HyperSpectral Imaging based approach for monitoring of micro-plastics from marine environment

The possibility to develop a sensor based procedure in order to monitor plastic presence in the marine environment was explored in this work. More in detail, this study was addressed to detect and to recognize different types of microplastics coming from sampling in different sea areas adopting a new approach, based on HyperSpectral Imaging (HSI) sensors. Moreover, a morphological and morphometrical particle characterization was carried by digital image processing. Morphological and morphometrical parameters, combined with hyperspectral imaging information, give a full characterization of each investigated particle, concurring to explain all the transportation, alteration and degradation phenomena suffered by each different polymer particle. Obtained results can represent an important starting point to develop, implement and set up monitor strategies to characterize marine microplastics. Moreover, the procedure developed in this work is fast, not expensive and reliable, making its utilization very profitable

Remedies, Enforcement and Territoriality

I would like to start by thanking the Kernochan Center and all its members, in particular Jane Ginsburg, and also Rebecca Giblin, together with all the colleagues who have been involved in the conception of this Symposium. I am happy to be back after a few years: I was a Visiting Scholar at Columbia Law School in the academic year 2011 and I was very lucky to be invited to speak at the 2011 annual copyright symposium on collective rights management. I am happy to talk briefly about the implications of territoriality for online copyright enforcement measures. As it has been remarked earlier today, territoriality is a principle established indirectly in many ways by the Berne Convention. Territoriality also plays a central role for a number of copyright enforcement measures that have become extremely important for the creative sector in the digital environment

Report scientifico di analisi e comparazione delle eccezioni al diritto d'autore per usi didattici e dei principali modelli di licenze e accordi tra titolari dei diritti e istituti d'istruzione: la situazione italiana a confronto con le esperienze di alcuni Paesi dell'Unione Europea e degli Stati Uniti d'America

Con l'avvento della società dell'informazione è cambiato radicalmente il modo di trasmettere la conoscenza e il modo di insegnare avvalendosi di opere e creazioni altrui. E' ormai prassi consolidata per un docente e per un istituto d'istruzione mettere a disposizione degli studenti materiale didattico mediante posta elettronica altri sistemi di comunicazione telematica (siti Internet, pagine intranet, spazi di discussione virtuali, protocolli di trasferimento file, etc). Sono sempre più diffuse le forme d'istruzione e apprendimento a distanza (o e-learning), soprattutto a livello universitario, che permettono agli studenti di ricevere e utilizzare materiale didattico di vario genere (testi, contenuti musicali, audiovisivi, multimediali, etc.) dovunque essi vogliano. Anche l'aula tradizionalmente intesa non è più la stessa da quando chi insegna si avvale di strumenti e metodi di comunicazione che conferiscono alla singola lezione frontale una dimensione illustrativa e interattiva mai avuta prima. Si pensi alla lettura, alla visione o all'ascolto in classe di estratti da opere letterarie, figurative, musicali, cinematografiche con il semplice ausilio di un elaboratore portatile, di un proiettore e, volendo, di una connessione a internet. Le attività appena ricordate fanno sorgere delicate questioni legali ogni qualvolta il materiale utilizzato per fini didattici sia protetto da diritti d'autore spettanti a varie categorie di detentori: l'editore di un'opera letteraria, di un manuale o di un articolo scientifico; gli autori e interpreti di opere musicali e i produttori delle registrazioni che le incorporano; i produttori cinematografici e le emittenti radiotelevisive, etc. Il diritto d'autore, nelle varie declinazioni nazionali, conferisce esclusive che sottopongono la riproduzione, la distribuzione, la comunicazione al pubblico, la traduzione, l'adattamento e l'elaborazione delle opere protette a un potere di autorizzazione riconosciuto ai rispettivi titolari. In un sistema del genere è pertanto opportuno identificare con quanta più precisione possibile il confine tra usi didattici liberi o comunque consentiti senza l'autorizzazione degli aventi diritto e altre utilizzazioni più estese e complesse che, al contrario, per essere pienamente legittime devono formare oggetto di compensazione economica a favore dei titolari dei diritti oppure essere autorizzate mediante licenze, tanto individuali quanto collettive. Il presente studio esplora questa sottile linea di demarcazione nel diritto italiano che, in Europa, costituisce un caso difficile, se non addirittura isolato

