Trademarks as Fictitious Commodities: An Erosion of the Public Interest? An Assessment of the use of trademarks over urban space at the example of London’s Regent Street and Paris’ Champs-Elysées

With reference to Karl Polyani’s notion of fictitious commodities we evaluate whether the protection of two worldwide known streets, namely ‘Regent Street’ in London and the ‘Champs- Elysées’ in Paris may be perceived as an erosion of the public interest and thus call for potential policy reformulation or reforms to substantive trademark law. The reasons for this choice are twofold: Firstly, the existing body of literature offers an in-depth discussion on the complex dynamics between the public interest and patents and copyrights, yet relatively little has been said so far on the correlation of the public interest and trademarks. Secondly, trademark protection over urban space is a recent phenomenon that has in and by itself not yet been properly grasped, neither from a policy, commercial or legal perspective. We conclude that the ownership structure of each of these two trademarks suggests that, contrary to intuition, it is the use of trademark protection rather than the renouncement from trademark protection that guarantees, at least in these two instances, the public interest. We contend however that the increased use of trademark protection over urban space does bear the potential for the erosion of the public interest and call upon policy makers to formulate guidelines in that respect.Fictitious Commodities, Public Interest, Trademarks, Urban Space, International Economic Integration, Global Competitiveness, Branding Street names, Double Movement Fictitious Commodities, Public Interest, Trademarks, Urban Space, International Economic Integration, Global Competitiveness, Branding Street names, Double Movement Fictitious Commodities, Public Interest, Trademarks, Urban Space, International Economic Integration, Global Competitiveness, Branding Street names, Double Movement

Trademarks as Fictitious Commodities: An Erosion of the Public Interest? An Assessment of the use of trademarks over urban space at the example of London’s Regent Street and Paris’ Champs-Elysées

With reference to Karl Polyani’s notion of fictitious commodities we evaluate whether the protection of two worldwide known streets, namely ‘Regent Street’ in London and the ‘Champs- Elysées’ in Paris may be perceived as an erosion of the public interest and thus call for potential policy reformulation or reforms to substantive trademark law. The reasons for this choice are twofold: Firstly, the existing body of literature offers an in-depth discussion on the complex dynamics between the public interest and patents and copyrights, yet relatively little has been said so far on the correlation of the public interest and trademarks. Secondly, trademark protection over urban space is a recent phenomenon that has in and by itself not yet been properly grasped, neither from a policy, commercial or legal perspective. We conclude that the ownership structure of each of these two trademarks suggests that, contrary to intuition, it is the use of trademark protection rather than the renouncement from trademark protection that guarantees, at least in these two instances, the public interest. We contend however that the increased use of trademark protection over urban space does bear the potential for the erosion of the public interest and call upon policy makers to formulate guidelines in that respect

Trademarks as Fictitious Commodities: An Erosion of the Public Interest? An Assessment of the use of trademarks over urban space at the example of London’s Regent Street and Paris’ Champs-Elysées

With reference to Karl Polyani’s notion of fictitious commodities we evaluate whether the protection of two worldwide known streets, namely ‘Regent Street’ in London and the ‘Champs- Elysées’ in Paris may be perceived as an erosion of the public interest and thus call for potential policy reformulation or reforms to substantive trademark law. The reasons for this choice are twofold: Firstly, the existing body of literature offers an in-depth discussion on the complex dynamics between the public interest and patents and copyrights, yet relatively little has been said so far on the correlation of the public interest and trademarks. Secondly, trademark protection over urban space is a recent phenomenon that has in and by itself not yet been properly grasped, neither from a policy, commercial or legal perspective. We conclude that the ownership structure of each of these two trademarks suggests that, contrary to intuition, it is the use of trademark protection rather than the renouncement from trademark protection that guarantees, at least in these two instances, the public interest. We contend however that the increased use of trademark protection over urban space does bear the potential for the erosion of the public interest and call upon policy makers to formulate guidelines in that respect

How can community engagement in health research be strengthened for infectious disease outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa? A scoping review of the literature

Community engagement (CE) is a well-established practical and scholarly field, recognised as core to the science and ethics of health research, for which researchers and practitioners have increasingly asked questions about desired standards and evaluation. In infectious disease outbreak contexts, questions may be more complex. However, it is unclear what body of knowledge has been developed for CE specifically as it applies to emerging infectious diseases. This scoping review seeks to describe (1) How CE has been conceptualised and understood; and (2) What conclusions have research teams reached on the effectiveness of CE in these settings, including challenges and facilitators.We used a scoping review framework by Arksey and O’Malley (Int J Soc Res Methodol 8:19–32, 2005) to structure our review. We conducted a brainstorming session and initial trial search to inform the protocol, search terms, and strategy. Three researchers discussed, developed and applied agreed screening tools and selection criteria to the final search results. Five researchers used the screening tools to screen abstracts and full text for inclusion by consensus. Additional publications were sought from references of retrieved publications and an expert call for literature. We analysed and reported emerging themes qualitatively

