Award  |  04/10/2014

Scholarship Holder Ma Li’s Doctoral Thesis Earns “2013 Excellent Doctoral Thesis in IP law in China” Award

Ma Li

Scholarship Holder Ma Li's doctoral thesis "Study on performers' rights legal systems" was one of three PhD theses this year to earn a "2013 Excellent Doctoral Thesis in IP Law in China" award. This thesis competition was organized by the Intellectual Property Law Publisher of China which is affiliated with the State Intellectual Property Office of the P.R.C. and is a top 100 publisher in China. This is the 6th year of this award, which is aimed to promote the development of intellectual property law in China and to cultivate more talented intellectual property law researchers. PhD theses in the field were selected from across China and reviewed by 15 leading intellectual property law professors from top universities and intellectual property research centers. The winners have the opportunity to publish their doctoral theses for free in a serial of excellent IP law doctoral theses from the Intellectual Property Law Publisher of China.

Ma Li's doctoral thesis, "Study on performers' rights legal systems", is the first thesis in the field of intellectual property doing systematic research on performers' rights. Her doctoral thesis was focused on both the international experiences regarding the protection of performers' rights and special issues for China against the background of the new international "Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances" and the third revision of China's copyright law. She earned her PhD from Renmin University of China in 2013 and was supervised by Professor Wu Handong, who is the director of Center for Studies of Intellectual Property Rights in Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, the former president of Zhongnan University of China, and was named one of the " Global 50 Most Influential People in IP" in 2009 and 2011 by Managing Intellectual Property (MIP).

Ma Li spent one year, from Sep. 2011 to Aug. 2012, in the Max Planck Institute to write her doctoral thesis as a visiting student. During her year with the Max Planck Institute, her thesis benefited from the rich materials and expert advice available here, especially from Prof. Dietz and Prof. Hilty. Ma Li is currently continuing her research on audiovisual performers' right in the institute as a scholarship holder supervised by Prof. von Lewinski, focusing on "Balancing Interests in the Protection of Audiovisual Performers' Rights".

Event Report  |  03/24/2014

XVIIIth [IP]² Seminar: Dr Jörn Erselius (Max Planck Innovation GmbH), March 2014

Dr Jörn Erselius (Max Planck Innovation GmbH), March 2014
Miscellaneous  |  03/21/2014

Call for Papers - 9th Annual Conference of the EPIP Association: Improving Innovation Systems

The European Commission will host the 9th annual conference of the EPIP (European Policy for Intellectual Property) Association in Brussels, Sept. 4-5, 2014.

Scholars and practitioners interested in the economic, legal, political and managerial aspects of intellectual property rights are encouraged to attend the conference. The conference will explore how the IP systems in Europe can further growth and innovation.


EPIP is an international, independent, interdisciplinary, non-profit association of researchers that grew out of a network financed by the European Commission from 2003 to 2005. Dietmar Harhoff and Reto M. Hilty, directors at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, are members of the board. The objectives of the Association are to be a leading European platform for the analysis and discussion of intellectual property systems and intangible assets; to encourage research regarding economic, legal, social, political and historical aspects of intellectual property rights at national, European and international levels; and to contribute ideas, concepts and discussions that will promote innovation, productivity and growth in Europe and beyond.

Miscellaneous  |  03/10/2014

Call for Papers - Munich Conference on Innovation and Competition (MCIC 2014)

From June 23 to June 25, 2014, the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and the Center for Law & Economics der ETH Zurich will jointly organize their Munich Conference on Innovation and Competition (MCIC 2014).

 The conference will enable a small number of junior researchers from law and from economics to engage in an intensive, rigorous discussion of their own scholarly work. Several senior professors from law and from economics departments in Europe and the United States will provide feedback on the research projects.

Miscellaneous  |  02/26/2014

Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI) presents annual report 2014 on research, innovation and technological performance in Germany to German chancellor Merkel

On February 26, 2014, the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation chaired by Prof. Dietmar Harhoff, Ph.D., Director at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation, has presented the seventh report on research, innovation and technological performance in Germany to the German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Böhringer, Prof. Dr. Uschi Backes-Gellner, Prof. Dr. Dominique Foray. Photo: Steffen Weigelt

 The Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation - EFI) provides scientific advice to the German Federal Government and periodically delivers reports on research, innovation and technological productivity in Germany. A key task is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the German innovation system in an international comparison. Furthermore, Germany's perspectives as a location for research and innovation are evaluated on the basis of the latest research findings. EFI presents proposals for national research and innovation policy.

[Bitte nach "english" übersetzen:] Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer
Miscellaneous  |  02/24/2014

Auf dem Highway über den Tegernsee aus dem Patentdickicht?

[Bitte nach "english" übersetzen:] Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer
[Bitte nach "english" übersetzen:] Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer
People  |  02/21/2014

Dr. Arul George Scaria joins the National Law University Delhi

Dr. Arul George Scaria
Dr. Arul George Scaria
Open Access für die Gemeinschaft
Award  |  02/20/2014

Open Access für die Gemeinschaft

Open Access für die Gemeinschaft
Präsident Peter Gruss (2.v.r.) gemeinsam mit den Preisträgern Jürgen Renn, Bernard Schutz und Georg Botz (v.l.). Robert Schlögl war bei der Preisverleihung verhindert. Foto: Stefanie Mahler / MPG
Miscellaneous  |  02/12/2014

Die Max-Planck-Gesellschaft kauft kompletten Bestand der Springer Book Archives

Wie kann sich die Wissenschaft gegen Datenspionage schützen? Photo: MPower / photocase.com
Miscellaneous  |  01/27/2014

"Hackerangriffe hat es schon mehrmals gegeben" – Der IT-Sicherheitsbeauftragte Rainer W. Gerling über die Folgen der NSA-Affäre und die Sicherheit in der Wissenschaft

Wie kann sich die Wissenschaft gegen Datenspionage schützen? Photo: MPower / photocase.com
Photo: MPower / photocase.com