The regulation and flow of information continues to have a critical impact upon how people live their lives and the way society functions. In recent times, disinformation and privacy violation have become the 'information pollution' of the 21st century. This book explores ways and means of protecting the 'information environment' by drawing upon four theories of contemporary environmentalism: welfare economics, the commons, ecology, and public choice theory. Welfare economics highlights the need to focus on costs (as well as benefits) when evaluating regulatory structures. The commons encourages queries about the validity of propertisation. Ecology speaks to the importance of diversity and resilience. And public choice theory hazards against the regulatory effect of concentrated interests. The lessons from each inspire the proposed information environmental governance framework. By neatly capturing the metaphorical relationship between the physical environment and the information environment, Robert Cunningham explores progressive regulatory pathways for the digital age. This book will be a thought-provoking read for scholars and students with an interest in intellectual property or the regulation of information.

In the past, economists have not always been able to agree on the idea that copyright is an efficient way of protecting cultural intellectual property. Indeed, many economists argue that copyright is not even necessary. In Copyright and Economic Theory a rigorously extensive yet simplified economic theory of copyright piracy is presented, and used to analyse important aspects of intellectual property transactions including the royalty contract, optimal copyright law, and copyright collectives. The author also analyses important areas of discussion in copyright, such as how can it be that a certain degree of piracy is beneficial, not only socially, but also for copyright holders and producers of originals? Are linear royalty contracts optimal? How many copyright collectives should a given economy have? Would a copyright collective prefer to act as a leader or a follower in a Stackelberg duopoly? The book analyses and contrasts existing theories concerning the economic theory of copyright, and presents a simple economic model in which copyright can be effectively studied, considering all principal areas of interest in copyright. This book will be fascinating reading for academics in economics, law and industrial organisation as well as for legal professionals including lawyers, copyright collectives and relevant governmental organisations.

This book looks at questions and answers pertaining to the organization, usage, and ownership of information in the Internet age-and the impact of shifting attitudes towards information ownership on creative endeavors. In the competing traditions of Marshall McLuhan and Langdon Winner, authors Aaron Barlow and Robert Leston take readers on a revealing tour of the Internet after the explosion of the blogosphere and social media. In the world Beyond the Blogosphere, information has surpassed its limits, the distinction between public and private selves has collapsed, information is more untrustworthy than it ever was before, and technology has exhibited a growth and a desire that may soon exceed human control. As Langdon Winner pointed out long ago, "tools have politics." In an eye-opening journey that navigates the nuances of the cultural impact the internet is having on daily life, Barlow and Leston examine the culture of participation in order to urge others to reconsider the view that the Internet is merely a platform or a set of tools that humans use to suit their own desires. Provocative and engaging, Beyond the Blogosphere stands as a challenge on how to rethink the Internet so that it doesn't out-think us.

This book results from a conference held in Singapore in September 2009 that brought together distinguished lawyers and economists to examine the differences and similarities in the intersection between intellectual property and competition laws in Asia. The prime focus was how best to balance these laws to improve economic welfare. Countries in Asia have different levels of development and experience with intellectual property and competition laws. Japan has the longest experience and now vigorously enforces both competition and intellectual property laws. Most other countries in Asia have only recently introduced intellectual property laws (due to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement) and competition laws (sometimes due to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund or free trade agreements). It would be naive to think that laws, even if similar on the surface, have the same goals or can be enforced similarly. Countries have differing degrees of acceptance of these laws, different economic circumstances and differing legal and political institutions. To set the scene, Judge Doug Ginsburg, Greg Sidak, David Teece and Bill Kovacic look at the intersection of intellectual property and competition laws in the United States. Next are country chapters on Asia, each jointly authored by a lawyer and an economist. The country chapters outline the institutional background to the intersection in each country, discuss the policy underpinnings (theoretically as well as describing actual policy initiatives), analyse the case law in the area, and make policy prescriptions.

The success of computer programs often depends on their ability to interoperate A- or communicate A- with other systems. In proprietary software development, however, the need to protect access to source code, including the interface information necessary for interoperability, is of vital importance. This apparent conflict gives rise to a complex interaction between copyright law and competition law, as the strong need for interoperability in computer programs affects both innovation and competition. This important book offers the first in-depth analysis of the current respective copyright and competition law approaches to interoperability. With respect to copyright law, the book offers an in-depth analysis of how copyright law has been applied to computer programs, how this form of protection affects interoperability, and how the European Software Directive A- including its interpretation by courts in Member States A- aims to facilitate interoperability. With respect to competition law, the author critically analyzes the application of Article 102 of the TFEU to refusals to supply interface information, including a discussion on the tension between copyright and competition law. The author also examines the substantial body of U.S. case law and accompanying literature on the interplay between copyright law, software and interoperability. Based further on a comparison with relevant ex-ante interconnection rules in European design protection law and telecommunications law, the author advances several recommendations aimed at facilitating interoperability in software copyright law. Three interrelated approaches combine to convey an integrated and immediately accessible understanding of the subject: A { how interoperability affects the balance between innovation and free competition in software; A { which of two regimes A- copyright law or competition law A- should primarily be concerned with striking this balance as affected by interoperability; and A { which particular instruments are suitable to approach this problem within these respective regimes. Because of the in-depth analysis of the software interoperability problem with related legal disciplines in both Europe and the United States, and due to the clarity of the presentation, this will be welcomed as a valuable resource by practitioners, jurists, and academics concerned with copyright protection of computer software, interoperability and the interaction between copyright and competition law.

