During the past century, intellectual property (IP) law has expanded within and beyond national borders. The field of IP law was once a niche area concerning authors, inventors, and trademark owners. ...Today, IP law acts as a complex regime of instruments, institutions, and actors that negotiate overlapping, diverging, and occasionally competing public policies on a global scale. As IP continues to expand beyond borders, the instruments and tools utilised for its global protection rely on public international law as the common denominator and unifying frame. Intellectual Property Ordering Beyond Borders provides an evaluation of the most pertinent public international law questions raised by this multidimensional expansion. This comprehensive and far-reaching volume tackles problems such as generalist approaches under the law of treaties; custom and general principles; interfaces between IP and other normative orders, such as trade and investment; and interdisciplinary accounts from the economic, political, and social science perspectives. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.
New particle formation in the atmosphere is an important parameter in governing the radiative forcing of atmospheric aerosols. However, detailed nucleation mechanisms remain ambiguous, as laboratory ...data have so far not been successful in explaining atmospheric nucleation. We investigated the formation of new particles in a smog chamber simulating the photochemical formation of H₂SO₄ and organic condensable species. Nucleation occurs at H₂SO₄ concentrations similar to those found in the ambient atmosphere during nucleation events. The measured particle formation rates are proportional to the product of the concentrations of H₂SO₄ and an organic molecule. This suggests that only one H₂SO₄ molecule and one organic molecule are involved in the rate-limiting step of the observed nucleation process. Parameterizing this process in a global aerosol model results in substantially better agreement with ambient observations compared to control runs.
We investigated the influence of humic and fulvic acid concentration (in the range of 1−1000 mg/L) on the binding of the two trace metals Cu(II) and Pb(II). The ability of the non-ideal competitive ...adsorption (NICA)−Donnan model to correctly predict Cu and Pb binding at low humic or fulvic acid concentration and lower ionic strength (0.01 M NaNO3), based on model parameters obtained from experiments conducted at high humic or fulvic acid concentrations (∼1000 mg/L) and higher ionic strength (0.1 M NaNO3), was tested. The binding of Cu and Pb to humic and fulvic acid in 0.01 M NaNO3 was determined over wide ranges in proton and metal ion activities using three different methods: ligand exchange−adsorptive differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry at low humic or fulvic acid concentrations (1−3 mg/L), differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry at intermediate humic or fulvic acid concentrations (10−20 mg/L), and ion-selective electrodes at high humic or fulvic acid concentrations (∼1000 mg/L). The results demonstrate that binding isotherms for Cu and Pb can be measured at low humic or fulvic acid concentration using suitable voltammetric techniques. The binding isotherms for Cu and Pb to humic and fulvic acid obtained at constant pH values in the range of pH 4−8 are shown to be independent of humic and fulvic acid concentration. The NICA−Donnan model, calibrated for Cu and Pb binding using data measured at high humic and fulvic acid concentrations and an ionic strength of 0.1 M, accurately predicts Cu and Pb binding at low humic and fulvic acid concentrations and lower ionic strength (0.01 M). We conclude that NICA−Donnan parameters obtained by fitting experimental data measured with ion-selective electrodes at high humic or fulvic acid concentrations can be used for geochemical modeling of soils and aquatic environments with much lower concentrations of humic or fulvic acids.
The private international law of intellectual property is currently much debated both in Europe and abroad. Art. 8 of the Rome II Regulation of 2007, which codifies a territorial approach for the ...infringement of intellectual property, has provoked an intensive discussion in Europe as to whether the lex loci protection is still appropriate for intellectual property litigation in the age of worldwide networks. A condensed outcome of this debate is summarized in the »Principles for Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property« (CLIP Principles) drafted by the European Max Planck Group on Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property (CLIP), published recently in a second preliminary draft. On the international scale, the American Law Institute's »Intellectual Property: Principles Governing Jurisdiction, Choice of Law, and Judgments in Transnational Disputes« of 2007 (ALI Principles) are the focal point of the debate. A Japanese project (»Transparency Proposal«) was finalized in 2009. This volume provides a comparative analysis of the three proposals. It compiles papers presented at an international conference held in Tokyo in May 2009.
