The Legality and Morality of Video Game Emulation (Research-In-Progress)

The purpose of this paper is to examine the various factors surrounding video game emulation as well as the legal and moral implications of the technology. Firstly, the background and history of the technology is described and explored. Next, the laws surrounding emulation are examined, with it being shown that a great deal of people are not aware of how the law impacts the technology and the consequences of this. It then explores how additional efforts to preserve these games are needed in order to save these games from being lost to time and how emulation enables that. The positive impacts of emulation as well as the various features such as accessibility features enabled by the technology are then explored. Lastly, it is urged that people be better informed on the technology and various ideas on how to deal with the technology in the future are presented

Comparative analysis of national approaches on voluntary copyright relinquishment

The report considers first the question of how copyright is justified, as this may have some bearing on whether a country will allow an author to make a voluntary statement leading to the expiration of his/her rights. Copyright can variously be described as a natural right, as a reward for creators, as a stimulus for creativity, as a property right, as an economic reward and as part of the public interest. Two justifications are explored, the moral and the utilitarian. The moral justification places the existence of intellectual property as a natural result of the right of the creator to anything he or she produces. The moral element of copyright has given way to the economic one, but the existence of moral rights, particularly important in civil law jurisdictions, continues to strongly represent the elements of copyright as a personality right

Blockchains, Orphan Works, and the Public Domain

This Article outlines a blockchain based system to solve the orphan works problem. Orphan works are works still ostensibly protected by copyright for which an author cannot be found. Orphan works represent a significant problem for the efficient dissemination of knowledge, since users cannot license the works, and as a result may choose not to use them. Our proposal uses a blockchain to register attempts to find the authors of orphan works, and otherwise to facilitate use of those works. There are three elements to our proposal. First, we propose a number of mechanisms, included automated systems, to perform a diligent search for a rights holder. Second, we propose a blockchain register where every search for a work’s owner can be recorded. Third, we propose a legal mechanism that delivers works into orphanhood, and affords a right to use those works after a search for a rights holder is deemed diligent. These changes would provide any user of an orphan work with an assurance that they were acting legally as long as they had consulted the register and/or performed a diligent search for the work’s owner. The Article demonstrates a range of complementary legal and technological architectures that, in various formations, can be deployed to address the orphan works problem. We show that these technological systems are useful for enhancement of the public domain more generally, through the existence of a growing registry of gray status works and clarified conditions for their use. The selection and design of any particular implementation is a choice for policy makers and technologists. Rather than specify how that choice should look, the goal here is to demonstrate the utility of the technology and to clarify and promote its role in reforming this vexed area of law

Blockchains, Orphan Works, and the Public Domain

This Article outlines a blockchain based system to solve the orphan works problem. Orphan works are works still ostensibly protected by copyright for which an author cannot be found. Orphan works represent a significant problem for the efficient dissemination of knowledge, since users cannot license the works, and as a result may choose not to use them. Our proposal uses a blockchain to register attempts to find the authors of orphan works, and otherwise to facilitate use of those works. There are three elements to our proposal. First, we propose a number of mechanisms, included automated systems, to perform a diligent search for a rights holder. Second, we propose a blockchain register where every search for a work’s owner can be recorded. Third, we propose a legal mechanism that delivers works into orphanhood, and affords a right to use those works after a search for a rights holder is deemed diligent. These changes would provide any user of an orphan work with an assurance that they were acting legally as long as they had consulted the register and/or performed a diligent search for the work’s owner. The Article demonstrates a range of complementary legal and technological architectures that, in various formations, can be deployed to address the orphan works problem. We show that these technological systems are useful for enhancement of the public domain more generally, through the existence of a growing registry of gray status works and clarified conditions for their use. The selection and design of any particular implementation is a choice for policy makers and technologists. Rather than specify how that choice should look, the goal here is to demonstrate the utility of the technology and to clarify and promote its role in reforming this vexed area of law

Teoste digiteerimine ja selle aktuaalsed autoriõiguslikud probleemid

http://www.ester.ee/record=b4377561~S1*es

Legal frontiers in the global dissemination of technology and knowledge: the significance of three case studies for economic development

Cet article explore certaines alternatives aux théories économiques classiques concernant le problème de la diffusion du savoir et de la technologie en direction des pays en développement. Il analyse en particulier trois situations dans lesquelles la notion classique de droits de propriété intellectuelle semble avoir été utilisée en faveur des pays en développement, à travers une application soit traditionnelle soit plus libérale de ces droits. L’article examine tout d’abord le phénomène du “travail collaboratif” (peer production) dans les réseaux électroniques; puis discute de la régulation des marques dans le contexte des droits collectifs; avant de traiter du récent problème dit du “abandonwares” (l’abandon de vieux logiciels) et de ses implications économiques et juridiques.This article explores a few alternatives to the traditional economic theories regarding the problem of global dissemination of knowledge and technology to developing countries. In particular, it examines three cases in which the classical notion of intellectual property rights seems to have been used in favor of developing countries, both through its orthodox application and through more liberal views of such legal institution. The first case deals with the phenomenon of peer production through electronic networks; the second discusses the regulation of trademarks in the context of collective rights; and finally, the third case tackles the recent problem of the so-called "abandonwares" and its implications of economic and legal nature

Regulation for Cultural Heritage Orphans - Time Does Matter

The regulation of orphan works has stalled in many countries. This is mainly due to the complexity of the issues surrounding these works and the corresponding difficulties of providing a comprehensive legislative solution. Yet the problems created by orphan works affect distinct categories of secondary users: not-for-profit cultural heritage users and commercial users. This paper argues that the impact of the orphan works problem on cultural heritage institutions and researchers is of immediate concern in New Zealand and other net-copyright importing countries (in which the impact of the problem on the domestic economy is less certain). A partial solution for the cultural heritage orphans must therefore not be delayed. As the paper explains time is of the essence. The alternative is that other secondary users might have the first opportunity to use the orphan works originating from tardier countries

Análisis de la regulación comunitaria relativa a las obras huérfanas con especial atención a la normativa española.

Estudio de las denominadas como obras huérfanas, analizando la regulación que en torno a las mismas se ha creado tanto a nivel comunitario como nacional, y prestando especial atención a la transposición de la regulación comunitaria realizada en España

Análisis de la regulación comunitaria relativa a las obras huérfanas con especial atención a la normativa española.

Estudio de las denominadas como obras huérfanas, analizando la regulación que en torno a las mismas se ha creado tanto a nivel comunitario como nacional, y prestando especial atención a la transposición de la regulación comunitaria realizada en España