This open access book is the outcome of a Global Forum on Innovation, Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines held in December 2019 at the Max Plank Instititute in Munich, organised by the South Centre and the Max Plank Institute. The academics and experts from international organisations participating have contributed chapters to this book. The book is for policy makers (in Ministries of Health, Ministries of Trade, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, patent offices), but also relevant for academics (law, trade, public health), on the flexibilities available in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization to promote access to medicines.

The concept of creativity, together with concerns over access to creativity and knowledge, are currently the subject of international debate and unprecedented public attention, particularly in the context of international developments in intellectual property laws. Not only are there significant developments at the legal level, with increasing moves towards stronger and harmonized protection for intellectual property, but also there is intense public interest in the concepts of creativity, authorship, personality, and knowledge. In Creating Selves, Johanna Gibson addresses strategic responses to intellectual property, and suggests alternative models for encouraging, rewarding, and disseminating creative and innovative output, which are built upon a critical analysis of and approach to the debate and to the concept of creativity itself. Drawing upon critical theories in authorship, literature, music, the sciences and the arts, Gibson suggests a radical re-consideration of the notion of creativity in the intellectual property debate and the means by which to encourage and sustain creativity in contemporary society.

This volume advances the claim that the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) adopted in 2001 is the only existing international agreement with the potential to promote food security, conservation of biodiversity and equity. However, for germplasm-rich countries, national interests come into conflict with the global interest. This work shows that the pursuit of national interests is counterproductive when it comes to maintaining genetic resources, food-security and rent-seeking and that optimally, the coverage of the FAO Treaty should be widened to apply to all crops.

Protection of traditional knowledge and resources is of critical concern not only to the groups involved but also to the international trading community for which these resources are of increasing economic importance. This work examines the concept of 'community', intellectual property models and additional sources for protection at international law (including environmental and human rights frameworks). Intellectual property law is critiqued as an inadequate framework to address the fundamental object of protection for the communities themselves - the management of traditional use, as well as the biological and cultural sustainability of this use. The work sets out an international framework based on the concept of 'community resources', recognizing the unique claims embodied in traditional knowledge, incorporating customary law, and facilitating community management of resources. International in perspective and scope, the book will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers in law, international relations and cultural studies.

Mass digitization of texts, images, and other creative works promises to unprecedentedly enhance access to culture and knowledge. With the electronic 'library of Alexandria' having started to materialize, a number of legal and policy issues have emerged. The book develops an extended conceptual account of the ways in which mass digital projects challenge the established copyright norms through the wholesale copying of works, their storage in cloud environments, and their automated processing for purposes of data analytics and text mining. As individual licensing is not compatible with the mass scale of these activities, alternative approaches have gained momentum as effect of judicial interpretation, legislative initiative and private-ordering solutions. This book queries the normative and policy implications of this newly emerging framework in copyright law. Adopting a cross-jurisdictional perspective, it concludes that lack of clarity as to the scope of authorial consent does not only bear the risk of legal uncertainty, but can also lead to the creation of new and not readily transparent monopolies on information and knowledge. In this respect, a new regulatory framework is outlined drawing from the insights developed in areas of law where the concept of consent in the use of data has been thoroughly elaborated. Illustrating how mass digitization unveils a number of unsettled theoretical issues within copyright, the book builds a sophisticated case that digital repositories in the mass digital age should be and remain fully-fledged public goods to the benefit of future generations.

The second edition of this acclaimed and widely-used book has been thoroughly updated in light of, among others, the revised Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal, which entered into force in January 2020. It provides the first detailed understanding of these new rules and their influence on opposition and appeal proceedings. This second edition gives valuable guidance on how to: draft and prosecute patent applications to avoid problems later on in opposition and appeal properly attack or defend a patent react if the patent is amended argue in case of late filings act in oral proceedings. Dealing with all stages of proceedings before the EPO, this book provides fresh insight into how best to act at each stage to successfully complete a case in opposition and appeal, detailing how opposition divisions and boards of appeal approach the cases before them. Experienced practitioners will find that the detailed case law citation adds depth to their knowledge. The 'practical advice' sections and 'example cases' provide patent lawyers and attorneys with invaluable guidance on specific procedural and substantive questions.