Abstract Nitrogen fertilizers have revolutionized agriculture since the early 20th century and made a decisive contribution to combating world hunger. Nevertheless, the technology is controversial ...today because production is energy-intensive and contributes significantly to climate change. In addition, conventional fertilizers pollute groundwater, rivers and coastal waters. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer is made from ammonia (NH3) produced by the Haber-Bosch process, for which a patent was filed with the German Imperial Patent Office in 1908 (DE235421). For the urgently needed development of modern climate-friendly fertilizers, patent law seems to have played a minor role so far. The large and patent-active agrochemical corporations in the industrialized countries are focusing on other technologies, leaving fertilizer production to companies with direct access to energy below the global market price. Another reason is the very generous regulation of nitrogen fertilizers. For farmers, the use of less climate-damaging fertilizers is not worthwhile. However, the disruption of supply chains in the wake of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the aggravation of climate change could lead to a rethink. In the US, the first support programs for the development of climate-friendly, innovative ‘next-generation’ fertilizers have been launched. This paper examines the interplay of patent law in concert with regulatory law and government funding tools in the area of innovative fertilizers. It starts from the hypothesis that other legal frameworks have a stronger influence on innovation activity than patent law at the moment. But this could change if the regulatory framework were to impose stricter requirements for the use of fertilizers.
Abstract
In the ongoing transformation from ‘industrial capitalism’ towards an ‘informational capitalism’, one of the core challenges is for the law to design and enforce an appropriate legal ...framework for access to and use of data. Focusing on access to data generated by the use of products or online services (product and online services usage data), the aim of this paper is to describe and systematize the core elements of this legal framework in the making and to provide some guidance on how it could be further developed. Access by the users of products or online services to the individual-level data that their usage generates must be distinguished from access to bundled individual-level and aggregated data by third parties. With regard to data co-generators’ access to individual-level product usage data, the Draft Data Act proposes to create new rights to access that will become part of a new private law infrastructure of data rights. These access rights are granted independently of whether the data holder is dominant. With regard to data co-generators’ access to individual-level services usage data, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) establishes rights of access only vis-à-vis gatekeepers within the meaning of the DMA. Third-party undertakings who request access to bundled individual-level or aggregated data can, as of now, only base their claim on Art. 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and – in the case of search data – on Art. 6(11) DMA. A regulatory approach has been proposed as an alternative. This paper strives to systematize this hodgepodge of approaches and discern the broader principles that can guide the legislature in creating and fleshing out the legal framework for data. Ideally, markets for bundled individual level or aggregated data will emerge based on the rights of data co-generators to access individual-level data. For this to happen, data intermediaries will have to play a larger role and succeed in bundling and marketing such data.
The objectives of this study were to obtain insights into acid effects in the formation of secondary organic aerosol and 2-methyltetrols from the photooxidation of isoprene in the presence of NOx. A ...photooxidation experiment was performed with isoprene in the presence of NOx where the gaseous reaction mixture was passed over a sulfuric acid-treated and non-treated quartz fibre filter. Consistent with previous laboratory data, the organic carbon and 2-methyltetrol amounts on the sulfuric acid-treated filter were significantly enhanced. In addition, oxygenated isoprene products related to the 2-methyltetrols and formed on the sulfuric acid-treated filter were structurally characterized as enol tautomers of 4-hydroxy-1,3-dioxo-2-methylbutane. No evidence could be found for the formation of C5-epoxydiols in the gas phase but very small amounts, about two orders of magnitude lower than those of the 2-methyltetrols, were generated on the sulfuric acid-treated filter. The formation of the 2-methyltetrols and enol tautomers of 4-hydroxy-1,3-dioxo-2-methylbutane is explained by acid-catalyzed reactions of gas-phase nitrooxypolyols. Implications for the measurement of the 2-methyltetrols using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with prior trimethylsilylation are discussed.
