Patents and intellectual property LEAD IN 1. <...> Are there laws in your country forbidding the cloning - making exact genetic copies - of humans? 3. <...> Our bodies patently lack protection Intellectual property needs proper safeguarding, says Edward Fennell he marriage of intellectual property (IP) and life sciences creates one of those niche practices of law that most solicitors like to avoid. <...> First, the recommendation by the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to permit human cloning for 'spare parts' is likely to create a huge wave of research leading to a flood of patent registrations and subsequent litigation. <...> Penny Gilbert, of the IP firm Bristows, says that though the European Commission Biotechnology Directive specifically excludes human cloning processes from patentability, it does not apply to such parts of the human body as tissue. 'There are', she says, 'potentially valuable patents in this field and litigation between rival researchers is almost inevitable. <...> Both face the imminent end of the patent on several drugs, and need more resources to plug the gaps. <...> Larger law firms such as Cameron McKenna and Herbert Smith are often engaged in litigation to protect rights that may have been infringed. <...> Smaller research-based companies are not always so alert to the dangers and opportunities of patent law. <...> A recent report, commissioned by Taylor Joynsen Garrett from the London Business School, says: 'There is evidence of a surprising lack of recognition of the importance of IP protection.' Almost a third of companies think their investors 'understand little' or 'not at all' the nature of their IP rights. 'Litigation between rival researchers is almost inevitable' Only two-thirds of companies said that when it came to IP, due diligence1 had been undertaken by their investors where it was relevant before financing their most recent investment. <...> Just over half the smaller companies have a programme in place to ensure that all IP rights produced by their research development are adequately protected. <...> And many that have an IP protection programme do not produce a complete set of 4 contractual documentation to cover dealings in IP rights, even though this is <...>
Business_law_.pdf
МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И НАУКИ РФ
ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ
БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ
ВЫСШЕГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ
«ВОРОНЕЖСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ
УНИВЕРСИТЕТ»
BUSINESS LAW
Учебно-методическое пособие
Составитель
Е.В. Ушакова
Воронеж
Издательский дом ВГУ
2015
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Содержание
Unit 1. Patents and intellectual property ............................................................. 4
Unit 2. Telephone crime ...................................................................................... 8
Unit 3. Liability ................................................................................................. 11
Unit 4. Business lawyers ................................................................................... 15
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3. patent registration
4. patentability
5. litigation
6. infringe
7. due diligence
8. contractual documentation
9. capitalising
10. scratch the surface
a) complete set of details about IP rights dealings
b) break a law or regulation
c) adequate protection
d) begin to understand something
e) taking advantage of a commercial opportunity
f) application for the sole rights of ownership
g) allowing an invention to be registered
h) bringing a lawsuit against someone
i) thorough investigation
j) specialised areas of expertise
3. Use an appropriate phrase from the box to complete each sentence.
wave of research flood of patent registrations stop the leak plug the gap
scratch the surface gone up in smoke
cast a shadow over dawned on
avalanche of complaints landmark case
1. Permission from the European Courts to allow cloning will bring a ... wave of
research.... which will lead to a flood of patient registrations….
2. This problem is bigger than you think. We have only just begun
to………………
3. Our rivals have copied our work. All our hopes have……………………..
4. The drug caused severe headaches and vomiting. There was an…..from doctors
and patients.
5. The judges' decision was so important that it changed the way the law was to be
interpreted. It was a…………
6. Information about the new drug was given to the press by a laboratory technician.
The manager decided to sack him in order to………………
7. The tragic accident…………………………………..an otherwise happy event.
8. The major drugs companies need a way to replace the money they earn from patents
that are expiring. They need new patents to…………………..
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9. The law about intellectual property is very complex but essential to the success
of the company. It finally…. the Managing Director that he should consult a legal
expert.
4. Match these terms with their definitions.
1. permit
2. excludes
3. tissue
4. rival
5. protect
6. alert
7. investors
8. inventiveness
a) competing
b) creativity
c) allow
d) safeguard
e) aware
f) skin and flesh
g) leaves out
h)people risking money
5. Metaphors from water
English uses a lot of metaphors from water to describe the scale of events,
like a flood of complaints and a huge wave of research. Complete these sentences
with words from the box.
drop flood trickle stream torrents cascade
1. It was too little, too late – a drop………………in the ocean.
2. The complaints started off as a ......... but soon became a flood.
3. The benefits ................. down from the upper management to the whole workforce.
4.
There was a steady .............. of visitors when the new Centre was opened to
the public.
5. The rain fell in such ............. you could hardly see well enough to drive.
6. There was a ................ of applications for the job when the salary was announced.
6.
Metaphors from the body
Match the parts of the body with the correct phrase.
1. head
2. long arm
a) of the law
b) for fighting
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3. hand
FOLLOW UP
1. Make a list of the main steps a small research company should take in
order to ensure that their discoveries are not stolen or copied.
2. Why do you think the Biotechnology Directive excludes human cloning
processes from patentability except for spare parts? What consequences
does this have for research companies?
UNIT 2. Telephone crime
LEAD IN
1. Discuss these questions.
1. How many telephone calls do you make every day? Do you have a telephone
calling card?
2. How often do you call someone living outside your country? Are these personal
or business calls? How do you pay for such calls?
BT launches fresh attack on phone crime
By Alan Cane
British Telecommunications (BT) is mounting a new offensive against
the barons of organised telephone crime who are costing it hundreds of millions
of pounds annually. Its chief weapon is a new technology that can cut the time
to detect and prove fraud from - in some cases - years to minutes. Developed
with BT's former partner, MCI of the US, the system has already been tested by
BT's calling card division, where it has doubled the number of frauds spotted
and halved the financial losses. Now it is being deployed across BT's business
services.
The level of UK phone crime is hard to assess, but it is costing operators
a minimum of £200m ($334m) a year. Trade organisations put the figure at
55,000 crimes reported, with a similar number of unreported fraudulent calls.
And forget youngsters and amateurs: telephone fraud is big-time crime. Some
of the UK's best-known villains are defrauding the operators to fund activities
ranging from drugs to terrorism, according to Dennis Gotts, head of BT's investigations
unit. 'This is more than stealing lOp from a call box,' he says.
'Notorious individuals in the criminal fraternity are involved. They know BT's
network and they know what they are doing.'
Telephone crime can be absurdly easy. Opening an account in a false
name and selling calls to international destinations before disappearing when
the bill is due is one of the simplest. In one case earlier this year, a gang of Ta8
4.
heart d) of Fate
5. no stomach
c) of the company
e) of the matter
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