Taking Technological Infrastructure Seriously attempts to take stock of a sea-change in the way modern infrastructural resources are provided. Unlike traditional infrastructure, such as roads and... Show moreTaking Technological Infrastructure Seriously attempts to take stock of a sea-change in the way modern infrastructural resources are provided. Unlike traditional infrastructure, such as roads and electricity cables, where the State has largely been responsible for its provision, much of the key technological infrastructures which underwrite modern society are privately provided by companies which own exclusive intellectual property rights over them. These modern infrastructures include computer operating systems, as well as crucial low-level interoperability information such as technical standards. This thesis argues that exclusive intellectual property rights are fundamentally at odds with the infrastructural nature of these technologies, which like all infrastructure, favours broad availability and open access over exclusive control. While both industry and the Courts have been converging upon open access management regimes for technological infrastructure, the economic rationale has sometimes been weak and underdeveloped. This thesis attempts to fill this gap by developing an ‘infrastructural approach’ to such resources, and showing how it may be applied under different institutional conditions, such as EU competition law, R&D subsidy grants, public procurement and business model innovation. Show less
This study ("Intellectual property in the conflict of laws") deals with the fundamental question whether the two most important intellectual property treaties, i.e. the Berne Convention 1886 and... Show moreThis study ("Intellectual property in the conflict of laws") deals with the fundamental question whether the two most important intellectual property treaties, i.e. the Berne Convention 1886 and the Paris Convention 1883, contain a conflict-of-law rule. The study reveals that the principle of national treatment in these treaties does indeed contain a conflict-of-law rule. The explanation given for this seems to be new. It provides a comprehensive and consistent interpretation of the respective provisions in the treaties, and it explains why we no longer understand this conflict-of-law rule today. The study provides, in addition, several new insights into the conflict of laws, aliens law, and the relationship between these two fields of law. Show less
