Country of Origin and Internet Publication : Applying the Berne Convention in the Digital Age

Historically, determining the country of origin of a published work presented few challenges, because works were generally published physically – whether in print or otherwise – in a distinct location or few locations. However, publishing opportunities presented by new technologies mean that we now live in a world of simultaneous publication – works that are first published online are published simultaneously to every country in world in which there is Internet connectivity. While this is certainly advantageous for the dissemination and impact of information and creative works, it creates potential complications under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (“Berne Convention”), an international intellectual property agreement to which most countries in the world now subscribe. Under the Berne Convention’s national treatment provisions, rights accorded to foreign copyright works may not be subject to any formality, such as registration requirements (although member countries are free to impose formalities in relation to domestic copyright works). In Kernel Records Oy v. Timothy Mosley p/k/a Timbaland, et al. however, the Florida Southern District Court of the United States ruled that first publication of a work on the Internet via an Australian website constituted “simultaneous publication all over the world,” and therefore rendered the work a “United States work” under the definition in section 101 of the U.S. Copyright Act, subjecting the work to registration formality under section 411. This ruling is in sharp contrast with an earlier decision delivered by the Delaware District Court in Håkan Moberg v. 33T LLC, et al. which arrived at an opposite conclusion. The conflicting rulings of the U.S. courts reveal the problems posed by new forms of publishing online and demonstrate a compelling need for further harmonization between the Berne Convention, domestic laws and the practical realities of digital publishing. In this article, we argue that even if a work first published online can be considered to be simultaneously published all over the world it does not follow that any country can assert itself as the “country of origin” of the work for the purpose of imposing domestic copyright formalities. More specifically, we argue that the meaning of “United States work” under the U.S. Copyright Act should be interpreted in line with the presumption against extraterritorial application of domestic law to limit its application to only those works with a real and substantial connection to the United States. There are gaps in the Berne Convention’s articulation of “country of origin” which provide scope for judicial interpretation, at a national level, of the most pragmatic way forward in reconciling the goals of the Berne Convention with the practical requirements of domestic law. We believe that the uncertainties arising under the Berne Convention created by new forms of online publishing can be resolved at a national level by the sensible application of principles of statutory interpretation by the courts. While at the international level we may need a clearer consensus on what amounts to “simultaneous publication” in the digital age, state practice may mean that we do not yet need to explore textual changes to the Berne Convention.

Country of Origin and Internet Publication: Applying the Berne Convention in the Digital Age

Historically, determining the country of origin of a published work presented few challenges, because works were generally published physically – whether in print or otherwise – in a distinct location or few locations. However, publishing opportunities presented by new technologies mean that we now live in a world of simultaneous publication – works that are first published online are published simultaneously to every country in world in which there is Internet connectivity. While this is certainly advantageous for the dissemination and impact of information and creative works, it creates potential complications under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (“Berne Convention”), an international intellectual property agreement to which most countries in the world now subscribe. Under the Berne Convention’s national treatment provisions, rights accorded to foreign copyright works may not be subject to any formality, such as registration requirements (although member countries are free to impose formalities in relation to domestic copyright works). In Kernel Records Oy v. Timothy Mosley p/k/a Timbaland, et al. however, the Florida Southern District Court of the United States ruled that first publication of a work on the Internet via an Australian website constituted “simultaneous publication all over the world,” and therefore rendered the work a “United States work” under the definition in section 101 of the U.S. Copyright Act, subjecting the work to registration formality under section 411. This ruling is in sharp contrast with an earlier decision delivered by the Delaware District Court in Håkan Moberg v. 33T LLC, et al. which arrived at an opposite conclusion. The conflicting rulings of the U.S. courts reveal the problems posed by new forms of publishing online and demonstrate a compelling need for further harmonization between the Berne Convention, domestic laws and the practical realities of digital publishing. In this chapter, we argue that even if a work first published online can be considered to be simultaneously published all over the world it does not follow that any country can assert itself as the “country of origin” of the work for the purpose of imposing domestic copyright formalities. More specifically, we argue that the meaning of “United States work” under the U.S. Copyright Act should be interpreted in line with the presumption against extraterritorial application of domestic law to limit its application to only those works with a real and substantial connection to the United States. There are gaps in the Berne Convention’s articulation of “country of origin” which provide scope for judicial interpretation, at a national level, of the most pragmatic way forward in reconciling the goals of the Berne Convention with the practical requirements of domestic law. We believe that the uncertainties arising under the Berne Convention created by new forms of online publishing can be resolved at a national level by the sensible application of principles of statutory interpretation by the courts. While at the international level we may need a clearer consensus on what amounts to “simultaneous publication” in the digital age, state practice may mean that we do not yet need to explore textual changes to the Berne Convention.

