Amina Agovic-Argillander, Ph.D.

In a perfect #circular system, waste almost doesn’t exist. But our #intellectualproperty (IP) laws were not built for this circular world. IP: patents, copyrights, trademarks, designs were created to reward new inventions by helping companies sell new products. This works well in a linear economy, but it clashes with a world that needs repair and reuse. So, how does the circular economy connect to IP rights? How can IP either boost circular ideas like #repair and #reuse, or block them and keep us stuck in the old “take–make–throw away” system.

For a small country, it is beyond ludicrous to teach children of the same land as though they belong to irreconcilable worlds. Ethnic and religious division in education does not strengthen society, it corrodes social cohesion and leads to no benefit whatsoever. We are not inventing the wheel. Children should be taught together. There is no two-tier maths, physics, chemistry, languages, music, sports, technology... Give the kids and their parents the option of an English-language curriculum alongside their mother tongues and watch their minds broaden instead of being barricaded.

You cannot warn of demographic decline, pressure the smartest and brightest into postponing or discourage family entirely, and then punish them, especially women, once they do have children. That is not policy. That's a disaster in making and from so many angles.

"od ukupno 23 igrača - koliko ih je bilo u kadru za povijesnu partiju protiv Italije - njih čak 14 je rođeno izvan teritorija Bosne i Hercegovine." Sad zamislite kako se Bosna može preporoditi da jedan mali dijasporski kadar iz drugih oblasti dođe i radi u Bosni. jutarnji.hr/sportske/nogom…

The report misses a basic #startup reality: weak #intellectualproperty literacy can cost founders their patents, leverage and the ability to continue with their venture. In addition, the EU should make it far easier for cross-border students to found startups (not just in form of registering businesses) straight from universities. This is where a real competitive edge can emerge.

People’s innovativeness, entrepreneurship, teamwork, and strong work ethic give them a sharp competitive edge. Standing still is a sure path to extinction.

Maybe this helps a tiny %. dosagos.com/podcast/episod…. Otherwise, no patents, no industry is a common motto. But, we forget that, from its inception in 15th century, the modern patent structure has always tried to strike a fair balance between a monopoly reward granted to the inventor and the interests of society. Ethics, morality, public order or public good (regardless of how one calls it) form a vital part of the patent law because the fundamental rationale for patents is to promote the social welfare. More than ever, this should inform the debate on patentability of new technologies that carry such a heavy impact on public interests and social order.

@aagovic You touch on an important issue. I have been lately th8nking about patent/copyright implications of the rise of AI and using it to generate ideas, toold etc. Admittedly I know little about this area

When do we talk about the power that patents have over new technologies and patent system's utilitarian founding principles? New #technologies move fast and #patents often decide whether an idea takes off or disappears. But, a patent is not a positive right to use an invention, rather it is a negative legal right to stop others from using it. Still, when patent offices grant patents, they inevitably grant #legitimacy to certain #technologies, thereby further encouraging those types of innovation.

Europe, for e.g., has a moral safeguard built into its patent laws under Art. 53(a) EPC ‘which excludes from patentability inventions whose commercial exploitation would be contrary to ordre public or morality’, but it has no reliable way to apply it consistently to fast evolving #AI systems. But, if now is not the time to consider the role that the patents play in steering innovation that can be classified as harmful to societal interests and social cohesion, when is?

However, while patent law is designed to promote innovation, it is also designed to benefit society at large. Most patent systems across the world have one form or other of an inbuilt ‘morality gate’ which forbids patentability of inventions on ethical and moral grounds.

That's one way of looking at it. There are other perspective and might not be as bad as that. IP can block further research for quite some time, but it can also boost it. It really depends, but it's not black and white, which is why, knowledge about it would be beneficial to many parties, starting even with high school students.

@aagovic Accepting EU and USA rules on IP rights is economic slavery, a healthcare disaster on a massive scale, brain drain from South to North, wasted government investments in university education, and punishment for technological development. It's about power and control, not growth.

#Patents are a treasure trove of information mostly unavailable elsewhere. A 2019 EPO/EUIPO study found that #SME holding at least one #IntellectualProperty right are 21% more likely to enter a period of growth. From startups to established corporates, #IP rights are everywhere and once your brain is trained to see #IP, you can never unsee it.

@RajvosaEmir China is currently leading globally when it comes to a number of AI-related IP rights. But, yes China did have an "interesting and contentious" IP journey until today. There is not really a better alternative to IP rights at present.

@aagovic IP gatekeepers serve to punish the 'third world' for technological progress, that's it, that's the whole purpose and the entire game. Only way out is f..k Western IP gatekeepers if you are a non-Wester country.. you know.. like China, and then good things like growth happen.

Those who can do the job, those who are qualified and skilled should be on the job. Not those, whose only qualification is a professional ethnic identity.

#Dodik, before he went to USA to make selfies with American politicians

@SarajevoTimes Knowing who and what Dodik stands for, letting Dodik cuss the Srebrenica Genocide to their face and not leaving the meeting (just the smallest of examples), @sdpbih willingly formed a coalition with him. They should own the consequences.

SDP calls on judicial Authorities to prosecute Dodik, dangerous Hate Speech and Racism wp.me/pgrPjy-1glZ via @SarajevoTimes

Did this (non-existent title) "President" and her party (Milorad Dodik's SNSD party) try to improve any of this? We could ask the "President". But, Bosnian KIDS were NEVER again sent for PISA TESTING.

The only time Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in #PISA testing was a global embarrassment: #HALF of Bosnian 15-year-olds were labeled functionally illiterate. The #minimum level of functional literacy among 15-year-olds in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not achieved by: 42% of students in mathematics (OECD average: 76%), 46% in reading (OECD average: 77%), and 43% in natural sciences (OECD average: 78%).