Search results
1 – 10 of over 2000Theresa Larteley Adu and Thomas B. van der Walt
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the legal and institutional frameworks for, and the challenges to the payment of the reprographic fees in Ghana.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the legal and institutional frameworks for, and the challenges to the payment of the reprographic fees in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research approach was employed to address the objectives of the study. This involved focus group discussion sessions with twelve purposively sampled postgraduate students (six each from the private and public institutions) and the five Technical Committee members of CopyGhana; and qualitative interview sessions with the head librarians of four academic universities (two private and two public).
Findings
This study shows that CopyGhana derives its existence from Copyright Act 2005, (Act 690) section 49, and Copyright Regulations (L.I. 1962) 2010, sub-regulation 18. Copyright Regulations (L.I. 1962), 2010, sub-regulation 18 mandates CopyGhana to identify all the outfits that engage in photocopying for immediate licensing, and to protect the economic rights of foreign rightsholders within the jurisdiction of Ghana. Though students and library staff generally agree to the payment of the reprographic fees (the students however want to see it legally insulated against possible future arbitrary increases), the position of university authorities possesses a big challenge to its implementation.
Originality/value
The paper evaluated the legal and institutional frameworks for the payment of the reprographic fees, and the challenges in its implementation, and proposes that CopyGhana may have to activate its legal right to sue in order to overcome the challenges posed by university authorities, as is being done in other jurisdictions.
Details
Keywords
Nnamdi O. Madichie and Robert Ebo Hinson
The main purpose of this chapter is to interrogate the regulatory environment in Africa by exploring trends and developments within key intellectual property rights agencies and…
Abstract
The main purpose of this chapter is to interrogate the regulatory environment in Africa by exploring trends and developments within key intellectual property rights agencies and highlighting some of the challenges revolving around contracts enforcement and royalty payments. In many developing countries, the performance and competitiveness of the creative industries have suffered from weak institutional capacity and a spate of copyrights infringement. This chapter highlights a few case illustrations drawing upon the World Intellectual Property Organisation surveys covering a selection of African countries between 2011 and 2020.
Anne Stafford, David Johnston, Dominic Miles-Shenton, David Farmer, Matthew Brooke-Peat and Chris Gorse
The coheating test is the standard method of measuring the heat loss coefficient of a building, but to be useful the test requires careful and thoughtful execution. Testing should…
Abstract
Purpose
The coheating test is the standard method of measuring the heat loss coefficient of a building, but to be useful the test requires careful and thoughtful execution. Testing should take place in the context of additional investigations in order to achieve a good understanding of the building and a qualitative and (if possible) quantitative understanding of the reasons for any performance shortfall. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Leeds Metropolitan University has more than 20 years of experience in coheating testing. This experience is drawn upon to discuss practical factors which can affect the outcome, together with supporting tests and investigations which are often necessary in order to fully understand the results.
Findings
If testing is approached using coheating as part of a suite of investigations, a much deeper understanding of the test building results. In some cases it is possible to identify and quantify the contributions of different factors which result in an overall performance shortfall.
Practical implications
Although it is not practicable to use a fully investigative approach for large scale routine quality assurance, it is extremely useful for purposes such as validating other testing procedures, in-depth study of prototypes or detailed investigations where problems are known to exist.
Social implications
Successful building performance testing is a vital tool to achieve energy saving targets.
Originality/value
The approach discussed clarifies some of the technical pitfalls which may be encountered in the execution of coheating tests and points to ways in which the maximum value can be extracted from the test period, leading to a meaningful analysis of the building's overall thermal performance.
Details
Keywords
– The purpose of this paper is to find the problems in the establishment of Chinese digital publishing policies and regulations system.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find the problems in the establishment of Chinese digital publishing policies and regulations system.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is through analysis the digital publishing policies and regulations in China referring to digital publishing macro policies, e-book policies, digital music policies, network animated cartoon policies, network game policies, as well as through examining the legal system (law, administrative regulation, departmental rules, judicial interpretation) in China.
Findings
The paper concludes that the framework of this system should contain three layers, and Chinese digital publishing policies and regulations system will continue to be improved and digital publishing market will be standardized operation. The digital publishing industry policies, digital publishing resource policies, digital technology policies, copyright policies and personnel training policies need for further investigation and research.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the coverage of digital publishing industry is so wide, the policies and regulations which the paper analyzed were not so comprehensive.
