Certification Marks Research Articles

Towards an European Certification of Computer Science University Curricula

The paper describes the certification mark promoted by the Italian Association of Computer Science University Professors (GRIN) for undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Computer Science. T...

Mark(et)ing Nondiscrimination: Privatizing ENDA with a Certification Mark

A little-known piece of intellectual property, the certification mark, provides a viable mechanism for employers to commit to the exact substantive duties of the proposed Non-discrimination Act, which if passed would prohibit disparate treatment on the basis of sexual orientation. By signing the licensing agreement, an employer gains the right (but not the obligation) to use the mark and in return promises to abide by the word-for-word strictures of ENDA. Other certification marks (such as the Good Housekeeping Seal, the UL (Underwriters Laboratory), and the Orthodox Union (Kosher) marks) require the owner of the mark to police licensees, but our proposed Fair Employment mark allows employees and applicants to enforce the ENDA duties directly as express third-party beneficiaries of the license. The Fair Employment mark thus replicates the core enforcement mechanism of ENDA by creating private causes of action in the same class of individuals. The mark provides a mechanism for producing precedent about a statute before the statute is ever enacted. The cases enforcing the mark's requirements would provide legislators with information about how the statute might be interpreted, as well as a lower bound on the litigation rates it might engender. The mark represents a new form of federalism. Instead of jurisdictional federalism, the mark facilitates corporate federalism - whereby individual corporations can experiment with taking on the duties of a proposed bill. Employers might sign the license (and thereby take on the risk of discrimination liability) to: 1) induce more sales - including state and local EEO officers who are charged to contract only with non-discriminating employers; 2) recruit employees - including gay-friendly as well as gay applicants; and 3) appease input suppliers - including accreditation organizations and unions that already press for non-binding nondiscrimination provisions. Some employers might sign the license because their employees already have private rights of actions under state law or local ordinances. This article includes original empiricism suggesting that the litigation cost to employers in states that have prohibited sexual orientation discrimination has been quite modest. Still others may sign simply because it is the right thing to do. Many, many employers have already included sexual orientation in their non-binding nondiscrimination policies. For such employers, signing the license may mean only that the employer will never defend a claim by denying that it promised not to discriminate.

The influence of aging on the noise attenuation of ear-muffs

Ear-muffs are commonly used as personal protectors against the effect of noise. The methods of calculation the A-weighted sound pressure level under the cups of ear-muffs are based on the results of laboratory measurements of noise attenuation, which are carried out in the certification process of the product on brand new samples. Hearing protectors are usually stored for certain periods of time. Next, workers use them in different ambient outdoor conditions as long as there are no signs of their physical damage. The question is. What is the influence of ambient outdoor conditions, usage and storage time of ear-muffs on their attenuation? To answer this question, a three-year study has been undertaken. Four types of ear-muffs, most popular in the Polish work environment, made in Europe, meeting the certification requirements and granted a certification mark, were used in this study. Sixty samples of ear-muffs were worn by workers at noisy workplaces, 40 samples were stored and another 40 were exposed to ambient outdoor conditions. The workers were asked to evaluate subjectively the noise attenuation of the ear-muffs. After one, two and three years time of usage and storage, the sound attenuation of ear-muffs was measured. After the two years the headband force and the cushion pressure of tested samples were measured. The results of sound attenuation measurements were used to calculate the attenuation against high- (H), medium- (M) and low- (L) frequency noise and single number rating (SNR) of the tested earmuffs. The results of the study showed that the attenuation of ear-muffs can be significantly reduced as a function of usage, storage, and exposure to ambient outdoor conditions. The observed decrease of the ear-muffs attenuation corresponded to decrease of the cushion contact area but did not correspond to the subjective workers' assessment.

Notas ao uso de marcas de certificação

It analyzes the argument of that certification mark is an instrument, that can be used by the State to induce the auto regulation of the economic activity.

Intellectual property protection of folklore

The possible protection of indigenous cultural expressions has reemerged as a topic in international debates in recent years. This article provides a legal perspective on the topic. Existing copyright and neighboring right laws do not apply to such cultural expressions per se, since they do not fulfill the relevant criteria of protection. However, indirect protection is granted to those who record indigenous expressions onto phonograms, films, and photographs, and for those who collect or perform indigenous cultural expressions. Protection concerning authenticity is possible by way of trademarks (in particular collective marks and certification marks) and geographical indications. Particular rules about unfair competition may protect against the disclosure of confidential information. Works based on traditional cultural expressions are regularly protected by copyright. Following early (unsuccessful) attempts for international protection of traditional cultural expressions per se, new ways are currently being developed including sui generis protection regimes which integrate customary laws and practices. Any successful solution will have to be based on better mutual interest and understanding between indigenous peoples and Western users.

