International copyright law is a complex and evolving field, of manifest and increasing economic significance. Its intellectual challenges derive from the interlocking relationships of multiple international instruments and national or regional laws and judgments.This ground-breaking casebook provides a comprehensive and comprehensible account of international copyright and neighboring rights law, from the cornerstone of the 1886 Berne Convention and the Rome Convention of 1961, through to the 1994 TRIPS Agreement and the 1996 and later WIPO Copyright Treaties. It examines how national laws have implemented the international norms, and explores the issues these sources have left ambiguous or unresolved. Ginsburg and Treppoz, two of the leading lights in international copyright law, bring their expert commentary and provocative questions to judiciously selected extracts from cases, analytical texts, and the texts of the treaties themselves, to develop a deeply nuanced understanding of this field. The approach centers on comprehending the international law and international treaties and, rather than analyzing the treaties in turn and in abstract, offers a concrete issue-by-issue treatment of the subject. Key features of the casebook: - Written by two leading authorities in the field - Carefully selected extracts from primary and secondary sources - Build a clear picture of the field - Expert analytical commentary and questions set the extracts in context - U.S. and E.U. perspectives integrated throughout the text to ensure maximum relevance and encourage students to make comparative assessments - An issue-based approach that synthesizes the treaties and facilitates a nuanced understanding - Exposition of lacunae in the treaties, and extensive consideration of how private international law fills the gaps - Leads students through the field from beginning to end.

This comprehensive Handbook provides an in-depth analysis of the origin and main substantive provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, the most influential international treaty on intellectual property currently in force. A uniquely qualified set of academics and experts from around the world discuss the historical context in which the Agreement was negotiated, its basic principles and the nature of the obligations it creates for WTO members. Together with the second volume ? Research Handbook on the Interpretation and Enforcement of Intellectual Property under WTO Rules ? it examines the minimum standards that must be implemented with regard to patents, trademarks, geographical indications, copyright and related rights, integrated circuits and test data. This Handbook is an essential tool for scholars, researchers and advanced students in the field of intellectual property. It also provides materials of direct relevance for policymakers and legal practitioners.

This book focuses on the economic aspects of intellectual property (IP). It includes considerations of the wider category of intangible assets. However, the primary focus is devoted to patents which the author argues are the most vivid example of the Tragedy of Intangible Abundance (TIA). TIA touches upon a key issue in the contemporary economy. On the one hand, there is an enormous supply of IP, yet, on the other hand, such an abundance does not necessarily solve existing issues but rather creates new ones as well. This book elaborates on the reasons for the emergence of TIA and its consequences. The author uses clear metaphors to explain very complex issues. The book provides a valuable and interdisciplinary analysis of the field and offers practical solutions. It is based on the data collected by the author during the qualitative research he conducted among a group of start-ups. It presents guidance on determining which instrument is the most efficient for a particular situation. It also provides arguments for decision-makers and their advisors as to why a more open approach towards intellectual property would be more beneficial under many circumstances in the contemporary economy. While universal issues are addressed, the author distinguishes the European perspective too. The book is written in a clear and concise style and covers all of the crucial aspects of IP management. It will find an audience among scholars of economics and business.

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.

Routledge Q&As give you the tools to practice and refine your exam technique, showing you how to apply your knowledge to maximum effect in an exam situation. Each book contains essay and problem-based questions on the most commonly examined topics, complete with expert guidance and fully worked model answers that help you to: Plan your revision: introducing how best to approach revision in each subject Know what examiners are looking for: identifying and explaining the main elements of each question to help you understand the best approach providing marker annotation to show how examiners will read your answer Gain marks, and avoid common errors: identifying common pitfalls students encounter in class and in assessment providing revision advice to help you aim higher in essays and exams Understand and remember the law: using diagrams as overviews for each answer to demonstrate how the law fits together The series is also supported by an online resource that allows you to test your progress during the run-up to exams. Features include: multiple choice questions, bonus Q&As and podcasts. www.routledge.com/cw/revision