Die Rechtswissenschaft setzt sich in Zeiten transparenter Gesetzgebungsverfahren umfassend mit den Entwürfen und Vorschlägen für Gesetze und Richtlinien auseinander. Dadurch werden Wissenschaftler zu ...Sprechern im Diskurs mit Interessenverbänden, Rechtspraktikerinnen und Politikern, die sich während eines Gesetzgebungsverfahrens öffentlich zu Wort melden. Auch wenn sich Wissenschaft und Praxis damit in einem Diskursraum begegnen, so sind die methodischen Anforderungen an Beiträge zu diesem Diskurs doch nicht deckungsgleich. Für Beiträge mit wissenschaftlichem Anspruch können höhere Rationalitätsanforderungen gestellt werden als für jene mit rechtspraktischem Hintergrund. Die Beiträge zu laufenden Gesetzgebungsverfahren in juristischen Fachzeitschriften zeichnen jedoch ein verschwommenes Bild mit unklaren Grenzen zwischen den Rollen der Autoren und den methodischen Grundsätzen. Der Artikel betrachtet den gesetzgebungsbegleitenden Diskurs in juristischen Fachzeitschriften aus der Perspektive der Diskurstheorie des Rechts und der juristischen Methodenlehre. Hierzu wird das empirische Beispiel der Reform des Europäischen Urheberrechts diskursanalytisch untersucht. Bei dieser politisch und gesellschaftlich umstrittenen Reform wurde von verschiedenen Akteuren, aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven und mit divergierenden Interessen um Deutungen, Setzungen und Interpretationen der Reform und ihrer Folgen gerungen. Anhand dieses Falles zeigt der vorliegende Beitrag das Verhältnis wissenschaftlicher und praktischer Diskursbeiträge auf und diskutiert theoretisch untermauerte Anforderungen an Gesetzgebungsverfahren-begleitende Diskurse in der Rechtswissenschaft.
Epidemiological studies show a clear link between increased mortality and enhanced concentrations of ambient aerosols. The chemical and physical properties of aerosol particles causing these health ...effects remain unclear. A major fraction of the ambient aerosol particle mass is composed of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Recent studies showed that a significant amount of SOA consists of high molecular weight compounds (oligomers), which are chemically not well characterized. Within the POLYSOA project a large variety of state-of-the-art analytical chemical methods were used to characterize the chemical composition of SOA particles with emphasis on the oligomeric mass fraction. Mass spectrometric results showed that SOA oligomers are highly oxidized compounds and that hydroperoxides are formed, which is consistent with NMR results. This high molecular weight fraction accounts for up to 23% of the total organic carbon in SOA particles. These well-characterized SOA particles were deposited on three lung cell culture systems (microdissected respiratory epithelia from porcine tracheae, the human bronchial epithelial cell line BEAS-2B, and porcine lung surface macrophages obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage) in a newly constructed particle deposition chamber with the goal to eventually identify particle components that are responsible for cell responses leading to adverse health effects. In addition, monolayers of the alveolar epithelial cell line A549 were used in an alveolar epithelial repair model. The lung cells were examined for morphological, biochemical, and physiological changes after exposure to SOA. Analyses of the lung cells after exposure to SOA are ongoing. First data give evidence for a moderate increase of necrotic cell death as measured by lactate dehydrogenase release and for effects on the alveolar epithelial wound repair mainly due to alterations of cell spreading and cell migration at the edge of the wound. Thus, these first results indicate that SOA, in concentrations comparable to environmental concentrations, may induce distinct effects in lung cells.
Proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) is a useful tool in ambient trace gas analysis, especially for the analysis of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOC). Many OVOCs are ...produced during photooxidation of volatile organic compounds and contribute to both the gas phase and secondary organic aerosols (SOA). The inlet system of the PTR-MS instrument was modified to allow also for the measurement of the particulate phase of an aerosol with a high time resolution. The new inlet consists mainly of a denuder to strip off the gas phase, and a heater (120/150 °C) to vaporize the aerosol particles. This inlet system was tested with pinonic acid particles generated with a nebulizer and SOA particles formed during the photooxidation of 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene and α-pinene with NO x in a smog chamber. The performance of this new technique is discussed and the partitioning coefficients for the oxidation products are estimated.
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