The theme of the relationship between regulation and innovation finds every day new illustrations. The example of the drone is particularly noteworthy.

Indeed, the drone is a technical object that moves in the air without being driven in an immediate way by the hand of man.

The legal mechanism of qualification brought the drone in the category of "aircraft" and submit it to the regulatory power of the civil aviation regulator.

The regulation of civil aviation is primarily a safety regulation, not a regulation of the sector's economic deployment.

This is why regulators have taken restrictive positions on drones used for commercial purposes, to the extent that the presence of human beings, most the pilots, are the condition for the safety of people. The fact that the drones fly with "no one" led to consider as a danger a prior, which led regulators to take restrictive measures on flying drones for commercial purposes, restricton consistent with the regulator's intervention criteria, without taking into account external rules, such as the protection of privacy.

But whatever the sector, regulators see themselves increasingly as economic regulators. If we adopt this perspective, a restrictive approach appears to be nonsense.

In the interests of balance in both approaches, the safety of people and the economic development through innovation, the US civil aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration is developing new rules.

February 11, 2015, Federal Aviation Administration raised the need for a legal framework for commercial drones. The reason for this is economic. As it writes: "It is anticipated that this activity will result in significant economic benefits".  Indeed, Article 333 of the 2012 ACT of modernization and reform  imposes registration procedure for every commercial unmanned flying object in the sky!footnote-28. But this hinders business development, and therefore the incentive to technical innovation drone.

It was necessary to find a balance between security of persons and lifting of barriers to economic development. This is why the FAA will distinguish between "small" and other drones. The former are particularly useful in agriculture. To the extent that the former do not constitute danger to persons, an exemption from this procedure (Article 333 exemption) may be given concerning them.

One can analyze this evolution of air Regulation in two ways. First, it is for air regulator to take into account fundamental innovation of flying machines with "no one": innovation will be the base of a huge market for which strict regulatory rules could have been the troublemaker. The consideration of the safety of people remains since only drones "small" are allowed. In addition, they will have to remain at low level and away from airports and housing.

Second, the Regulator reacts by pragmatism. The ban on commercial flight drones hasn't prevented investment in this area. So far, the regulator had instead chosen not to react to the open violations of the standards, from the moment that the safety of the people wasn't in danger. The idea of the new conception is to promote this new market by putting the rules protecting the physical safety of people.

France Stratégie is the French public body that advises the French Government on economic and social policies.

In January 2015, one of its researchers, Medhi Nemri, published an analytical note: "Demain, l'Internet des objets (Tomorrow, the Internet of Things)".

The release sees the Internet as a "essential facility" whose development capabilities will allow interaction between objects: the "Internet of Things". This world of "connected devices" would be a "tipping".

Indeed, the objects are connected in the industrial system (smart manufacturing) and the municipal utilities are beginning to organize themselves in the same way. The note stresses the importance of fostering an open platform for all public services. Private space is organized in the same way, for example health, but individuals often see these connected objects as gadgets. Yet by the technology platforms, interconnection allows a general improvement of services. The more traditional companies may depend on Internet companies developing these platforms.

The issue of power of this economy are standardization and standard naming of objects. In this ecosystem, data are the creation of economic value.

The author of the paper proposes the idea of a "right to experiment" way to foster innovation. This would in mobility, health management, insurance. The note doesn't specify the consequences of such a "right to experiment": Does this mean a decline in sectoral regulations?

In any case, the note stresses the need to reaffirm the rights of persons and to protect privacy.

Translated Summaries

In The Journal of Regulation the summaries’ translation are done by the Editors and not by the authors

ENGLISH

On July 28, 2011, the European Court of Justice rejected an appeal by an Italian digital terrestrial broadcaster against a ruling of the European General Court, which had also rejected an appeal against the European Commission’s condemnation of Italy for having subsidized the purchase or rental by consumers of equipment for the reception of digital terrestrial television broadcast signals, since this was an indirect provision of state aid to the broadcasters.

 

FRENCH

Le 28 juillet 2011, la Cour de Justice de l’Union Européenne a rejeté un appel interjeté par un radiodiffuseur italienne numérique terrestre contre une décision de la Cour européenne de première instance, qui avait également rejeté un recours contre la condamnation prononcée par la Commission européenne de l’Italie pour avoir subventionné l’achat ou la location par le consommateurs d’équipements pour la réception de télévision numérique terrestre des signaux de télédiffusion, puisque ce fut une prestation indirecte, constitutive d’aides d’Etat au bénéfice des radiodiffuseurs.

