Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354839
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Transforming Knowledge Spaces: Open Technologies for Research Collaboration and Research Communication
. Technology has the potential to transform the means for scholarly collaboration and communication. Our proposal will achieve this potential, by deploying open source infrastructures to create new communication platforms. The Initiative will itself use collaborative writing systems to construct and energise the Network, which will match researchers requiring these new technologies with thos ....Transforming Knowledge Spaces: Open Technologies for Research Collaboration and Research Communication
. Technology has the potential to transform the means for scholarly collaboration and communication. Our proposal will achieve this potential, by deploying open source infrastructures to create new communication platforms. The Initiative will itself use collaborative writing systems to construct and energise the Network, which will match researchers requiring these new technologies with those who have the skills to build them. The outcomes will be an increase in the efficiency of traditional research collaborations as well as new kinds of collaboration and communication, for researchers and consumers of research across a range of disciplines.Read moreRead less
The Future of Television: Australian Legal Protection of Digital Broadcast Content. Free-to-air broadcasting performs central democratic, economic and cultural functions, with a key place in Australia's media. But technological changes pose fundamental and urgent challenges for broadcasters. By investigating mechanisms to protect digital content, the project will advance understanding of a crucial issue in the digital economy. The project will increase understanding of options for protecting bro ....The Future of Television: Australian Legal Protection of Digital Broadcast Content. Free-to-air broadcasting performs central democratic, economic and cultural functions, with a key place in Australia's media. But technological changes pose fundamental and urgent challenges for broadcasters. By investigating mechanisms to protect digital content, the project will advance understanding of a crucial issue in the digital economy. The project will increase understanding of options for protecting broadcast content to promote innovation in content production and distribution, while not restraining reasonable content uses nor hindering innovative consumer electronics. Australian policies should foster an innovative and diverse broadcasting sector to serve Australian public interests. The project promotes this vital objective.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0989457
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$48,000.00
Summary
Digitisation and Indigenous Communities: A study of the development of online collections. The interface between international institutions and Australian Indigenous communities. The preservation and protection of Australian Indigenous knowledge in the digital age is in the National interest. This research may offer much valued insight into the ways in which Indigenous people are engaging in the protection of traditional knowledge in Australia in the digital age. At the international level has ....Digitisation and Indigenous Communities: A study of the development of online collections. The interface between international institutions and Australian Indigenous communities. The preservation and protection of Australian Indigenous knowledge in the digital age is in the National interest. This research may offer much valued insight into the ways in which Indigenous people are engaging in the protection of traditional knowledge in Australia in the digital age. At the international level has seen the start of development at the World Intellectual Property Organisation into the International legal mechanisms concerning the protection of traditional knowledge and the intellectual property aspects of access to and benefit-sharing from such knowledge. This study will explore these important developments which are in Australia's national interest. Read moreRead less
...and by opposing, end them: A Comparative Examination of Opposition Processes in Patent Law. Patent law is central to the key Australian economic aim of encouraging an innovative culture. One aspect of patent law, the opposition process, is directly linked to two important issues currently facing our patent system: improving patent quality, and minimising predatory behaviour by powerful firms. This project will assess the operation of the opposition process here, and the practice of equivalent .......and by opposing, end them: A Comparative Examination of Opposition Processes in Patent Law. Patent law is central to the key Australian economic aim of encouraging an innovative culture. One aspect of patent law, the opposition process, is directly linked to two important issues currently facing our patent system: improving patent quality, and minimising predatory behaviour by powerful firms. This project will assess the operation of the opposition process here, and the practice of equivalent international procedures in other jurisdictions, in order to inform Australian policy in current and ongoing negotiations towards global harmonisation. Material from this project will lead directly to proposals for improving the Australian patent system, and ensuring that it promotes, and does not retard, innovation. Read moreRead less
Drug Companies, their Patenting Strategies and High-Cost Pharmaceuticals: An Empirical Investigation. Pharmaceuticals are a vital part of clinical services that maintain and improve Australia's health; they are also costly, absorbing a substantial proportion of the national health expenditures. By conferring market protections, the patent system helps the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals to recoup the high costs of research associated with developing new products. Abuses of the patent system by ....Drug Companies, their Patenting Strategies and High-Cost Pharmaceuticals: An Empirical Investigation. Pharmaceuticals are a vital part of clinical services that maintain and improve Australia's health; they are also costly, absorbing a substantial proportion of the national health expenditures. By conferring market protections, the patent system helps the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals to recoup the high costs of research associated with developing new products. Abuses of the patent system by pharmaceutical manufacturers have the potential to stifle competition and inappropriately raise the costs of pharmaceuticals to society. This innovative, cross-disciplinary, research will investigate the existence of abusive patents and, if necessary, propose reforms that will prevent further abuse and reduce the size of the health budget. Read moreRead less
