Browsing by Author "Haile, Biruk (PhD)"

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    Copyright Infringement in User Generated Contents: A Critical Analysis of Youtube’s Terms of Service and Policies Vis-À-Vis Ethiopian Copyright Standards
    (AAU, 2021) Nigussie, Bulcha; Haile, Biruk (PhD)
    Ordinary individuals have become active participants in the creation and dissemination of creative works on social media. User generated content (UGC) is a terminology that describes various works uploaded by users on platforms like YouTube and Facebook. This culture triggers the application of copyright law since some of the contents users engage with involve productions copyright protects. Social media websites also attempt to regulate user’s adherence to copyright while using their service by incorporating some legal conditions in their TOS. This thesis examined Ethiopia’s copyright standards and copyright related legal conditions in YouTube’s TOS and policies to investigate the convergence and divergence between these regulatory factors in regulating user's content-generative behaviors, UGC licenses, and online copyright enforcement. To some extent YouTube’s TOS are aligned with Ethiopia’s copyright law as they require users to respect copyright while using its service by informing them not to upload or use third-party copyrighted works in their contents and by making available an online take-down notification procedure copyright owners can use to enforce their rights on the website. However, YouTube’s UGC licenses which allow users to retain the copyright ownership of contents they upload by requiring them to license their rights for YouTube and its users, have several flows that make them at odds with Ethiopia’s copyright law. These include; formality related defects, their applicability on every content users upload including those that might not be copyrightable in Ethiopia, and they deny user’s legal right under Ethiopia’s copyright law since users license all of their exclusive economic rights freely for YouTube and other YouTube users with whom they have no contractual relationship. Vesting on user’s ownership of copyright on contents that are not copyrightable might lead users to have wrong understanding about copyright. Giving other YouTube users extensive rights to use UGC far beyond their rights under Ethiopia’s copyright law exceptions might encourage users to make various uses that are infringing under Ethiopia’s copyright law and compromise its effectiveness while regulating user’s behavior by elevating the probability of mass-scale infringement on the website.
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    The Enforcement of Agreed Access and Benefit Sharing Terms Relating to Teff Genetic Resource with Particular Focus on Impending Legal Action by the Government of Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2021) Ghion, Fikremariam; Haile, Biruk (PhD)
    The thesis analyzes impending legal action(s) that the government may apply for the enforcement of Ethiopian rights with regard to Teff GR. It analyzes IPR laws that have direct implication on ABS obligations. Further, issues including validity of Teff patent, PBR granted on Teff varieties that use Ethiopian Teff GR and bankruptcy claims are discussed. In doing these, ABS, DBA and relevant IP laws are analyzed. Doctrinal and qualitative methods are employed to analyze these issues. It is hard to find complementarity of IP and ABS laws. Moreover, there are ways to enforce violated Ethiopian rights and share the benefits derived from Teff GR. Some of the demanded bankruptcy claims of Ethiopian government against HPFI should not be filed as a bankruptcy claim. Legal, contractual, systemic and impending legal actions are recommended to implement and enforce ABS obligations.