 

SPANISH

El 28 de julio de 2011, el Tribunal Europeo de Justicia rechazó una apelación de un emisor italiano digital terrestre contra una resolución del Parlamento Europeo y del Tribunal General, que había rechazado también un recurso de apelación contra la condena de la Comisión Europea de Italia por haber subvencionado la compra o el alquiler de los consumidores de los equipos para la recepción de señales digitales terrestres de televisión, ya que esta era una disposición indirecta de las ayudas estatales a las emisoras.

DEUTSCH

Am 28. Juli 2011 hat der Gerichtshof der Europäischen Union eine Beschwerde von einem italienischen digitalen terrestrischen Sender zurückgewiesen gegen eine Entscheidung des Europäischen Gerichts Erster Instanz, die auch abgelehnt hatte Einspruch gegen der Überzeugung, in der Europäischen Kommission Italien nach dem Kauf oder Leasing von der Consumer-Geräten zum digitalen terrestrischen Fernsehsignale empfangen subventioniert haben, da es ein indirekter Nutzen war, um eine staatliche Beihilfe für Broadcaster.

ITALIAN

Il 28 luglio 2011, la Corte di Giustizia Europea ha respinto un appello di emittente italiana di digitale terrestre promosso contro una decisione della Corte generale europea. Anche tale Corte aveva respinto l’appello promosso contro la decisione della condanna dello Stato italiano per aver sovvenzionato l’acquisto o l’affitto da parte dei consumatori di un decoder, in quanto costituirebbe un aiuto statale indiretto alle emittenti.

 .................

Other translations forthcoming.

Translated summaries

 

ENGLISH

France and Italy had subsidized rail alpine highway, but the project was behind schedule. Thus, an prolongation of governments support was necessary. The European Commission admittedit in its decision of 11 June 2012, because States are committed the concession will be effective on June 30, 2013 and mostly because this mode of transport will be an alternative to transporting goods.

 

FRENCH

La France et l’Italie avaient subventionné l’autoroute ferroviaire alpine, mais le projet a pris du retard. Ainsi, une prolongation du soutien des gouvernements était nécessaire. La Commission européenne l'a admis dans sa décision du 11 Juin 2012, parce que les États se sont engagés et que la concession sera effective le 30 juin, 2013, surtout parce que ce mode de transport sera une alternative au transport routiers par camions des marchandises.

The optic fiber is a very difficult issue for regulators: they want its deployment, for the good of consumers, but they are not willing to pay much more for this and the operators are not prepared to invest without profitability. Incentives are insufficient and uncertainties, major flaw of the regulation, are very large. This is why the European Commissioner in charge of digital, Mrs. Neelie Kroes, announced that on the one hand that the system would now stable for regulation of the optic fiber and that on the other hand there is no more tendency of the regulator to lower the price of access to cost method which discourage operators to invest.

In the field of the competition law, due to the lack of ex-ante regulation device, the European Commission sued Microsoft for abuse of dominant position, in that the company refused to disclose to its competitors certain information on interoperability and to allow the use for the development of competing products. The decision of sanction of the Commission of 24 March 2004 had established the abuse of dominant position by such behaviour and had chosen as a sanction the appointment of an independent trustee that can access the source code and ensure access to competitors. The Commission, by decision of 12 July 2006, accompanied the operative part of the decision by a penalty payment. The Court of first instance of the European Union, seized by Microsoft for annulment, confirms the operative part of the decision, especially in view of the innovation criterion, but decreases the amount of the penalty payment.

In the United States, a trial opposes Oracle, applicant, Google, defendant. Indeed, Google has developed its computer system Android from elements of Java. Oracle holds a series of patents on Java and considers that, in doing so; Google infringed it's right to intellectual property. The financial stake of the trial is considerable. The issue of principle also, since it is a question of whether mathematical algorithm of departure was patentable, or at the very least protected by copyright law. Third rank of attack, as presented to the jury, Oracle argued that, even if one were to consider that it was not "owner", Google infringed the general rule of "fair use", leading to the beginning of the general field of the responsibility. In the first instance, the judgment of 9 June 2012 dismissed all, believing that technique debated was not quite original but a technique allowing two computer languages pre-existing dialogue, which is not copyrightable, and that a third party may use. This case is exemplary of the innovation place, as the case law to be inserted into the markets and industries. Oracle will appeal.

