Toshiyuki Kono

Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci, Toshiyuki Kono, Shinto Teramoto

The sharing economy is sprawling across almost every sector and activity around the world. About a decade ago, there were only a handful of platform driven companies operating on the market. Zipcar, BlaBlaCar and Couchsurfing among them. Then Airbnb and Uber revolutionized the transportation and hospitality industries with a presence in virtually every major city. Access over ownership is the paradigm shift from the traditional business model that grants individuals the use of products or services without the necessity of buying them. Digital platforms, data and algorithm-driven companies as well as decentralized blockchain technologies have tremendous potential. But they are also changing the rules of the game. One of such technologies challenging the legal system are AI systems that will also reshape the current legal framework concerning the liability of operators, users and manufacturers. Therefore, this introductory chapter deals with explaining and describing the legal issues of some of these disruptive technologies. The chapter argues for a more forward-thinking and flexible regulatory structure.

Paulius Jurcys, Toshiyuki Kono

The Internet, and more recently cloud computing, has transformed the technological, economic, social, and cultural conditions under which intellectual property rights are exploited. These developments also challenge traditional rules of private international law, particularly rules governing international jurisdiction. This paper examines when courts should assert jurisdiction over cross-border copyright disputes arising in cloud-based environments. It focuses on the risks faced by right holders and digital intermediaries when allegedly infringing content is stored, transmitted, or accessed across multiple states. The paper first explains how cloud computing changes the exploitation of intellectual property assets and complicates the identification of territorial connecting factors. It then analyzes the main jurisdictional principles applied by courts in common law and civil law systems, with particular attention to subject-matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, and infringement-based jurisdiction. The paper argues that the territorial fragmentation of copyright law sits uneasily with the realities of ubiquitous online infringement. It therefore asks whether existing jurisdictional doctrines remain suitable for cloud-related disputes and whether, in some circumstances, right holders should be permitted to sue before the courts of their home state or center of economic interests. The paper concludes by discussing related work undertaken by a special committee of the International Law Association on intellectual property and private international law.