This book considers the effectiveness of well-known trade mark protection at an international level. It particularly considers EU trade mark law from Japanese perspectives, and provides a practical and critical overview of trade mark law in Japan, including the historical development of the law and the recent development on cases and policy. The book includes detailed coverage of the Japanese Unfair Competition Prevention Act, and contains the first systematic analysis of Japanese jurisprudence and legislative amendments of law in relation to well-known trade marks and unfair competition. The book goes on to comparatively analyse Japanese trade mark law alongside that of the European Community Trade Mark system. The book critically considers the difficulties in comprehensively defining a 'well-known trade mark' in the relevant international trade mark instruments. In breaking down the traditional definition of the 'well-known trade mark', the book works to address existing theoretical ambiguities in the application of trade mark law.

Ten years after the Human Genome Project's completion the life sciences stand in a moment of uncertainty, transition, and contestation. The postgenomic era has seen rapid shifts in research methodology, funding, scientific labor, and disciplinary structures. Postgenomics is transforming our understanding of disease and health, our environment, and the categories of race, class, and gender. At the same time, the gene retains its centrality and power in biological and popular discourse. The contributors to Postgenomics analyze these ruptures and continuities and place them in historical, social, and political context. Postgenomics, they argue, forces a rethinking of the genome itself, and opens new territory for conversations between the social sciences, humanities, and life sciences. Contributors. Russ Altman, Rachel A. Ankeny, Catherine Bliss, John Dupre, Michael Fortun, Evelyn Fox Keller, Sabina Leonelli, Adrian Mackenzie, Margot Moinester, Aaron Panofsky, Sarah S. Richardson, Sara Shostak, Hallam Stevens

Mark Abell's book argues that the European franchising market fails to reach its potential as it remains unregulated. He supports this by analysing the historical legal and economic basics and risk/attraction profiles of franchising to franchisors and franchisee, compares the European situation to the highly developed regulatory regimes in the USA and Australia, and moves through to proposing and drafting a new EU directive to bring greater certainty and stability to cross border franchising in the EU. Comprehensively researched and very detailed, this book is a worthy contribution to the literature on the subject.' - Graham Cunningham, Barrister, HardwickeKey features of this detailed and insightful work include: - Practical analysis from a leading authority in the field of franchising. - Examination of the impact of both franchise specific and general commercial law upon use of franchising in the EU. - Comparative legal analysis of the law of England, Germany, France, the US and Australia. - Carefully constructed proposals for a franchise directive in the EU based on the vast experience of the author. - A draft text for the proposed directive. The Law and Regulation of Franchising in the EU provides an in-depth analysis of the regulatory environment for franchising in the EU. Franchising in the EU comprises nearly 10,000 franchised brands and over 215 billion (US$300 billion) turnover per annum. However, compared to its scale in the US and Australia, franchising is not realising its full potential in the EU and the author points to the lack of homogeneity across members states as a large part of the problem. The book concludes by arguing for the adoption of a draft directive, and proposes a draft directive, which promotes market confidence in franchising, provides pre-contractual hygiene and imposes a mandatory taxonomy of rights and obligations. This highly topical and comprehensive work will appeal to franchise lawyers and franchise academics as this is the first book that analyses the impact of EU and member state law upon the use of franchising in the EU. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Deconstructing the Contextualisation, Architecture, Rationale and Risks of Franchising 3. Does the Contractual and Regulatory Environment Support and Promote Franchising? 4. identifying a Catalyst to Re-engineer the Regulatory Environment 5. Re-engineering the Regulatory Environment for Franchising in the EU 6. Conclusion Appendix 1: Proposed Draft Franchise Directive Appendix 2: Analysis of Franchise Agreements Appendix 3: Statutes of the 21 Countries Outside of the EU that have Franchise Specific Laws Appendix 4: European Franchise Associations and Membership Table of Statutes Table of Cases Bibliography Index

Contemporary patent law continues to struggle with the most basic questions of patent system design. There is fierce debate over the power of the Patent Office, the role of the courts, incentives to guide the process and many other fundamental issues. Professor Miller brings together seminal articles which are acknowledged to be the proper foundations for these ongoing debates. This indispensable collection of papers is vital for patent policy makers and serves as an excellent reference source for anyone with an interest in the topic.