Online Resources for Assessing the Quality and Safety of Dietary Supplements

Vol. 43, No. 4 July/August 2003 Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (www.japha.org) 543 ent labeling, and proper manufacturing practices. Products that pass will be awarded the program’s certification mark. Along with USP, other nonprofit groups, such as Consumer Labs (CL), the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA), and NSF International, have established certification programs. A recent review of these initiatives is available at www.supplementquality.com/ testing/Quality_ seals.html. CL (www.consumerlabs. com) provides independent testing of health, wellness, and nutrition products and publishes the results online. To bear the CL Seal of Approval, a product must pass a voluntary certification program. While manufacturers must pay a fee to become certified, test samples are purchased independently from retailers, and blinded tests are conducted at academic or commercial laboratories selected for their analytic expertise. Both NNFA (www.nnfa. org/services/science/gmp.htm) and NSF International (www. nsf.org/dietary) have established GMP guidelines and standards for quality control and assurance, cleanliness, checking the identity and potency of ingredients, and testing of final products for potency, purity, and bioavailability. NNFA’s TrueLabel program is a dietary supplement label registration program required for all NNFA supplier members. Products must be registered in order to be displayed at the annual NNFA Marketplace trade show. Products are subject to random testing by independent laboratories, and companies whose products fail to comply with the association’s standards are excluded from membership. NNFA plans to publish lists of products that fail in its newsletters. Although NNFA’s GMP Certification Program is open only to NNFA members, any company can apply to have their products certified by NSF International. Both groups have similar standards, developed in collaboration with several other industry trade organizations. Lists of certified manufacturers, distributors, and products are available online at the organizations’ respective Web sites. The adoption and implementation of all these initiatives and programs would help ensure documented safety and efficacy, uniform testing standards, GMPs, and professional oversight for dietary supplements and herbal resources.

The CFP™ Certification Examination process: a discussion of the modified Angoff scoring method

The CFP™ Certification Examination1CFP™, Certified Financial Planner™, and ▪ are certification marks owned by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. These marks are awarded to individuals who successfully complete the CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.1, unlike many other professional examinations, is scored using a system that reports scores on a pass–fail basis but does not provide specific numerical scores. This grading system, known as the modified Angoff process, establishes a passing score for each examination and then incorporates adjusting factors to reconcile actual and expected testing results. The CFP Board also factors in an additional scoring adjusting to equate test scores for consistency over time. The purpose of this paper is to explain the methodology of the modified Angoff process and, in particular, how it relates to the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Certification Examination.

Consumer (Mis)Perceptions and usage of Third Party Certification Marks, 1972 and 1980: Did Public Policy have an Impact?

This article reviews the provision of information on third party certification marks to consumers, focusing on the potential for misperceptions. Two consumer studies are employed to examine the changes in consumers’ perceptions and usage of one certification mark in 1972 and 1980. The relationships between misperception of the marks and usage were positive in both years. In spite of public policy, which impacted the information content of certification marks, significant consumer misperceptions of the certification mark examined still exist.

Trade marks, the consumer, and the public interest

In order to create a Common Market for branded products the European Commission is presently promoting a regulation for a Community Trade Mark backed by a directive to approximate Member States' trade mark laws. A consumer working group studying these two initiatives found a common interest with the Commission not only in freeing the flow of competing goods but also in specific proposals which to some extent acknowledge a consumer interest. However, the consumer interest in market transparency is not a major theme in either proposal nor do the drafters adopt the consumer oriented certification mark system. Above all there is no promise of effective, continuing consumer representation in the operation of the laws and this threatens to perpetuate the distortion of the public interest towards that of proprietors that has been allowed to develop, particularly since registration systems were introduced about a century ago.

Consumer (Mis)Perceptions and Usage of Third Party Certification Marks, 1972 and 1980: Did Public Policy Have an Impact?

Consumer (Mis)Perceptions and Usage of Third Party Certification Marks, 1972 and 1980: Did Public Policy Have an Impact?

Certification Marks—Success or Failure?

The function of a certification mark is to provide impartial third-party endorsement to aid buyers in overcoming some of the problems of product selection. However, little is known about the precise purposes for which such marks are used. Furthermore, the administrative framework designed to achieve the specific objectives and the broader objective of improving the buying function requires evaluation to ascertain the probable success of certification marks. To examine these questions, the owners of eighty certification marks provided information regarding the specific objectives sought by using the mark and details regarding the administrative framework used. The more interesting results are summarized here.

Certification Marks: Success or Failure?

Certification Marks: Success or Failure?

Wool Industries Research Association : Mr. B. H. Wilsdon

THE resignation of Mr. B. H. Wilsdon offers the opportunity to place on record some of the work accomplshed during his fourteen years directorship of the Wool Industries Research Association. His experience before going to Torridon included research at oxford, varied activities as professor of chemistry at Lahore, and five years as superintendent of laboratories at the Building Research Station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. He found the vitality at Torridon at a low ebb; but under his stewardship the output of research increased steadily in volume and quality, and the chief successes of the teams he gathered together and encouraged are impressive. Torridon became the birthplace of partition chromatography. Described by Sir Robert Robinson as the greatest advance in protein chemistry since the work of Fischer, it spread rapidly to many important laboratories faced with complex mixtures of organic and inorganic substances. By its aid and by ojher methods, significant contributions were made to our knowledge of the chemical constitution of wool. In the more technical field, the dry chlorination process for producing non-felting wool was ready at the outbreak of war in 1939, together with the 'Warnorm' certification mark, to help ensure the unshrinkability of the socks and underwear supplied to the Forces. Another war-time activity, carried forward with great energy, was the impregnation of fabrics with active charcoal, originally as an anti-gas measure, but later used extensively to absorb bad odour from anaerobically dressed wounds. Noteworthy advances were also made in the application of physics: a clearer insight into the physical factors underlying the comfort of wool clothing was gained, and studies on machinery and operational research pointed the way to postwar economies in woollen carding and worsted drawing. In addition, statistics was brought to bear on testing methods and on wool metrology. All this work was widely appreciated in Australia and in the United States, but less so in Great Britain. This is a common occurrence in the life of a growing institution ; even the active workers do not appreciate the full value of their collective efforts. Later recorders will, it can be safely assumed, point to Mr. Wilsdon's directorship as a very bright period in the scientific history of Torridon.

Certification Marks under the Lanham Act

Certification Marks under the Lanham Act

Certification Marks under the Lanham Act

Certification Marks under the Lanham Act