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    The Ethiopian Biosafety Regime on GMOS and its Implementation in Light of Cartagena Protocol: Focus on Cotton and Maize GMOS
    (Addis Ababa, 2021-07) Alemayehu, Samuel; Haile, Biruk (PhD)
    The development of modern biotechnology raise environmental and health related risks. In protecting both the environment and human health states came up with international and national biosafety framework. This study has made a comprehensive assessment on biosafety framework of Ethiopia and its sufficiency in implementing the CPB. The study aimed at assessing whether proper procedures are followed in the approval of Bt Cotton and GM Maize and whether the public awareness, participation, BCH, and risk assessment issues are addressed under the domestic law and being implemented in Ethiopia, among others. The researcher beyond consulting laws and other secondary sources conducted an interview with key informants from different regulatory agencies. Although the Ethiopian biosafety framework is in line with the CPB, it doesn’t sufficiently assure proper implementation of the latter. The study has identified legal and implementation gaps concerning biosafety i.e. limited public awareness and participation, weak border control attributed to lack of skilled man power and laboratories, and weak collaboration between the EFCCC and the ECC, and failure to address liability and redress issues due to government’s reluctance to adopt a sui generis law. Concerning the practice there were flows in the implementation of AIA, public participation, risk assessment, and BCH in the approval procedures of Bt Cotton and GM maize. Basedon its findings, the study recommends straightening the biosafety legal and institutional framework and implementing the CPB and domestic laws properly in the
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    Legal and Institutional Framework for Transfer of Technology in Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2015-04) Hailu, Yohannes; Haile, Biruk (PhD)
    The relevant policy documents of the Ethiopian government identify access to and dissemination of foreign technologies as a key factor for the achievement of development goals of the country. It is also a day to day occurrence to hear high government officials through media outlets asserting the importance of technology transfer. Nonetheless, foreign technologies cannot be effectively adapted in a vacuum. In addition to having the required technological capability to absorb foreign technologies, suitable legal and institutional arrangements need to be put in place. This study paper thoroughly analyzes laws of the country that have direct or indirect impact on technology transfer activities. It also examines the powers, responsibilities and technology transfer activities of government organs which have mandates to deal with technology transfer process. Using the method of both scholarly and legislative documents analysis and interviews with government officials, the findings of the study reveals the inadequacy and fragmented nature of the rules on transfer of technology. Contrary to prevailing foreign experiences, determining the terms and conditions of technology transfer agreements is left to the absolute autonomy of the parties, there are no packages of incentives to persons who engage in technology transfer activities and the investment law fails to provide for attractive incentive to foreigners who invest jointly with Ethiopian nationals. The patent and competition laws overlook to regulate restrictive patent licensing practices which may have the effect of defeating one of the very purposes of introducing the patent system, i.e, encouraging the transfer and adoption of foreign technology. Furthermore the country lacks compressive piece legislations that regulate franchising business and trade secrets protection. As regards institutional setups for the transfer of technologies in Ethiopia, the study identified, among others, the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office and the Micro and Small Enterprises Agency as government entities which have mandates that relate with technology transfer. Among other things, absence of coordination, overlap of mandates, bureaucratic hurdles, and absence of monitoring and follow up mechanisms hinder these institutions from undertaking effective and efficient technology transfer activities. Finally, the writer of the paper suggests some solutions that may help to overcome the abovementioned shortcomings. He recommends that it is high time to adopt a technology transfer regulation that: prohibit the conclusion of restrictive technology transfer agreements; provide for mechanisms for monitoring and follow up procedures; and provide for packages of incentives for persons who engage in technology transfer activities. He also suggests for the amendment of some parts of the patent law and inclusion of some other new legal arrangements in the same. In addition, he calls for the enactment of compressive franchising and trade secretes protection laws. He further advises that a special governmental organ should be established. This government organ shall have the mandate to look over and coordinate all sorts of technology transfer activities in the country.
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    The Legal and Practical Challenges of Licensing and Assignment of Musical Works in Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2020) Gossaye, Kaleegziyabher; Haile, Biruk (PhD)
    Music is the most utilized intellectual product in the world. The musical market as with other commercial activities has earned high revenue. Right holders may transfer their work through the contract and in return, they will accrue pays back. The respective obligation of the parties is governed by the general contract rules and the copyright proclamation. Under the Ethiopian copyright law, some rules and regulationst aid him to exploit his right these are envisaged under Article 23-35 of the copyright proclamation. However, these provisions have lacunas in terms of benefiting right holders. Practically the musical industry is out-dated, not suitable, and doesn’t have rules and regulations that stand for the right holders of the music industry. Accordingly, right holders have not profited from their work. To make right holders advantageous from their work the collective management society should have back up in terms of budget, skilled manpower, and so on. Moreover, proportional payment has to be spelled out clearly. Like that of the ring tone, the collective management society should have provisions that implement another manner of exploitation of musical works. Especially regarding broadcasting rights, public performance rights, synchronization rights, and mechanical reproduction rights there are unequal negotiating powers. Therefore, there have to be provisions that stipulate proportional payment and that the users of musical works should be intermingled within the rules and regulations. Furthermore, the proclamation needs to be amended in a way that accommodates new use, territorial clause, and the right to transfer acquired right. Subsequently, the copyright market is directed through appropriate rules and regulations. In effect, this guarantees the benefit that right holders should get from their work.