Economists advise that the law should seek efficiency. More recently, it has been suggested that common law systems are more conducive of economic growth than code-based civil law systems. This book argues that there is no theory to support such statements and provides evidence that rejects a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. Both common law and civil law systems are reviewed to debunk the relationship between the efficiency of the common law hypothesis and the alleged inferiority of codified law systems. Legal Origins and the Efficiency Dilemma has six aims: explaining the efficiency hypothesis of the common law since Posner's 1973 book; summarizing the legal origins theory in the context of economic growth; debunking their relationship; discussing the meaning of 'common law' and the problems with the efficiency hypothesis by comparing laws across English speaking jurisdictions; illustrating the shortcomings of the legal origins theory with a comparative law and economics analysis; and concluding there is no theory and evidence to support the economic superiority of common law systems. Based on previous pieces by the authors, this book expands their work by including new areas of analysis (such as trusts), detailing previous analysis (such as French law versus common law in the areas of contract, property and torts), and updating for recent developments in the academic discourse. This volume is of interest to academics and students who study microeconomics, comparative law and foundations of law, as well as legal policy analysts.

Despite increasing worldwide harmonization of intellectual property, driven by US patent reform and numerous EU Directives, the common law and civil law traditions still exert powerful and divergent influences on certain features of national IP systems. Drawing together the views and experiences of scholars and lawyers from the United States, Europe and Asia, this book examines how different characteristics embedded in national IP systems stem from differences in the fundamental legal principles of the two traditions. It questions whether these elements are destined to remain diverged, and tries to identify common ground that might facilitate a form of harmonization. Containing the most current and up-to-date IP issues from a global perspective, this book will be a valuable resource for IP and comparative law academics, law students, policy makers, as well as lawyers and in-house counsels. Contributors include: M. Adelman, T. Bodewig, G.E. Evans, M. Franzosi, S. Ghosh, S.J Jong, J. Krauss, M. LaFrance, A.L. Landers, S. Mehra, S.H. Naeve, F. Pollaud-Dulian, C. Rademacher, Y. Reboul, B. Sherman, J. Straus, M.T. Sundara Rajan, T. Takenaka, M. Trimble

Patenting Lives includes contributions from various interests and perspectives, both in the context of current international developments in life patents and the global agenda of harmonization of international intellectual property. The book is divided into five sections reflecting the critical issues arising from patents and biotechnology - Context; Human Rights and Ethical Frameworks; Medicine and Public Health; Traditional Knowledge; and Agriculture. The international contributors from government, civil society, academia and the private sector provide diverse perspectives on life patents and the facilitation of social, cultural and economic development in the context of international principles of trade.

This book draws on a wide selection of interdisciplinary literature discussing complex adaptive systems - including scholarship from economics, political science, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and religion - to apply general complexity tenets to the institutions, conceptual framework, and theoretical justifications of the copyright system, both in the United States and internationally. The author argues that copyrighted works are the products of complex creative systems and, consequently, designers of copyright regimes for the global 'information ecosystem' should look to complexity theory for guidance. Urging legal scholars to undertake empirical studies of real-world copyright systems, Tussey reveals how the selection of workable configurations for the copyright regime is larger than that encompassed by the traditional, entirely theoretical, debate between private property rights and the commons. Finally, this unique study articulates how copyright law must tolerate certain chaotic elements that may be essential to the sustainability of complex systems.