Outdoor simultaneous localisation and mapping using RatSLAM

In this paper an existing method for indoor Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) is extended to operate in large outdoor environments using an omnidirectional camera as its principal external sensor. The method, RatSLAM, is based upon computational models of the area in the rat brain that maintains the rodent’s idea of its position in the world. The system uses the visual appearance of different locations to build hybrid spatial-topological maps of places it has experienced that facilitate relocalisation and path planning. A large dataset was acquired from a dynamic campus environment and used to verify the system’s ability to construct representations of the world and simultaneously use these representations to maintain localisation.

The use of metabolomics to monitor simultaneous changes in metabolic variables following supramaximal low volume high intensity exercise

High Intensity Exercise (HIE) stimulates greater physiological remodeling when compared to workload matched low-moderate intensity exercise. This study utilized an untargeted metabolomics approach to examine the metabolic perturbations that occur following two workload matched supramaximal low volume HIE trials. In a randomized order, 7 untrained males completed two exercise protocols separated by one week; 1) HIE150%: 30 x 20s cycling at 150% VO2peak, 40s passive rest; 2) HIE300%: 30 x 10s cycling at 300% VO2peak, 50 s passive rest. Total exercise duration was 30 minutes for both trials. Blood samples were taken at rest, during and immediately following exercise and at 60 minutes post exercise. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of plasma identified 43 known metabolites of which 3 demonstrated significant fold changes (HIE300% compared to the HIE150% value) during exercise, 14 post exercise and 23 at the end of the recovery period. Significant changes in plasma metabolites relating to lipid metabolism [fatty acids: dodecanoate (p=0.042), hexadecanoate (p=0.001), octadecanoate (p=0.001)], total cholesterol (p=0.001), and glycolysis [lactate (p=0.018)] were observed following exercise and during the recovery period. The HIE300% protocol elicited greater metabolic changes relating to lipid metabolism and glycolysis when compared to HIE150% protocol. These changes were more pronounced throughout the recovery period rather than during the exercise bout itself. Data from the current study demonstrate the use of metabolomics to monitor intensity-dependent changes in multiple metabolic pathways following exercise. The small sample size indicates a need for further studies in a larger sample cohort to validate these findings.

Somatic embryogenesis, organogenesis and plant regeneration in taro (Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta)

Callus was initiated in three different ‘‘esculenta’’ taro cultivars by culturing corm slices in the dark on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/l 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) for 20 days followed by subculture of all corm slices to half-strength MS medium containing 1.0 mg/l thidiazuron (TDZ). Depending on the cultivar, 20–30% of corm slices produced compact, yellow, nodular callus on media containing TDZ. Histological studies revealed the presence of typical embryogenic cells which were small, isodiametric with dense cytoplasms. Somatic embryos formed when callus was transferred to hormone-free medium and *72% of the embryos germinated into plantlets on this medium. Simultaneous formation of roots and shoots during germination, and the presence of shoot and root poles revealed by histology, confirmed that these structures were true somatic embryos. Plants derived from somatic embryos appeared phenotypically normal following 2 months growth in a glasshouse. This method is a significant advance on those previously reported for the esculenta cultivars of taro due to its efficiency and reproducibility.

Simultaneous determination of three synthetic glucocorticoids by differential pulse stripping voltammetry with the aid of chemometrics

A novel voltammetric method for simultaneous determination of the glucocorticoid residues prednisone, prednisolone, and dexamethasone was developed. All three compounds were reduced at a mercury electrode in a Britton-Robinson buffer (pH 3.78), and well-defined voltammetric waves were observed. However, the voltammograms of these three compounds overlapped seriously and showed nonlinear character, and thus, it was difficult to analyze the compounds individually in their mixtures. In this work, two chemometrics methods, principal component regression (PCR) and partial least squares (PLS), were applied to resolve the overlapped voltammograms, and the calibration models were established for simultaneous determination of these compounds. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the limits of detection (LOD) were 5.6, 8.3, and 16.8 µg l-1 for prednisone, prednisolone, and dexamethasone, respectively. The proposed method was also applied for the determination of these glucocorticoid residues in the rabbit plasma and human urine samples with satisfactory results.

