The Affiliation between State and Churches: The Case Study of Greece

The issue of State-Church relations should be examined in detail, to reveal why Christian Orthodox Church and State in Greece are two sides of the same coin. For many centuries, both Christian Orthodox Church and State have been the pillars of social cohesion in Greek society. This paper highlights the importance of Church and State separation in Greece nowadays.Artykuł nie zawiera abstraktu w języku polski

Open access publishing in the European Union: The example of scientific works

© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Access to information resources and publicly-funded research outcomes have been considered in Europe during the last decade. Open access practice became part of the European institutions’ agenda since 2006 within the final report of the European Research Advisory Board. The Lisbon Treaty (2007) explicitly confirmed the European Union’s commitment to free circulation of scientific knowledge (Article 179 TFEU) and the dissemination of research results (Article 183 TFEU). In this regard, the Horizon 2020 program illustrates the importance of open access policy towards further dissemination of scientific information. The European Commission also introduced in July 2012 a scientific information package to empower the advantages of public investments in research (European Recommendation 2012/417/EU) which has been recently revisited (May 2018). This paper argues that open access practice has a potential to enhance copyright governance and related policies. The first part of the paper is aimed at a thorough conceptualization of open access practice. The second part discusses the emergence of open access at International and European level and responses from institutions, respectively. The third part argues about the lack of open access implementation in Europe with some examples from Member States. The paper concludes with recommendations as to how integration of open access in the European copyright law policy contributes to furthering access opportunities to scientific works

A scientific analysis of the three-step test: Through the lenses of international and Australian laws

The paper examines the open access movement and its principles concerning creative outputs and related access opportunities, considering copyright protection. The international and ongoing integration of open access practise has brought about a reconsideration of foundational principles of copyright law. The paper\u27s discussion considers the three-step test legal edifice, which is deeply rooted in international copyright law, and argues that its importance and application is of paramount importance regarding potential revisions of copyright law that would need to introduce open access provisions

Let’s Reimagine Intellectual Property Rights Regime: the Australian Perspective

This paper discusses aspects of economic analysis of law developed as a result of the current status quo on the continuous development of the Internet, as well as the required evolution of legal theory on intellectual property rights (IPRs). The emergence and movement of law and economics has captured various segments of policymaking, including the discipline of IPRs in law. With the seminal work of Ronald Coase, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, this movement has evolved as a significant branch of legal theory (1960)

The Potential of Public Policy on Open Access Repositories

To address the potential of public policy on the governance of OARs it is necessary to define what is meant by public policy and the importance of public policy in designing an efficient governance framework. Critical components are the subject matter of public policy and its objectives. Hence, it is useful to consider declarations, policies and statements in relation to open access practice and examine the efficiency of these arrangements towards the improvement of stakeholders’ engagement in governance of OARs. Secondly, policies relating to dissemination of scientific information via OARs should be examined. In this regard, it is relevant to consider the public policy basis for Intellectual Property (IP) laws that concerning the utility of OARs. Therefore, economic theories relevant with the role of IP laws should be examined. Such examination depicts to what extend these laws facilitate the utility of OARs. In order to specify justifications for the desirability of OARs the objectives of social theories should be also considered. Thus, there is consternation that without legal protection against copying the incentive to create intellectual property will be undermined. As scholarly communication infrastructure evolves, it is necessary to recognize the efforts of the relationship between Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and communication technologies in the context of public policy and after engagement with it. After employing such multilevel approach, the paper argues about a socio-economic framework to enhance the governance of OARs through public policy

From Property Right to Copyright: A Conceptual Approach and Justifications for the Emergence of Open Access

This article relies on the premise that to understand the significance of Open Access Repositories (OARs) it is necessary to know the context of the debate. Therefore, it is necessary to trace the historical development of the concept of copyright as a property right. The continued relevance of the rationales for copyright interests, both philosophical and pragmatic, will be assessed against the contemporary times of digital publishing. It follows then discussion about the rise of Open Access (OA) practice and its impact on conventional publishing methods. The present article argues about the proper equilibrium between self-interest and social good. In other words, there is a need to find a tool in order to balance individuals’ interests and common will. Therefore, there is examination of the concept of property that interrelates justice (Plato), private ownership (Aristotle), labour (Locke), growth of personality (Hegel) and a bundle of rights that constitute legal relations (Hohfeld). This examination sets the context for the argument

Modern Intellectual Property Governance and Openness in Europe: A Long and Winding Road?

In the last decade a trend towards more ‘openness’ in terms of collaborations and access to knowledge has been observed in many different sectors and contexts. Along the spectrum of openness one can find many different varieties, such as open innovation, co-creation, open science (combined with open access and open data) and open source. Even traditionally rather ‘closed’ actors, such as publishing houses and the pharmaceutical industry, are gradually catching up and are trying to develop mechanisms to cope with this trend towards openness. Both public and private actors encounter challenges in combining this trend towards openness with the management of intellectual property rights (IPRs). Although a strong willingness may exist to collaborate, open up and share knowledge and data, IPRs often create boundaries and limitations towards cuttingedge collaborations and initiatives for openness and sharing. Over time, companies, universities, public research organisations, etc. have developed certain models to allow for openness while safeguarding ways to protect their IPRs. Yet the legal framework is often lagging behind and does not appear to reflect the socio-economic trend towards openness; in many jurisdictions, changes to IP legislation have rather focused on strengthening of the rights of IP owners. But this is not necessarily a problem as stakeholders tend to find workarounds in their day-to-day practice. This special issue aims to further the discussion about modern governance of IPRs in Europe and to explore different perspectives on how openness could be operationalised within the context of IP protection