Practical implications
It can help the Chinese government make more comprehensive and rational policies and regulations for digital publishing industry and ensure the sustainable development of digital publishing industry.
Social implications
The sound of digital publishing policies and regulations system could create a regular and healthful environment for social community participating spiritual creating and sharing.
Originality/value
The paper proposes that the government should first make clear the basic objectives of the digital publishing policies and regulations system in China and then determine the content of the system. It has a positive significance to promote the establishment the system of policies and regulations in China and can ensure the sustainable development of digital publishing industry.
Details
Keywords
Niklas Elert, Magnus Henrekson and Joakim Wernberg
Evasive entrepreneurs innovate by circumventing or disrupting existing formal institutional frameworks. Since such evasions rarely go unnoticed, they usually lead to responses…
Abstract
Purpose
Evasive entrepreneurs innovate by circumventing or disrupting existing formal institutional frameworks. Since such evasions rarely go unnoticed, they usually lead to responses from lawmakers and regulators. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors introduce a conceptual model to illustrate and map the interdependencey between evasive entrepreneurship and the regulatory response it provokes. The authors apply this framework to the case of the file sharing platform The Pirate Bay, a venture with a number of clearly innovative and evasive features.
Findings
The platform was a radical, widely applied innovation that transformed the internet landscape, yet its founders became convicted criminals because of it.
Originality/value
Applying the evasive entrepreneurship framework to this case improves the understanding of the relationship between policymaking and entrepreneurship in the digital age, and is a first step toward exploring best responses for regulators facing evasive entrepreneurship.
Details
Keywords
Uchenna Uzo, Johanna Mair and Adedeji Adewusi
The purpose of this study is to explain how and why firms configure copyright practices when confronted with state-sanctioned laws and informal customs projected by local ethnic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explain how and why firms configure copyright practices when confronted with state-sanctioned laws and informal customs projected by local ethnic or religious communities.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-case inductive study of four film-producing organizations within the Nigerian film industry (i.e. Nollywood) was conducted. Specifically considered were firms that started their operations around the same time with similar founding conditions, experiences, resources and technical competencies. Field observations and multiple rounds of in-depth interviews were conducted to achieve the research objectives.
Findings
The study found that firms adopted dominant or hybrid configurations when interacting with informality and formality. Dominant configurations represent the exclusive adoption of informal copyright practices while hybrid configurations refer to the blended use of informal and formal copyright practices. The second set of findings revealed that each firm’s strategic intent affected the type of interactional configuration that unfolded in the firm. Specifically, firms with social intents tended to adopt dominant configurations, whereas firms with socio-economic intents tended to adopt hybrid configurations.
Practical implications
The study implies that firms may profit from strategically focusing on when and in what circumstances to adopt informality. Strategic intents that blend social and economic rationales may secure more positive interactive outcomes from internal and external stakeholders promoting formality and informality.
Social implications
This study highlights the fact that firms embedded in local religious and ethnic communities use organizational practices to solve social and institutional problems of their members. The copyright practices of these organizations encourage apprenticeship, youth empowerment and entrepreneurship in Nigeria.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that goes beyond macro-level analysis to investigate the interactional dynamics between formality and informality at the firm, community, and state levels. The study is also first of its kind to use copyright practices as an analytical lens to explore the interaction between informality and formality.
Details
Keywords
The paper aims to outline the legal framework with regards to the civil liability of online intermediaries for users' misconduct in China, to analyze the problems in applying the…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to outline the legal framework with regards to the civil liability of online intermediaries for users' misconduct in China, to analyze the problems in applying the rules related, and to introduce recent efforts from the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and legislature to combat online misconduct.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper intends to introduce these rules by studying the legislative history and several important case decisions. Comparisons with European and American approaches have also been made with regard to the self‐regulation issue.
Findings
Chinese courts have made many inconsistent decisions on the liabilities of online intermediaries in the past, but the legal framework is improving and the situation will become better given more clarifications from the Supreme People's Court. The State proactively promotes industry self‐regulation, together with public supervision in order to ensure the enforcement of rules.