Amateur Hour: The Sociolegal Construction of Amateur Media. This project addresses Research Priority 3, specifically the priority goal of Promoting an Innovation Culture and Economy. The rise of amateur networked production is a highly significant transformation in Australia's cultural and media industries. Innovation policy provides incentives for the socially-optimal production of new works, but amateurs do not produce for commercial gain, and may not respond to commercial incentives of inte ....Amateur Hour: The Sociolegal Construction of Amateur Media. This project addresses Research Priority 3, specifically the priority goal of Promoting an Innovation Culture and Economy. The rise of amateur networked production is a highly significant transformation in Australia's cultural and media industries. Innovation policy provides incentives for the socially-optimal production of new works, but amateurs do not produce for commercial gain, and may not respond to commercial incentives of intellectual property. The project articulates motivations, incentive and conditions for amateur content production.Read moreRead less
Scarcity of Ideas and Design of Optimal Incentive Schemes for Innovation. Since innovation is the driving force behind economic growth, enhancing its innovative capacity is an important consideration for Australia. From an economics point of view, this requires the design of optimal incentive schemes in the institutional structures which are central to promoting innovation. The proposed research aims to achieve exactly this by developing a definition of innovativeness and analyzing its implicati ....Scarcity of Ideas and Design of Optimal Incentive Schemes for Innovation. Since innovation is the driving force behind economic growth, enhancing its innovative capacity is an important consideration for Australia. From an economics point of view, this requires the design of optimal incentive schemes in the institutional structures which are central to promoting innovation. The proposed research aims to achieve exactly this by developing a definition of innovativeness and analyzing its implications. Its results will contribute to the policy discussions on innovation in Australia and will enhance the academic interactions between Australian and international universities.Read moreRead less
Cultural Collections, Creators and Copyright: Museums, Galleries, Libraries and Archives and Australia's Digital Heritage. This project investigates current and emerging ways of using digital collections in museums, galleries, libraries and archives, in light of copyright law and the interests of creators. It serves the strong public interest in facilitating digital access to collections while efficiently managing copyright. Exploiting the potential of digital media and maximising Australia's cr ....Cultural Collections, Creators and Copyright: Museums, Galleries, Libraries and Archives and Australia's Digital Heritage. This project investigates current and emerging ways of using digital collections in museums, galleries, libraries and archives, in light of copyright law and the interests of creators. It serves the strong public interest in facilitating digital access to collections while efficiently managing copyright. Exploiting the potential of digital media and maximising Australia's creative capability both depend on providing adequate incentives for content production while granting access to creative material as a resource for new production. The project will assist Australia better manage its digital cultural collections and balance the interests of creators, institutions and public accessibility.Read moreRead less
Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Digitising Collections in Public Museums, Galleries and Libraries. Digital technology gives cultural institutions significant new avenues for research, preservation and public access to collections, but also raises substantial issues about copyright management. This project investigates how museums, galleries and libraries are digitising material under Australian copyright law. Legal and sociological research involving collaboration with six leading cultura ....Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Digitising Collections in Public Museums, Galleries and Libraries. Digital technology gives cultural institutions significant new avenues for research, preservation and public access to collections, but also raises substantial issues about copyright management. This project investigates how museums, galleries and libraries are digitising material under Australian copyright law. Legal and sociological research involving collaboration with six leading cultural institutions will produce digitisation guidelines facilitating appropriate copyright management, and will underlie an evaluation of copyright law and industry practice. This case-study of how digital technology changes relationships between copyright owners, users and the general public offers major contributions to a central public policy issue about digital copyright.Read moreRead less
Establishing an optimal legal framework for online privacy. Consumer confidence in the security of personal information is essential for the growth of electronic commerce. To compete internationally, Australia must establish a world-class legal framework for the protection of online privacy. New technologies for collecting and processing personal information pose threats to individual privacy. Other technologies may protect privacy. Increasingly, effective protection of privacy depends upon ....Establishing an optimal legal framework for online privacy. Consumer confidence in the security of personal information is essential for the growth of electronic commerce. To compete internationally, Australia must establish a world-class legal framework for the protection of online privacy. New technologies for collecting and processing personal information pose threats to individual privacy. Other technologies may protect privacy. Increasingly, effective protection of privacy depends upon the coordination of legal rules and technological measures. This project will be the first study to investigate the optimal mix of regulatory tools for the protection of online privacy in Australia. Recommendations will be made to improve Australian privacy laws and policies.Read moreRead less