One of the major shortcomings of the current drug discovery and development process is the inability to bridge the gap between early stage discoveries and pre-clinical research to advance innovations beyond the discovery phase. This book examines a novel drug discovery and development model where the respective expertise of academia and industry are brought together to take promising discoveries through to proof of concept as a way to de-risk the drug discovery and development process. Expert author Helen Yu explores integrated drug discovery by analyzing the intersection of intellectual property law and competition law and discusses the role of stakeholders in efficient translation and commercialization of publically funded research. Considering the transactional risks associated with drug discovery and development, this book advocates for a greater emphasis on contractual freedom and economic efficiency when assessing collaborative partnerships between industry and public research organizations. This standout book bridges the gap between theoretical research and legal practice by providing a research-based applied perspective on university-industry collaborations in drug discovery and development. Achieving Proof of Concept in Drug Discovery and Development has an international appeal, especially in countries actively involved in drug discovery and development, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, India and China. Organizations and associations in the drug discovery and development field would likely be interested in reading a book that provides a research-based applied perspective as well.

In recent years, Intellectual Property Rights - both in the form of patents and copyrights - have expanded in their coverage, the breadth and depth of protection, and the tightness of their enforcement. Moreover, for the first time in history, the IPR regime has become increasingly uniform at international level by means of the TRIPS agreement, irrespectively of the degrees of development of the various countries. This volume, first, addresses from different angles the effects of IPR on the processes of innovation and innovation diffusion in general, and with respect to developing countries in particular. Contrary to a widespread view, there is very little evidence that the rates of innovation increase with the tightness of IPR even in developed countries. Conversely, in many circumstances, tight IPR represents an obstacle to imitation and innovation diffusion in developing countries. What can policies do then? This is the second major theme of the book which offers several detailed discussions of possible policy measures even within the current TRIPS regime - including the exploitation of the waivers to IPR enforcement that it contains, various forms of development of 'technological commons', and non-patent rewards to innovators, such as prizes. Some drawbacks of the regimes, however, are unavoidable: hence the advocacy in many contributions to the book of deep reforms of the system in both developed and developing countries, including the non-patentability of scientific discoveries, the reduction of the depth and breadth of IPR patents, and the variability of the degrees of IPR protection according to the levels of a country's development.

What will European patent litigation look like in 10 years time? With the coming into force of seismic reforms, European Patent Litigation in the Shadow of the Unified Patent Court combines close analysis of the current regime with a novel use of qualitative survey data to assess the introduction of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the new European Patent with Unitary Effect. Not long ago only scant data were publicly available on the subject of patent litigation in EU member states. Using recently published data, Luke McDonagh paints a detailed picture of the patent litigation system in the key European jurisdictions of the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands. He then outlines the rationale for reform - the perceived need to provide a more efficient, cost effective, harmonious litigation system - as well as the structure of the key reformative innovations. Making use of evidence from within the business and legal communities, this book highlights the key issues concerning the new system and examines what the impact of the reforms is likely to be on Europe's patent litigation system in the near future. This illuminating book will be useful to scholars, including postgraduate students, practitioners and policy makers wishing to learn more about the future of patent litigation in Europe.

The threats of economic espionage and intellectual property (IP) theft are global, stealthy, insidious, and increasingly common. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, IP theft is estimated to top $250 billion annually and also costs the United States approximately 750,000 jobs. The International Chamber of Commerce puts the global fiscal loss at more than $600 billion a year.
Secrets Stolen, Fortunes Lost offers both a fascinating journey into the underside of the Information Age, geopolitics, and global economy, shedding new light on corporate hacking, industrial espionage, counterfeiting and piracy, organized crime and related problems, and a comprehensive guide to developing a world-class defense against these threats. You will learn what you need to know about this dynamic global phenomenon (how it happens, what it costs, how to build an effective program to mitigate risk and how corporate culture determines your success), as well as how to deliver the message to the boardroom and the workforce as a whole. This book serves as an invaluable reservoir of ideas and energy to draw on as you develop a winning security strategy to overcome this formidable challenge.
-It's Not "Someone Else's" Problem: Your Enterprise is at Risk
Identify the dangers associated with intellectual property theft and economic espionage
-The Threat Comes from Many Sources
Describes the types of attackers, threat vectors, and modes of attack
-The Threat is Real
Explore case studies of real-world incidents in stark relief
-How to Defend Your Enterprise
Identify all aspects of a comprehensive program to tackle such threats and risks
-How to Deliver the Message: Awareness andEducation
Adaptable content (awareness and education materials, policy language, briefing material, presentations, and assessment tools) that you can incorporate into your security program now

