Intellectual Property Rights as Ethical Response to Global Climate Change Crisis (Published)
Debate regarding the contribution of Intellectual Property (IP) rights to lessening climate change is intensifying. On one side, IP optimists emphasize their function in encouraging investment in Research, Development and Commercialization. However, alternative view, principally associated with developing countries, sees the monopoly rights embodied in IP as a barrier to technology adoption and international transfer and this has led to a dilemma in IP rights ethically responding to global climate change.The role of intellectual property rights with regards to climate change has remained a divisive issue. Not only has no agreement been reached in this area, but even the path to a constructive and meaningful discussion seems elusive. Unless the role of intellectual property is addressed in a constructive and balanced manner, the potential for achieving sustainable and realistic outcomes from the climate talks could be compromised.This article explored the complex relationship between IP rights and climate change through technology-based reductions in emissions and with reference to sustainable development laws. It also considers the role IP rights can play in delivering technological change to abate the issues of climate change crisis by arguing that climate change is legally disruptive, with existing legal doctrines and frameworks forced to confront, respond, and perhaps even evolve to respond to climate change, beyond the application and incremental development of existing rules and doctrines written in the context of linkages between private international law and public international law.It concludes by outlining some plausible strategies that are necessary in resolving the dilemma associate with IP rights ethically responding to global climate change.
Citation: Kujo Elias McDave (2022) Intellectual Property Rights as Ethical Response to Global Climate Change Crisis, Global Journal of Politics and Law Research, Vol.10, No.3, pp.50-68,
Keywords: Climate Change, Innovation, Intellectual Property Rights, Patent, Technology
In the Age of Technology: Legal Protection for Personal Health Information in Nigeria (Published)
The need to protect the personal health information of individuals has become a global phenomenon. This is based on the duty of confidentiality that healthcare providers owe patients in general of which Nigeria is not an exception. Gradually, doctors and health workers have begun to embrace electronic record keeping of patients’ records and the old case note is giving way to electronic forms of record and storage. Thus, personal health information has become another type of electronically stored information that is capable of processing and manipulation by computers. This paper appraises the state of personal health information protection under Nigerian law by looking at the legislative provisions that guarantee protection for personal data especially in the healthcare sector. It examined the constitutional guarantee of the right to privacy, the National Health Act, 2014 and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulations, 2019. A brief attempt was made to look at the legal basis for data protection in the United Kingdom and also a peek into the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The paper observed in a conclusion that the laws appear to be a good start up towards the security of personal health information
Keywords: Confidentiality, Data protection, Healthcare, Personal Health Information, Technology
Enhancing Accountability and Learning in Dispute Resolution Through Technology (Published)
This paper invites the readers to rethink the relationship between online dispute resolution (ODR) and traditional dispute resolution mechanisms: alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and courts. To date, ODR has been viewed as a niche area, appropriate where traditional avenues are unavailable or inefficient. This paper explores the potential role of ODR even where traditional avenues for dispute resolution exist. In particular, the paper highlights the qualitative contribution ODR can have. Even where ODR is not employed as a means for resolving conflict, it can inspire change in the design of traditional means for dispute resolution. These traditional avenues have suffered from an accountability deficit and have tended to adopt rigid molds that resist learning and improvement. ODR, in particular due to its automatic recording of rich data on resolution communications in digital format, has the potential for enhancing both accountability and learning. The paper explores these qualities and suggests some of the ways in which traditional dispute resolution mechanisms could amend old habits and ingrained practices to strengthen their accountability and drive learning in the spirit of ODR.
Keywords: Accountability, Dispute Resolutio, Learning, Technology