SARS-CoV-2 elimination, not mitigation, creates best outcomes for health, the economy, and civil liberties

International audienc

How can community engagement in health research be strengthened for infectious disease outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa? A scoping review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Community engagement (CE) is a well-established practical and scholarly field, recognised as core to the science and ethics of health research, for which researchers and practitioners have increasingly asked questions about desired standards and evaluation. In infectious disease outbreak contexts, questions may be more complex. However, it is unclear what body of knowledge has been developed for CE specifically as it applies to emerging infectious diseases. This scoping review seeks to describe (1) How CE has been conceptualised and understood; and (2) What conclusions have research teams reached on the effectiveness of CE in these settings, including challenges and facilitators. METHODS: We used a scoping review framework by Arksey and O'Malley (Int J Soc Res Methodol 8:19-32, 2005) to structure our review. We conducted a brainstorming session and initial trial search to inform the protocol, search terms, and strategy. Three researchers discussed, developed and applied agreed screening tools and selection criteria to the final search results. Five researchers used the screening tools to screen abstracts and full text for inclusion by consensus. Additional publications were sought from references of retrieved publications and an expert call for literature. We analysed and reported emerging themes qualitatively. RESULTS: We included 59 papers from a total of 722 articles derived from our trial and final literature searches, as well as a process of "citation chasing" and an expert call for grey literature. The core material related exclusively to health research trials during the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak. We synthesized reports on components of effectiveness of CE to identify and propose three themes as essential elements of effective CE. CONCLUSIONS: While there is a large volume of literature documenting CE activities in infectious disease research settings generally, there are few accounts of effectiveness dimensions of CE. Our review proposes three themes to facilitate the effectiveness of CE initiatives as essential elements of CE activities in infectious diseases studies: (1) Communication towards building collaborative relationships; (2) Producing contextual knowledge; and (3) Learning lessons over time. As there were relatively few in-depth accounts of CE from our literature review, documentation and accounts of CE used in health research should be prioritised

Healthcare workers' perceptions and attitudes towards the UK's COVID-19 vaccination programme: a rapid qualitative appraisal

OBJECTIVES: While there is research relating to perceptions of vaccines among healthcare workers (HCWs), the evidence base in relation to COVID-19 remains limited. The aim of this study was to explore HCWs' perceptions and attitudes towards vaccines and the COVID-19 vaccination programme in the UK, including their expectations and views on promoting vaccination to others. DESIGN: This study was designed as a rapid qualitative appraisal, integrating data from a review of UK policies and guidance on COVID-19 vaccination with data from in-depth semistructured telephone interviews with frontline HCWs in the UK. Data were analysed using framework analysis. PARTICIPANTS: Interviews were carried out with a purposive sample of HCWs from two large London-based hospital Trusts (n=24) and 24 government policies, and guidelines on the vaccination programme were reviewed. RESULTS: The level of uncertainty about the long-term safety of vaccines and efficacy against mutant strains made it difficult for HCWs to balance the benefits against the risks of vaccination. HCWs felt that government decisions on vaccine rollout had not been supported by evidence-based science, and this impacted their level of trust and confidence in the programme. The spread of misinformation online also impacted HCWs' attitudes towards vaccination, particularly among junior level and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) HCWs. Most HCWs felt encouraged to promote vaccination to their patients, and the majority said they would advocate vaccination or engage in conversations about vaccination with others when relevant. CONCLUSION: In order to improve HCWs' trust and confidence in the UK's COVID-19 vaccination programme, there needs to be clarity about what is known and not known about the vaccines and transparency around the evidence-base supporting government decisions on vaccine rollout. Effort is also needed to dispel the spread of vaccine-related misinformation online and to address specific concerns, particularly among BAME and junior-level HCWs

COMPARING NO-FAULT COMPENSATION SYSTEMS FOR VACCINE INJURY

The policy responses to redressing serious adverse reactions caused by vaccines are many and varied. Scholars have identified three broad options for responding to the need for support of those who have been subject to vaccine injury. The first is a minimalist approach that entails injured persons bearing the costs associated with their injuries with assistance provided solely by means of standard social welfare and health benefits provided by the state. Second, compensation may be sought through legal proceedings brought against those responsible for producing, or in certain cases distributing, the vaccines in question. Third, compensation may be sought from a dedicated compensation scheme outside the normal litigation system, generally premised upon no-fault liability. The discussion in this Article focuses on the latter schemes, which are generally government-created and specifically respond to vaccine injuries. The advantages of such a mechanism over the other options, which entail either patients bearing the costs themselves or seeking compensation though litigation against private sector, have been widely discussed, and we will also examine the broader rationales below