Considering the steady increase in intellectual property rights in the last century, does it make sense to speak of 'user's rights' and can limitations on intellectual liberty be justified from a rights-based perspective? This book philosophically defends the importance of the public domain and user's rights through the use of natural-rights thought. Utilizing primarily the work of John Locke, it contends that considerations of natural justice and human freedom impose powerful constraints on the proper reach and substance of intellectual property rights, especially copyright. It investigates both the internal and external natural-rights constraints on intellectual property, and argues in particular for the importance to human freedom of the right to intellectual liberty - the right to inform one's actions by learning about the world. It concludes that respect for fundamental freedom-based interests require a balanced approach to the scope, strength and duration of intellectual property rights.

Are intellectual property rights like other property rights? More and more of the world's knowledge and information is under the control of intellectual property owners. What are the justifications for this? What are the implications for power and for justice of allowing this property form to range across social life? Can we look to traditional property theory to supply the answers or do we need a new approach? Intellectual property rights relate to abstract objects - objects like algorithms and DNA sequences. The consequences of creating property rights in such objects are far reaching. A Philosophy of Intellectual Property argues that lying at the heart of intellectual property are duty-bearing privileges. We should adopt an instrumentalist approach to intellectual property and reject a proprietarian approach - an approach which emphasizes the connection between labour and property rights. The analysis draws on the history of intellectual property, legal materials, the work of Grotius, Pufendorf, Locke, Marx and Hegel, as well as economic, sociological and legal theory. The book is designed to be accessible to specialists in a number of fields as well as students. It will interest philosophers, political scientists, economists, legal scholars as well as those professionals concerned with policy issues raised by modern technologies and the information society.

This book critically reviews the recurrent debate on Intellectual Property law and policy in developing countries carried out in the last decade. It identifies the still unresolved policy issues and proposes alternative approaches that resonate with the needs for transformation of the economic and social reality of developing countries. Focusing on emerging economies in Asia, the work draws the wider lessons to be learnt by researchers, policy makers, legislators and the business sector in general and concludes by putting forward proposals for reform.

As information flows become increasingly ubiquitous in our post digital environment, the challenges to traditional concepts of intellectual property and the practices deriving from them are immense. The romantic understanding of the lone author as an endless source of new creations has to face these challenges. In order to do so, this work presents a collectivist model of intellectual property rights. The core argument is that since copyright works enjoy profit from significant public contribution, they should not be privately owned, but considered to be a joint enterprise, made real by both the public and author. It is argued that every copyright work depends on and is reflective of the author's exposure to externalities such as language, culture and the various social events and processes that occur in the public domain, therefore copyright works should not be regarded as exclusive private property. The study takes its organizing principle from John Locke, defining and proving the fatal flaw inherent in debates on copyright: on the one hand the copyright community is eager to arm authors with a robust property right over their creation, while on the other this community totally ignores the fact that the exposure of the individual to externalities is what makes him or her capable of creating material that is copyrightable. Just as Locke was against the absolute authority of kings, the expressed view of the study is against the exclusive right an author can claim.

Africa is playing an increasingly more significant role in the domain of international intellectual property law, and this book underlines the contributions made by African countries as a group to the development of the current international IP system. It examines in detail their breakthrough proposals and initiatives at the WTO, WIPO and WHO with regard to IP and public health; IP and traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources; IP and biodiversity; and exceptions and limitations to copyright. Using Botswana, Burundi, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia as examples, it examines the systems under which these IP subject matters are protected. From a regional perspective, the book also analyses some initiatives taken by ARIPO, OAPI and the African Union to protect traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, especially in relation to protection of the rights of local farming communities and breeders, regulation of access to biological resources, genetically modified organisms and the proposed establishment of the new Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization (PAIPO). Demonstrating how Africa is now an active player on the international IP scene, this book will be invaluable to those interested in intellectual property law, business and commercial law, and African and international law.

The Logic of Innovation examines not merely the supposed problem of the efficacy and relevance of intellectual property, and the nature of innovation and creativity in a digital environment, but also the very circumstances of that inquiry itself. Social life has itself become a sphere of production, but how might that be understood within the cultural and structural transformation of creativity, innovation and property? Through a highly original interlocutory and therapeutic approach to the issues in play, the author addresses the concepts of innovation and the digital by means of an investigation through literature and the imagination of new scenarios for language, business and legal reform. The book undertakes a complex inquiry into innovation and property through the wonder of Alice's journeys in Wonderland and through the Looking-glass. The author presents a new theory of familiar production to account for the kinship that has emerged in both informal and commercial modes of innovation, and foregrounds the value of use as crucial to the articulation of intellectual property within contemporary models of production and commercialization in the digital.