Research limitations/implications
This paper gives a systematical analysis and thorough introduction to online intermediaries' liability since the first case in 1990s to the latest report, law amendment and provisions before July 2012 in China.
Originality/value
Cyberspace is an international community, thus, the worldwide harmonisation of cyber law shall be approached. An introduction of the Chinese legal framework and any latest updates from the State would be valuable for foreign policy makers and foreign online service providers to learn the Chinese situation and evaluate the Chinese internet market.
Details
Keywords
Dexin Tian and Chin‐Chung Chao
This study aims to explore the policy‐making mechanism of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) on innovation and the US practice in identifying…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the policy‐making mechanism of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) on innovation and the US practice in identifying policies on online copyright protection and innovation. The research findings provide valuable implications for emerging economies like China.
Design/methodology/approach
For data collection, this study adopted field observation of online interactions. Guided by the democratic paradigm of the civil society, state, and market and the theory of the government's roles as a broker, advocator, and facilitator, thematic analysis was applied to analyze the 150 purposively selected comments of US internet stakeholders for emerging themes and implications.
Findings
While the USA exemplified the OECD guidance by reaching out to all internet stakeholders, most of whom call for a neutral internet and reduce innovation barriers through technological and market solutions, the US online copyright protection policies are expected to bring incentives fairly to all internet stakeholders rather than the historically weighted copyright holders and content industries.
Originality/value
This study is the first academic effort in exploring the US practice of the OECD innovation guidelines by identifying online copyright and innovation policies. The implications of this study are valuable to not only the internet policy‐makers of the OECD member countries but also emerging economies, especially like China which desires long‐term innovation but keeps censoring the internet with its growing firewall.
Details
Keywords
Purpose – In this chapter, I explore the graduated response approach to combatting online piracy, and examine the different ways in which this approach has been…
Abstract
Purpose – In this chapter, I explore the graduated response approach to combatting online piracy, and examine the different ways in which this approach has been implemented in the United States and around the world.
Design/methodology/approach – I discuss the legal, political, and industrial origins and current state of the graduated response programs in each country.
Findings – Overall, the most successfully launched graduated response programs have been the ones where a single entity is overseeing the program implementation, and the code of conduct has been well articulated.
Originality/value of chapter – Few scholars have examined the processes leading up to the implementation of graduated response programs and the mechanics of how they work in practice. This chapter does this by looking, chronologically, at the developments in each country as well as the choreography of its notice process.
Details
Keywords
Katharine Sarikakis, Olga Kolokytha and Krisztina Rozgonyi
This paper asks the following research question: What are the policy dynamics of copyright regulation for digital audiovisual (AV) archives in Europe and what is their potential…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper asks the following research question: What are the policy dynamics of copyright regulation for digital audiovisual (AV) archives in Europe and what is their potential impact? The paper aims to discuss the social relevance of archives, European cultural policies targeting operationalisation of these archives and underpinnings and sought implementation of copyright policies.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon three European cultural policy approaches, namely, democratisation of culture, cultural democracy and governmentalisation of culture, the discussion aims to situate current legislative attempts within digital content governance and examine policy as to its proclaimed aims of broadening access. The authors deployed macro-level legal analyses of key legislative acts of the European Union (EU) with direct relevance to the availability of and accessibility to digital historical content by European citizens. The authors juxtapose relevant cultural policy interventions with the corresponding legal rules and norms in copyright legislation. The authors evaluate the ways in which normative arguments are reflected in these acts and propose reflections on documented and possible impact.
Findings
The authors argue that the EU’s legal direction is characterised by uncertainty of conviction and internal tensions regarding the place of common cultural heritage in EU policy, and they present a restrictive acknowledgement of what culture and heritage policy entail and, by extension, how cultural matters should be governed. Cultural heritage AV archives are examples of digital content whose governance was almost “automatically” linked to copyright.
Originality/value
The paper links copyright and cultural policy and demonstrates that although the EU cultural policy is based on access, availability and usability, copyright is unnecessarily restraining them with the improper design and implementation of exceptions and limitations. This reflects EU’s focus on the single market, which, in this case, is pursued at the expense of building of a European identity with shared memories.
Details