Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2023 in the subject Law - European and International Law, Intellectual Properties, grade: 72, University of Kent, course: Contemporary Topics in IP Law, language: English, abstract: This Paper argues that the EU needs to adopt a harmonised policy framework promoting the right to repair and limiting manufacturers’ use of IPRs on software to restrict repair rights which ultimately impacts the achievement of sustainability goals. Part B begins with the origins of the right to repair movement and its significance. Part C discusses restrictions on repair rights, including the role of IPRs. Part D discusses how the EU legal framework recognises repair rights and contrasts this with the Australian approach. Part E discusses the suggestions of scholars on reforms to the EU legal framework to better tackle restrictions on repair rights. Modern electronics constitute not only the hardware in the device itself but also the embedded software that is critical to the device’s functionality. This software is usually pre-installed on the device by the manufacturer to run all its basic operations. This integration of software systems to devices, sometimes called the "softening of hardware", requires the intervention of intellectual property rights (IPRs) to delineate the blurry lines separating the device and its functional components in software. Consequently, manufacturers use IPRs on the embedded software to limit the consumer’s control over a device and effectively lock them out from doing basic repairs to restore functionality. These limitations discourage many consumers from pursuing repairs in favour of purchasing new devices and discarding the faulty ones. The result is a linear model of consumption and a throw away culture contributing to large amounts of electronics waste (e-waste) disposed worldwide. In 2019, consumer electronics comprised 54 million Metric Tons of e-waste, with Europe contributing 12 million Metric Tons. Worse still, the effects of e-waste pileups have for decades flowed downstream from developed to developing countries. In response, the European Union (EU) has focused on achieving a circular economy to reduce e-waste by extending the lifespan and usability of products through, inter alia, recognising the right to repair movement.

This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the current legal landscape of global design law. It includes practice-based and analytical accounts of national design laws from several representative jurisdictions and delves into the practical and theoretical dimensions of some of the most urgent procedural issues facing this legal field.

This publication examines the legal aspects of the spare parts market from an IP perspective: specifically whether design protection for spare parts of a complex product extends to the spare part aftermarket, or whether that market should remain open to competition. The stakeholders’ equally weighty arguments that must be balanced against are, on the one hand, the property interest in an earned IP right in the design of the part; and on the other, enhanced competition, likely reflected in lower prices. The mounting tension between these two positions is manifest an increased number of lawsuits in both the US and the EU. This book provides a discussion of the legal issues involved in this debate from a global perspective, with special focus on the EU and the US. Part I contextualizes the legal debate by discussing the historical background, the competitive situation and the respective stakeholder positions. Part II examines the relevant legal questions on a comparative basis, evaluating the likelihood of its adoption in the jurisdictions examined. Concluding that adoption is unlikely, Part III proposes a number of possible considerations meant to further compromise. Part IV concludes with a future outlook, specifically in light of the impact of technological development on this market.

Although supplying spare and replacement parts and providing repair services form the basis of many legitimate businesses, many manufacturing enterprises seek to augment the competitive advantage realized at the market stage of selling their main products by attempting to monopolize the market for spares, repairs and refills. Increasingly, companies are using intellectual property laws to devise up-front business strategies to gain exclusive rights in the components of their products. This is the first in-depth analysis of the law in this relatively new and rapidly developing area of practice. It sheds clear light on the conflicting interests of manufacturers, consumers, spare parts makers and the general public; explores the extent to which this kind of business strategy can be more or less successful with respect to the different rights involved, and in different jurisdictions; and highlights the competition issues that inevitably arise. The essays included are revised and updated versions of papers presented at the seventh (2006) of the innovative IP conference organized annually by the Macau Institute of European Studies (IEEM) on intellectual property law and the economic challenges for Asia. Among the topics and issues covered are the following: ; notions of and‘repairand’ and and‘recycleand’ and their legal effects; the limits of IP rights in relation to repair and recycle; legal limits of end user licence agreements (EULAs) and technological protection measures (TPMs); patent exhaustion on repair and recycling; alteration of product and‘identityand’; the concept of and‘indirectand’ or and‘contributoryand’ infringement; design law strategies; and secondary market definitions. The authors give detailed attention to cases in various jurisdictions that have guided and continue to guide business strategies in the field. Jurisdictions treated include the EU, the US, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea. In its clarification of the limits and possibilities of business strategies in this area of competition that is just beginning to attract attention, this book will be of great value not only to intellectual property law practitioners but to business people in nearly any field of production, especially where cross-border marketing is involved.