On 7 June 2012, in Copenhague, at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) analysed the impact of the new regulatory regime on banks, credit and systemic risk and the new challenges facing Europe. He took act that Zero growth is expected, european unemployemt is at 10%, many firms have difficulties to finance new projects and spending for innovation is down. I said that European leaders need to do more, even if they have already done much. They are obtaining a new fiscal compact, which requires very strict rules on government deficits and agreed on a close coordination of our national economic policies, notably though the "European semester" including a collective right to review the annual budget of each Member State before it is finalised. But to restore the citizens’ trust, Regulation must be developped.

In 2009, a European Observatory of counterfeiting and piracy was established. In May 2012, the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights took its place, by the effect of a European Union regulation on 19 April 2012. This Observatory has the purpose to improve the understanding of the value of the rights of intellectual property, to measure their effectiveness and to promote the approximation of the laws of the Member States in this area. To do this, it organises meetings between administrations and the private sector and collects information about the laws and applicable case-law. States have to inform him.

The European Directive of 6 July 1998 on the legal protection of biotechnology inventions excludes the human embryo of the mechanism of the patent. A patent is filed in Germany on purified brain stem cells. German Federal Patent Court cancels the patent, because it would be on the human being. The one who filed the patent appeals, arguing that a text that refuses the patentability of the embryo is not about stem cells. Asked for a preliminary ruling by the National Court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivers, in a Grand Chamber a judgment on October, 18 2011, asking that the Directive by designating the human embryo has designated the mechanisms of cell division. This extensive conception leaves a possible place for the stem cells. They can therefore be also excluded from patentability.

Innovation and regulation serving the digital revolution

ENGLISH

In the most developed nations, as in emerging countries, the economy and society are currently being entirely transformed by an industrial revolution originating in information and communication technologies.

Anti-competitive Behaviour Audacity - Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes (ARCEP - French Electronic Communications and Posts Regulator) - Communication - Competition - Confidence - Cooperation - Darwin - Digital revolution - Discrimination - European Commission - Ex ante / Ex post - Fiber optic - Future - impredictibility - Information - Infostructure - Infrastructure - Innovation - Internet - Lamarck - Napoleon - Network - Overregulation - Risk - Uncertainty - Underregulation *

* In The Journal of Regulation, these keywords are done by the Editor and not by the Author.

ITALIAN

Articolo: Innovazione e regolazione al servizio della rivoluzione digitale

Nelle nazioni le più sviluppate, nonché negli stati in via di sviluppo, l’economia e la società sono completamente trasformati da un rivoluzione industriale che trova le sue origini nelle teconologie d’informazione e di comunicazione.

Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes (ARCEP – Autorità francese di regolazione dei servizi postali e di telecomunicazione) – Commissione Europea - Comportamento anticoncorrenziale – Comunicazione – Concorrenza – Cooperazione – Darwin – Deregolamentazione - Discriminazione - Ex ante / Ex post – Fibra ottica – Imprevisibilità – Incertezza - Inflazione normativa - Informazione – Infostruttura – Infrastruttura – Innovazione – Internet – Lamarck – Napoleone – Rete – Rischio - Rivoluzione digitale *

* In The Journal of Regulation, le parole chiave sono responsabilità dell’Editore e non dall’Autore.

 
PORTUGUESE

Artigo: Inovação e Renovação a serviço da Revolução digital.

Nos países mais desenvolvidos, bem como nos em desenvolvimento, a economia e a sociedade vem sendo, atualmente, completamente transformados por uma revolução industrial baseada em tecnologias da informação e da comunicação.

Comportamento anti-concurrencial – Autoridade de regulação das comunicações eletrônicas e dos correios (ARCEP – Regulador francês de Comunicações e dos Correios) – Comunicação – Concorrência – Confiança – Cooperação – Darwin - Revolução digital – Discriminação – Comissão Europeia – Ex ante / Ex post – Fibra ótica – Futuro – Imprevisibilidade - Informação – Info-estrutura – Infra-estrutura – Inovação – Internet – Lamarck – Napoleão – Rede – Sobre-regulação – Risco – Incerteza – Sub-regulação.*

 * No Journal of Regulation, as palavras-chave são fornecidas pelo Diretor, e não pelo Autor.

SPANISH

Artículo: Innovación y regulación sirviendo la revolución digital

En las naciones más desarrolladas, tal como en los países emergentes, la economía y la sociedad están actualmente siendo transformadas por una revolución industrial provenientes de las tecnologías informáticas y de telecomunicaciones.

 

 

Other translations forthcoming.