Simultaneous kinetic-spectrophotometric determination of maltol and ethyl maltol in food samples by using chemometrics

A fast and accurate procedure has been researched and developed for the simultaneous determination of maltol and ethyl maltol, based on their reaction with iron(III) in the presence of o-phenanthroline in sulfuric acid medium. This reaction was the basis for an indirect kinetic spectrophotometric method, which followed the development of the pink ferroin product (λmax = 524 nm). The kinetic data were collected in the 370–900 nm range over 0–30 s. The optimized method indicates that individual analytes followed Beer’s law in the concentration range of 4.0–76.0 mg L−1 for both maltol and ethyl maltol. The LOD values of 1.6 mg L−1 for maltol and 1.4 mg L−1 for ethyl maltol agree well with those obtained by the alternative high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV). Three chemometrics methods, principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares (PLS) and principal component analysis–radial basis function–artificial neural networks (PC–RBF–ANN), were used to resolve the measured data with small kinetic differences between the two analytes as reflected by the development of the pink ferroin product. All three performed satisfactorily in the case of the synthetic verification samples, and in their application for the prediction of the analytes in several food products. The figures of merit for the analytes based on the multivariate models agreed well with those from the alternative HPLC-UV method involving the same samples.

Simultaneous kinetic spectrophotometric determination of norfloxacin and rifampicin in pharmaceutical formulation and human urine samples by use of chemometrics approaches

A kinetic spectrophotometric method with aid of chemometrics is proposed for the simultaneous determination of norfloxacin and rifampicin in mixtures. The proposed method was applied for the simultaneous determination of these two compounds in pharmaceutical formulation and human urine samples, and the results obtained are similar to those obtained by high performance liquid chromatography.

Improved simultaneous computation of motion detection and optical flow for object tracking

Object tracking systems require accurate segmentation of the objects from the background for effective tracking. Motion segmentation or optical flow can be used to segment incoming images. Whilst optical flow allows multiple moving targets to be separated based on their individual velocities, optical flow techniques are prone to errors caused by changing lighting and occlusions, both common in a surveillance environment. Motion segmentation techniques are more robust to fluctuating lighting and occlusions, but don't provide information on the direction of the motion. In this paper we propose a combined motion segmentation/optical flow algorithm for use in object tracking. The proposed algorithm uses the motion segmentation results to inform the optical flow calculations and ensure that optical flow is only calculated in regions of motion, and improve the performance of the optical flow around the edge of moving objects. Optical flow is calculated at pixel resolution and tracking of flow vectors is employed to improve performance and detect discontinuities, which can indicate the location of overlaps between objects. The algorithm is evaluated by attempting to extract a moving target within the flow images, given expected horizontal and vertical movement (i.e. the algorithms intended use for object tracking). Results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other widely used optical flow techniques for this surveillance application.

Choosing "interesting" research methods and facing the challenges for publication

This paper discusses the choice to use two less conventional or “interesting” research methods, Q Methodology and Experience Sampling Method, rather than “status quo” research methods so common in the marketing discipline. It is argued that such methods have value for marketing academics because they widen the potential for discovery. The paper outlines these two research methods, providing examples of how they have been used in an experiential consumption perspective. Additionally the paper identifies some of the challenges to be faced when trying to publish research that use such less conventional methods, as well as offering suggestions to address them.

Hippocampal models for simultaneous localisation and mapping on an autonomous robot

To navigate successfully in a novel environment a robot needs to be able to Simultaneously Localize And Map (SLAM) its surroundings. The most successful solutions to this problem so far have involved probabilistic algorithms, but there has been much promising work involving systems based on the workings of part of the rodent brain known as the hippocampus. In this paper we present a biologically plausible system called RatSLAM that uses competitive attractor networks to carry out SLAM in a probabilistic manner. The system can effectively perform parameter self-calibration and SLAM in one dimension. Tests in two dimensional environments revealed the inability of the RatSLAM system to maintain multiple pose hypotheses in the face of ambiguous visual input. These results support recent rat experimentation that suggest current competitive attractor models are not a complete solution to the hippocampal modelling problem.