This three-volume set is an authoritative selection of some of the most important published papers in law and economics. It provides an extensive overview of recent work for law and economics scholars and an opportunity to explore developments in particular fields for those interested in more specialized study. Volume I presents current theories being applied in property law and intellectual property. Volume II addresses current issues in torts, criminal law, and remedies. Volume III explores a variety of approaches to contract and corporate law. These innovative papers offer ideas for the improvement of current legal policies and identify areas requiring additional study to further enhance our understanding of ways in which economics can inform the development of law.

As long as there have been fans, there has been fan fiction. There seems to be a fundamental human need to tell additional stories about the characters after the book, series, play or movie is over. But developments in information technology and copyright law have put these fan stories at risk of collision with the content owners' intellectual property rights. Fan fiction has long been a nearly invisible form of outsider art, but over the past decade it has grown exponentially in volume and in legal importance. Because of its nature, authorship, and underground status, fan fiction stands at an intersection of key issues regarding property, sexuality, and gender. In Fan Fiction and Copyright, author Aaron Schwabach examines various types of fan-created content and asks whether and to what extent they are protected from liability for copyright infringement. Professor Schwabach discusses examples of original and fan works from a wide range of media, genres, and cultures. From Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter, fictional characters, their authors, and their fans are sympathetically yet realistically assessed. Fan Fiction and Copyright looks closely at examples of three categories of disputes between authors and their fans: Disputes over the fans' use of copyrighted characters, disputes over online publication of fiction resembling copyright work, and in the case of J.K. Rowling and a fansite webmaster, a dispute over the compiling of a reference work detailing an author's fictional universe. Offering more thorough coverage of many such controversies than has ever been available elsewhere, and discussing fan works from the United States, Brazil, China, India, Russia, and elsewhere, Fan Fiction and Copyright advances the understanding of fan fiction as transformative use and points the way toward a safe harbor for fan fiction.

First published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Arising from recent developments at the international level, many developing countries, indigenous peoples and local communities are considering using geographical indications (GIs) to protect traditional knowledge, and to promote trade and overall economic development. Despite the considerable enthusiasm over GIs in diverse quarters, there is an appreciable lack of research on how far and in what context GIs can be used as a protection model for traditional knowledge-based resources. This book critically examines the potential uses of geographical indications as models for protecting traditional knowledge-based products and resources in national and international intellectual property legal frameworks. By analysing the reception towards GIs from developing countries and advocates of development in the various legal and non-legal regimes (including the World Trade Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, and the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Food and Agricultural Organization), the book evaluates the development potential of GIs in relation to ensuing changes in international intellectual property law in accommodating traditional knowledge. Teshager W. Dagne argues for a degree of balance in the approach to the implementation of global intellectual property rights in a manner that gives developing countries an opportunity to protect traditional knowledge-based products. The book will be of great interest and use to scholars and students of intellectual property law, public international law, traditional knowledge, and global governance.

This comprehensive Handbook brings together contributions from American, Canadian, European, and Japanese writers to better explore the interface between competition and intellectual property law. Issues range from the fundamental to the specific, each considered from the angle of cartels, dominant positions, and mergers. Topics covered include, among others, technology licensing, the doctrine of exhaustion, network industries, innovation, patents, and copyright. Appropriate space is devoted to the latest developments in European and American antitrust law, such as the 'more economic approach' and the question of anti-competitive abuses of intellectual property rights. Each original chapter reflects extensive comments by all other contributors, an approach which ensures a diversity of perspectives within a systematic framework. These cutting edge articles will be of great interest to law professors and postgraduate students of intellectual property and competition law, as well as those interested in innovation and competition theory, and legal practices in intellectual property and competition law.