For several decades now David Nimmer has maintained a steady flow of insightful, witty, and deeply-informed commentary on copyright in the law journals. His well-earned reputation as a major authority and theorist on copyright law is unassailable. In this new volume, a companion to his very well received "Copyright: Sacred Text, Technology, and the DMCA", published by Kluwer in 2003, Nimmer once again tackles some of the thorniest issues that arise in the practice of copyright law, including the following and much more: the work for hire doctrine; repeat infringers; fair use determination; and substantial similarity of computer programs.Although the volume collects articles originally published between 1988 and 2006 (mostly in the past few years), Nimmer has scrupulously updated the texts and woven them together into a unified whole. What the book offers as a result is a microscopic scrutiny of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 and all its amendments, with an immeasurable abundance of interpretation grounded in the author's unmatched familiarity with the law and its application. This is a work that no lawyer handling copyright cases, or indeed no student or scholar of any branch of intellectual property law, will want to be without.

This book is an essential tool for understanding the range of IP investment strategies - and how companies unlock value and profit from it. It provides a valuable tutorial for businesspeople, entrepreneurs, analysts, and dealmakers seeking better to understand, with clear examples, the components of different IP categories and their value-creating applications.

The Study Group on a European Civil Code has taken upon itself the task of drafting common European principles for the most important aspects of the law of obligations and for certain parts of the law of property in movables which are especially relevant for the functioning of the common market. Like the Commission on European Contract Law's Principles of European Contract Law, the results of the research conducted by the Study Group on a European Civil Code seek to advance the process of Europeanisation of private law. Among other topics the series tackles sales and service contracts, distribution contracts and security rights, renting contracts and loan agreements, negotiorum gestio, delicts and unjustified enrichment law, transfer of property, and trust law. The principles furnish each of the national jurisdictions a grid reference. They can be agreed upon by the parties within the framework of the rules of private international law. They may provide a stimulus to both the national and European legislator for moulding private law. Beyond this, they aim to further discussion about the creation of a European Civil Code, or a Common Frame of Reference in the area of patrimonial law, by submitting a concrete model. The Principles of European Law are published in co-operation with Bruylant (Belgium), Sellier. European Law Publishers (Germany) and Staempfli Publishers Ltd. (Switzerland).

For indigenous cultures, property is an alien concept. Yet the market-driven industries of the developed world do not hesitate to exploit indigenous raw materials, from melodies to plants, using intellectual property law to justify their behaviour. Existing intellectual property law, for the most part, allows industries to use indigenous knowledge and resources without asking for consent and without sharing the benefits of such exploitation with the indigenous people themselves. It should surprise nobody that indigenous people object. Recognizing that the commercial exploitation of indigenous knowledge and resources takes place in the midst of a genuine and significant clash of cultures, the eight contributors to this important book explore ways in which intellectual property law can expand to accommodate the interests of indigenous people to their traditional knowledge, genetic resources, indigenous names and designations, and folklore.In so doing they touch upon such fundamental issues and concepts as the following: collective rights to the living heritage; relevant human rights norms; benefit-sharing in biological resources; farmers rights; the practical needs of documentation, assistance, and advice; the role of customary law; bioprospecting and biopiracy; and public domain. As a starting point toward mutual understanding and a common basis for communication between Western-style industries and indigenous communities, "Indigenous Heritage and Intellectual Property" is of immeasurable value.It offers not only an in-depth evaluation of the current legal situation under national, regional and international law including analyses of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other international instruments, as well as initiatives of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and other international bodies but also probes numerous further possibilities. While no one concerned with indigenous culture or environmental issues can afford to ignore it, this book is also of special significance to practitioners and policymakers in intellectual property law in relation to indigenous heritage. This book, here in its second edition, presents the most recent state of knowledge in the field.

