia search in the context of mobile devices and peer-to-peer networks, and an overview of current evaluation and benchmark inititiatives to measure the performance of multimedia search engines. From a socio-economic perspective we inventorize the impact and legal consequences of these technical advances and point out future directions of research

Towards an Intellectual Property Rights Strategy for Innovation in Europe

On October 13, 2009 the Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel (STOA) together with Knowledge4Innovation/The Lisbon Forum, supported by Technopolis Consulting Group and TNO, organised a half-day workshop entitled ‘Towards an Intellectual Property Rights Strategy for Innovation in Europe’. This workshop was part of the 1st European Innovation Summit at the European Parliament which took place on 13 October and 14 October 2009. It addressed the topics of the evolution and current issues concerning the European Patent System as well as International Protection and Enforcement of IPR (with special consideration of issues pertaining to IP enforcement in the Digital Environment). Conclusions drawn point to the benefits of a comprehensive European IPR strategy, covering a broad range of IP instruments and topics