Policy Options for Improving the Functioning and Efficiency of the Digital Single Market in the Field of Copyright. CEPS Special Report No. 121, 19 November 2015

This study explores the existing policy problems and the possible options for reforming the EU copyright framework as provided by EU Directive 29/2001 on Copyright in the Information Society (InfoSoc Directive) and related legislation, with a specific focus on the need to strengthen the Internal Market for creative content. We find two main policy problems: i) the absence of a Digital Single Market for creative works; and ii) the increasing tension between the current system of exceptions and limitations and the legal treatment of emerging uses of copyrighted content in the online environment. Without prejudicing a future impact assessment that might focus on more specific and detailed policy options, our analysis suggests that ‘more Europe’ would be needed in the field of copyright, given the existing sources of productive, allocative and dynamic efficiency associated with the current system. Looking at copyright from an Internal Market perspective would, in this respect, also help to address many of the shortcomings in the current framework, which undermine legal certainty and industrial policy goals

An Unusual Case of Hepatic Tumor

A case is reported of a large hepatic tumor in a patient aged 71. Preoperative diagnostic techniques, including echography, CT and angiography, did not provide sufficient criteria for a precise diagnosis. The mass was removed with an extended right hepatectomy with no particular physiopathological consequences. Histological analysis revealed that this was a metastasis from a melonoma of the choroid, operated on 17 years previously

Can online music platforms be fair? An interdisciplinary research manifesto

In this article we present a manifesto for research into the complex interplay between social media, music streaming services, and their algorithms, which are reshaping the European music industry—a sector that has transitioned from ownership to access-based models. Our focus is to assess whether the current digital economy supports a fair and sustainable development for cultural and creative industries. The manifesto is designed to pave the way for a comprehensive analysis. We begin with the context of our research by briefly examining the de-materialization of the music industry and the critical role of proprietary algorithms in organizing and ranking creative works. We then scrutinize the notion of 'fairness' within digital markets, a concept that is attracting increasing policy interest in the EU. We believe that, for 'fairness' to be effective, the main inquiry around this concept – especially as regards remuneration of content creators - shall be necessarily interdisciplinary. This presupposes collaboration across complementary fields to address gaps and inconsistencies in understanding how these platforms influence music creation and consumption and whether these environments and technologies should be regulated. We outline how interdisciplinary expertise (political science, law, economics, and computer science) can enhance the current understanding of 'fairness' within Europe's cultural policies and help address policy challenges. The article details how our research plan will unfold across various disciplinary hubs, culminating in the integration of their findings to produce the ‘key exploitable results’ of a Horizon Europe project (Fair MusE) that aims to explore challenges and opportunities of today’s digital music landscape

The Implementation, Application and Effects of the EU Directive on Copyright in the Information Society. CEPS Special Report No. 120, 19 November 2015

This study provides an ex-post evaluation of the EU copyright framework as provided by EU Directive 29/2001 on Copyright in the Information Society (InfoSoc Directive) and related legislation, focusing on four key criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and relevance. The evaluation finds that the EU copyright framework scores poorly on all four accounts. Of the four main goals pursued by the InfoSoc, only the alignment with international legislation can be said to have been fully achieved. The wider framework on copyright still generates costs by inhibiting content production, distribution and creation and generating productive, allocative and dynamic inefficiencies. Several problems also remain in terms of both internal and external coherence. Finally, espite its overall importance and relevance as a domain of legislation in the fields of content and media, the EU copyright framework is outdated in light of technological developments. Policy options to reform the current framework are provided in the CEPS companion study on the functioning and efficiency of the Digital Single Market in the field of copyright (CEPS Special Report No. 121/November 2015)