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    Online Copyright Infringment And The Liability Of Internet Service Provider In Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2016-06) Solomon, Tibebe; Haile, Biruk (PhD)
    Everything changes in time. The only thing that remains constant, as they say, is change itself. Time once had made protection of people’s physical property very necessary and people have crafted laws in that regard. Now time is telling us to protect people’s digital property in the virtual world. So we need to react for the same old reasons i.e. the notion of private property and ownership in general and encouraging creativity in the copyright system in particular. Yes of course digital properties unlike the physical ones does not give rise to rivalry and are non excludable as they can be exploited at the same time by many people without the risk of depreciation. However their free and unprotected use by many people does significantly harm the economic interest of copyright owners. Still again we may agree that the creation of literary and artistic works may not drain totally because digital contents are freely quenched. However if it is not protected after a fair period/extent of silence the severe and expansive damage will impair the interest of every copyright owner as they could not otherwise recoup their cost of production. On top of that as the momentum of digitizing intangible properties is accelerating to wipe out the use of tangible fixation materials like paper and surpass physical (analogue) distribution means’s like publishing or printing of books the virtual world has be adjusted for safe and legal digital content transactions. In another word as digital technologies are making creativity and distribution of creative works very cheap and much easier, in the near future, it is very probable that physical and hard labour methods of inking down and disseminating intangible properties will be out of date. Therefore while authors chance to get reward for their creation from traditional methods of distribution like publishing drains slowly the digital world should be designed to provide a conducive environment that appreciates the good old Lockean notion of property and the incentive/reward theory of intellectual property i.e. one should be able to benefit from the fruit of his labour and when it comes to intangible property authors should be rewarded to keep the system safe from under production. It is only in that way the intellectual property concerns of under production and under utilization are balanced i.e. by providing rewards to encourage further creativity and by maintaining fair use exceptions to facilitate public utilization of creative works in the virtual world as it was and still is the case in the real (analogue) world.
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    Property Rights Approach towards Traditional Cultural Expressions in Ethiopia: Challenges and Prospects
    (Addis Ababa University, 2015-11) Mulat, Seble; Haile, Biruk (PhD)
    This thesis addresses a number of pertinent issues concerning Traditional Cultural Expressions, specifically in relation to what they are, the terms of protection, issues related with public domain, whether or not the existing IPRs regime is adequate for protection and the dilemma surrounding ownership. Most importantly the thesis examines whether or not the existing legal environment and policies of Ethiopia relevant to the protection of Traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) are adequate. In order to address these issues, this thesis will examine the development of, national, regional and International regulatory mechanisms and how the current discourse is evolving at these levels. At the international level there is no single legal binding document for the protection of TCEs. Over four decades have passed since negotiations started at the international level to come up with laws to regulate the use of TCEs. The complexity of the issue, the variation of interests among stakeholders and the fact that developed nations have not given due attention to the matter are some of the factors that have contributed for the delay. The inadequate legal recognition and, ultimately, insufficient international recognition and protection of TCEs has orchestrated the misappropriation of such works for the benefit of the non authoring community In Ethiopia there is no comprehensive legal regime to effectively protect TCEs. At the time of writing of this thesis a draft law for the protection of traditional cultural expression is being prepared by the Ethiopian intellectual property office. The biggest underlying issue today both at the international level and in Ethiopia is whether TCEs should be recognized within the domain of Intellectual Property Rights or through a sue generis system. This thesis argues that because of the communal nature of TCEs, existing regimes of protection – such as copyright, Neighbouring right laws ,patent, trademark, Industrial design – do not provide adequate protection for TCEs; and that, therefore, new systems of protection need to be considered, developed and implemented for protection of TCEs in Ethiopia.