This new book provides a comprehensive overview of the topic of patent claim interpretation in the UK and in three other select jurisdictions. It explores territory that has great commercial significance and yet is severely under-explored in existing works. The twin issues of the function of patent law and interpretational analysis of the scope of protection have been recently reconsidered by the House of Lords, and this work not only reviews their recent cases but also looks at how the US, German and Japanese patent systems deal with the complex problems presented in this area. The book provides a balanced approach between practical, academic and theoretical approaches to claim interpretation. In doing so it provides more than a simple case analysis, as it enables the reader to consider the shape that the law should take rather than simply recounting the current position. Its novelty therefore lies in bringing the theoretical elements of the discussion together with the view of the profession charged with creating the patent documentation in the first place and then viewing this in the light of the detailed comparative studies. It is only by considering all of these elements that we begin to see a pathway for the development of the law in this area. This is a work that will be an important source of reference for academics and practitioners working in the field of patent law. Shortlisted for the 2008 Young Authors Inner Temple Book Prize

The late Jim Harris' theory of the science of law, and his theoretical work on human rights and property, have been a challenge and stimulus to legal scholars for the past twenty-five years. This collection of essays, originally conceived as a festschrift and now offered to the memory of a greatly admired scholar, assesses Harris' contribution across many fields of law and legal philosophy. The chapters are written by some of the foremost specialists writing today, and reflect the wide range of Harris's work, and the depth of his influence on legal studies. They include contributions on topics as diverse as the nature of law and legal reasoning, rival theories of property rights and their impact on practical questions before the courts; the nature of precedent in legal argument; and the evolving concept of human rights and its place in legal discourse. With a foreword by the Honourable Justice Edwin Cameron, this volume celebrates the life and work of Jim Harris

Winner of the second SLS Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship 2010. Fiduciary Loyalty presents a comprehensive analysis of the nature and function of fiduciary duties. The concept of loyalty, which lies at the heart of fiduciary doctrine, is a form of protection which is designed to enhance the likelihood of due performance of non-fiduciary duties, by seeking to avoid influences or temptations that may distract the fiduciary from providing such proper performance. In developing this position, the book takes the novel approach of putting to one side the difficult question of when fiduciary duties arise in order to focus attention instead on what fiduciary duties do when they are owed. The issue of when fiduciary duties arise can then be returned to, and considered more profitably, once a clear view has emerged of the function that such duties perform. The analysis advanced in the book has both practical and theoretical implications for understanding fiduciary doctrine. For example, it provides a sound conceptual footing for understanding the relationship between fiduciary and non-fiduciary duties, highlighting the practical importance of analysing both forms of duties carefully when considering fiduciary claims. Further, it explains a number of tenets within fiduciary doctrine, such as the proscriptive nature of fiduciary duties and the need to obtain the principal's fully informed consent in order to avoid fiduciary liability. Understanding the relationship between fiduciary and non-fiduciary duties also provides a solid foundation for addressing issues concerning compensatory remedies for their breach and potential defences such as contributory fault. The distinctive purpose that fiduciary duties serve also provides a firm theoretical basis for maintaining their separation from other forms of civil obligation, such as those that arise under the law of contracts and of torts.

This collection offers an overview of the issues involved concerning the interface between human rights and intellectual property rights (IPRs). It makes clear that two schools of thought have developed. The first school maintains that human rights and IPRs are in fundamental conflict. Strong protection of IP is incompatible with human rights obligations. Thus, for resolving the conflict between the two, it is suggested that human rights should always prevail over IPRs. Whereas the second school of thought asserts that human rights and IPRs pursue the same aim; that is to define the appropriate scope of private monopoly power to create incentives for authors and inventors, while ensuring that the public has adequate access to the fruits of their efforts. Accordingly, they argue, human rights and IP are compatible. However, what is needed is to strike a balance between the provision of incentives to innovate and public access to products of that innovation. This collection explores this balance and the extent to which human rights standards can influence the interpretation of IP norms, for example in defining the scope of IPRs. The discussion on the relationship of human rights and IPRs is an ongoing one; this volume makes a valuable contribution to the debate and will further stimulate the interest to explore and address these complex and challenging issues. This is the second volume in The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law 'New Authors' series, which contains the best theses from the human rights masters programmes in Lund and Venice.

This timely book provides the first legal and policy analysis of the intellectual property (IP) aspects of a rapidly-growing category of regulatory measures affecting the presentation and advertising of certain health-related goods. The key goods examined are tobacco, alcohol, food, and pharmaceuticals. Chapters focusing on both distinct policy areas and specific country examples serve to unearth the inherent tension emerging between these new measures as well as other categories of public health measures and IP regimes. This book discusses how to balance the legitimate interests of governments to promote human health and the protection and enforcement of IP rights. It also further explores how to amend IP regimes with a view to encouraging companies to produce and market healthier products. Comprehensive and engaging, this book will provide innovative research angles to academics and students in the areas of both health and IP law. Its wealth of examples and analytic style will also prove insightful to legal professionals who advise on issues related to IP and public health as well as policy makers, governments and NGOs. Contributors include: A. Alemanno, J. Blum, E. BonadioI, I. Calboli, I. Carreno, M. Chon, M. Davison, M. Elsmore, M.T. Fujiye, E. Laurenza, A. Marsoof, A. Mitchell, V. Vadi