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This paper discusses dimensions of fieldwork in complex fields as they present themselves in international institutions, especially in the United Nations and its many sub-organizations and associated committees. The paper seeks to complement the growing literature on the anthropology of the United Nations and the anthropology of the European Community with reflections on the specific methodologies applicable to research in such settings. On the basis of field research in the World Intellectual Property Organization, the paper shows how the complexity of the international research field may be addressed. Understanding the ethnographic parameters of this field site contributes to an understanding of negotiation dynamics and of international organizations. Adapted from the source document.

Immaterial assets are traditionally described either as intangible assets or as intangible or intellectual property, or else as operating assets, but most of those terms are not satisfactory. This class of assets actually suffers from a lack of definition. However, some people state that they represent a form of economic wealth, a fantastic source of credit for the debtors, and a guarantee of safety for the creditors. And yet, French legislation seems to have ignored immaterial assets.This is first and foremost demonstrated by property law. Indeed, according to article 516 of the Code civil, which states that « property is either movable or immovable », one has to admit that immaterial assets cannot validly be linked to movable or immovable property. Immaterial assets are opposed to material assets (property of nature, commodities, intellectual property of the public domain or without protection under intellectual property law). They refer to property that has an object and a corpus. Two types of immaterial assets have been identified: financial immaterial assets, bringing together currencies, units and shares in a company, financial instruments, liabilities and industrial immaterial assets, bringing together business and intellectual property.This is also demonstrated by conventional real-property surety law. The surety law reform project which was awarded to the Grimaldi Commission was the source of significant hope. It had only been rarely amended since the inception of the Code civil and the structure was weakening and needed updating. This weakening had three main grounds : readability first, in particular since conventional real-property surety law on immaterial assets had developed outside of the Code civil, efficiency and capability of the contemplated systems regarding the preservation of the interests of the debtor and the creditor. Practice and doctrine had been denouncing such complexity for long and were calling for amendments. Unfortunately, order n°2006-346 of March 23rd 2006 reforming surety law ...

This is the French translation ofSeeding Solutions Volume 1. Policy options for genetic resources: People, Plants and Patents revisited

Studies case law in France, 1996-97, with regard to freedom of speech on the Internet and protection of intellectual property rights, arguing that French judges are obliged to respect the liberal spirit of the network as well as existing legal texts. Summary in English.

The article contains a summary of the work on the concept of grey literature, the results of a survey and an analysis of the reference definition (New York definition). New technologies and new ways of dissemination on the internet pose a problem for the traditional interpretation of grey literature. The article discusses three new attributes (quality, intellectual property, mediation) and proposes a new definition (Prague definition) which adds these new attributes to the economic approach of the old definition. According to this new definition, grey literature is any type of document produced by government, administration, education and research, trade and industry, whether in paper or digital format, protected by intellectual property rights, of sufficient quality to be collected and stored by an institutional library or archive, and which is not controlled by commercial publishing. ; International audience ; The article contains a summary of the work on the concept of grey literature, the results of a survey and an analysis of the reference definition (New York definition). New technologies and new ways of dissemination on the internet pose a problem for the traditional interpretation of grey literature. The article discusses three new attributes (quality, intellectual property, mediation) and proposes a new definition (Prague definition) which adds these new attributes to the economic approach of the old definition. According to this new definition, grey literature is any type of document produced by government, administration, education and research, trade and industry, whether in paper or digital format, protected by intellectual property rights, of sufficient quality to be collected and stored by an institutional library or archive, and which is not controlled by commercial publishing. ; L'article contient une synthèse des travaux sur le concept de la littérature grise, les résultats d'une enquête et une analyse de la définition de référence (définition de New York). Les nouvelles technologies et les ...

4ème de couv. : "Internet est un espace de liberté que le Droit peine à encadrer. Si l'application des règles du monde réel au monde virtuel ne fait pas de doute, elle suscite des enjeux essentiels. La problématique de la régulation d'internet présente un double aspect institutionnel et substantiel. L'aspect institutionnel est en pleine phase de transition. Éclaté entre diverses institutions (CNIL, ARCEP, CSA, HADOPI), la réflexion est menée pour les rapprocher voire tendre vers une gouvernance globale. L'aspect substantiel fait également l'objet de continuels débats. Le droit de la concurrence et le droit de la propriété intellectuelle font partie de ces matières qui doivent s'adapter à ces évolutions tout en préservant l'essentiel : l'absence d'entrave à la libre concurrence et la préservation de l'exclusivité des droits de propriété intellectuelle. Il s'agit donc de rechercher un équilibre entre liberté et exclusivité sur internet à partir d'une réflexion croisée menée par des spécialistes de droit de la concurrence et de droit de la propriété intellectuelle autour de deux axes: la concurrence illicite et les pratiques anticoncurrentielles sur Internet."

Describes how the pharmaceutical industry and Western states have benefitted from application of the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) to generic drug access and cost in developing countries and implications of TRIPs for public health and North-South relations. Summary in English.

Intellectual property rights, patents in particular, are meant to boost innovation. They also constitute a barrier against the diffusion of recently accumulated knowledge, which is a public good. For a long time a balance has been kept between these two forces ; since about 1980, that balance has been more and more tilted against the free use of knowledge.Even the incentive function has been blurred : it is not exceptional that a party different from the actual inventor or discoverer is granted the intellectual property rights, often with an astonishingly large breadth. These trends are specially prevalent in two fields of utmost importance for future growth and well-being : information and life sciences and technologies.This is the system that has been imposed, within the World Trade Organization (WTO), upon the developing countries. Hence not only are these funnelled into a uniform system, whereas in the past the presently developed countries have been able to have their intellectual property systems evolving in tune with their respective pace of development ; but that very system is also crippled with perversions. It is not a risky bet to anticipate public health havoc in developing countries and significant financial transfers from them towards the richest countries, as first consequences of TRIPS, as the WTO framework is known. ; La protection de la propriété intellectuelle - par les brevets particulièrement - a pour objectif d'inciter à l'innovation ; mais elle freine aussi l'innovation, en privatisant ce bien public que constitue la connaissance attachée aux innovations réalisées dans un passé relativement récent. Entre ces deux effets, l'équilibre est délicat à trouver. Depuis un peu plus de vingt ans, les autorités politiques, techniques et juridiques responsables, aux Etats-Unis d'abord et par contagion en Europe et au Japon, ne cherchent ostensiblement plus à le trouver ; elles élargissent toujours plus le champ de la protection, donc de l'appropriation privée de la connaissance. Les déviances, ...

National audience ; Arguments and strategies in two parliamentary conflicts related to intellectual property: the debate on the DADVSI law in France, and the debate on the CII Directive (Software Patents) in the European Parliament. ; Argumentaires et stratégies autour de deux conflits parlementaires liés à la propriété intellectuelle : le débat sur la loi DADVSI en France, et celui sur la Directive CII / Software Patents (brevets logiciels) au Parlement Européen.