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    Regulation of Franchise Agreements in Ethiopia
    (A.A.U, 2020-12) Yilma, Rediet; Haile, Biruk (PhD)
    Franchising is one of the fastest growing strategies for business expansion. A franchise is a binding contract between the franchisor and franchisee, in which the franchisor grants the franchisee the right to implement the former’s business system in exchange for the franchisee’s payment of fees and royalties. The complex interplay of numerous areas of law in the regulation of franchise agreements on one hand and the prevalent imbalance of information and bargaining power between franchisors and franchisees on the other necessitated separate regulation of franchise agreements in many legal systems. In general, regulation of franchise agreements can be done through franchise-specific laws (or regulation-based model), general rules of commercial law (or private law-based model), industry self-regulation, or any combination of the three models. This research work intends to examine the regulation of franchise agreements in Ethiopia. After needful analysis, the researcher concludes that the regulation of franchise agreements in Ethiopia is inadequate, unthoughtful of the unique features of franchise business relationship and ineffective to give remedy to practical and potential problems. Thus, the researcher mainly recommends the enactment of comprehensive franchise-specific law.
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    Technology Transfer Laws on University – Industry Linkage in Ethiopia: the Case of Ethiopian Leather Industry
    (Addis Ababa,University, 2017-06) Ayalew, Abrham; Haile, Biruk (PhD)
    The initial purpose of this thesis is to explore the Ethiopian TOT laws on UIL in light of the country’s leather industry. By doing so, it tries to understand the status of TOT and UIL under the prevailing legal frameworks. TOT and UIL issues under the FDRE Constitution, the Patent Proclamation, current Investment Proclamation, Higher Education Proclamation, the repealed TOT Regulation and the MoST Procedural Directive for the Linkage of Education and Training, Research Institutions and Industries are explored. Moreover, national policies, among others STIP, Education and IPRs policies along with AAU and AASTU policies are also analyzed in depth. The inquiry reaches on that there is no comprehensive legal framework on TOT in general and UIL in particular. Rather some issues of TOT are scattered in several laws in the prevailing legal environment and not adequate. Moreover, there is no due policy concern and backup for inland TOT and UIL. The leather industry is among the key manufacturing sectors in Ethiopia because it can link and fasten the linkage between industry and agriculture, it is labor intensive and it has a comparative and competitive advantage in the export market. Consulting with several scholarly works, policies and interviews, this thesis noticed that low technological status is the critical challenge in the Ethiopian leather industry. The challenge is characterized by poor educational qualification of employees, low status of R&D units, out dated and poorly planted automations, expensive imported machineries, spare parts and chemicals. On the other hand, it is proved that universities are starting to fulfill the technological needs of the subsector. The experiences of AAU and AASTU have proved the assertion. Both universities opened leather-specific courses. It has also proved that the universities can have a potential to improve the R&D units, they can develop machineries, spare parts and chemicals at least in laboratory level. However, the link between universities and industries is a loose relationship manifested with informal mechanisms which aims at fulfilling short term needs. Generally, the thesis identified that the industries are not making universities as their key partners and the linkage between them is insignificant and needs more efforts to be strengthened. Moreover, leather industries don’t have their own policies to manage their link with universities. Even if UIL has given lesser emphasis in STIP and no legal backup and poor state of UIL in practice, it is also found that AAU and AASTU are formulating their own institutional policies to strengthen their links with universities. Experiences of the pioneering nations assessed in this thesis show that UIL can be encouraged and enhanced mainly through the instrumentality of specific laws. Generally, it is proved that there has to be a comprehensive law on TOT in which inland TOT should get due treatment with foreign TOT. Furthermore, there has to be a specific law for UIL. Or otherwise, under the umbrella of the general TOT law, the issue of UIL should be addressed in a separate section.
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