Ideas are the fuel of industry and the entertainment business. Likewise, manufacturers receive suggestions for new products or improvements to existing products, and retailers frequently receive ideas for new marketing campaigns. Many ideas are not new and may be used by anyone without the risk of incurring any legal liability, but some ideas are novel and valuable. If the originator of a potentially useful idea does not have the financial resources to exploit the idea, he or she may submit it to another, with the expectation of receiving compensation if the idea is used. Although an extensive body of intellectual property law exists to protect the rights of inventors, authors, and businesses that own valuable brands or confidential proprietary information, raw ideas receive no protection. Nevertheless, the originator of a potentially useful and marketable idea is not without legal recourse. The courts have developed, through a long line of common law precedents, legal protection for novel and concrete ideas under certain circumstances. The originator of an idea can rely on contract law, whereby the recipient may expressly or impliedly agree to pay for the idea. Alternatively, if the idea is disclosed in confidence, its unauthorized use by the recipient allows the originator of the idea to recover compensation. Finally, some courts have treated the ownership of ideas as quasi-property rights.

New innovations are created every day, but today's business leaders are focused on finding disruptive innovations which are cheaper and lower performing than upmarket technologies. They create new markets, and challenge the status quo of existing technological thinking creating uncertainty both in the future of the innovation and the outcome of the market upheaval. Disruptive innovation is an influential innovation theory in business, but how does it affect the law? Several of these technologies have brought new ways for individuals to deal with copyright works while disrupting existing market expectations, while their ability to spawn social norms has presented challenges for legislation. Considering disruptive innovation as a class, this book examines innovations that have impacted copyright in the past, what lessons can be learned from how the law interacted with them, and how the law can successfully deal with them going forward. Creating comprehensive guidance that can be used when faced with disruptive innovations with the aim of more successful legislation, it considers whether copyright law itself has been disrupted through these innovations. Exploring whether disruptive innovations as a class have unique properties that necessitate action by legislators and whether these properties have the possibility to disrupt the law itself, this book theorises how the law should deal with disruptive innovations in general, going beyond a discussion of the regulation of specific innovations to develop a framework for how law makers should deal with disruptive innovations when faced by one.

This rich and challenging book offers a critical appraisal of the relationship between intellectual property law and competition law, from a particularly European perspective. Gustavo Ghidini highlights the deficiencies in studying each of these areas of law independently and argues for a more holistic approach, insisting that it is more useful, and indeed essential, to consider them as interdependent. He does this first by examining how competition and intellectual property (IP) converge, diverge, and inform one another. Secondly, he assesses how IP law can be interpreted through the guiding principles of competition law - antitrust and unfair competition - and within the overarching principle of free competition. The book traces the evolution of modern IP law, which it claims is marked heavily both by 'over-protectionist' trends - such as the extension of copyright law to technological fields, where it trespasses on the territory of patent law - and by attempts to monopolize the achievements of basic research, such as in the example of biotechnology. Through an examination of such emerging issues as access to standards of information and patenting of genetic materials, the author makes a clear case for a reading of IP law that promotes dynamic processes of 'innovation by competition', and 'competition by innovation', with related benefits to consumer welfare such as wider choices, greater access to culture and information, and lower prices. Advanced students and researchers in all areas of intellectual property will find this book a stimulating alternative to traditional interpretations of the subject.

Intellectual property (IP) has gained an unprecedented importance in the new world of globalization and the knowledge economy. However, experience, as well as cyclical attitudes toward IP, show that there is no universal model of IP protection. This comprehensive book considers new and emerging IP issues from a development perspective, examining recent trends and developments in this area. Presenting an overview of the IP landscape in general, the contributing authors subsequently narrow their focus, providing wide-ranging case studies from countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America on topical issues in the current IP discourse. These include the impact of IP on the pharmaceutical sector, the protection of life forms and traditional knowledge, geographical indications, access to knowledge and public research institutes, and the role of competition policy. The challenges developing countries face in the TRIPS-Plus world are also explored in detail. The diverse range of contributions to this thought-provoking book offer a wide variety of alternative perspectives on and solutions for the controversial issues surrounding the role of IP within sustainable development. As such, it will prove a stimulating read for government policy-makers, trade negotiators, academics, lawyers and IP practitioners in general, UN and other intergovernmental agencies, development campaigners and aid agencies, environmentalist groups and university students.

This book examines the risks to freedom of expression, particularly in relation to the internet, as a result of regulation introduced in response to terrorist threats. The work explores the challenges of maintaining security in the fight against traditional terrorism while protecting fundamental freedoms, particularly online freedom of expression. The topics discussed include the clash between freedom of speech and national security; the multijurisdictional nature of the internet and the implications for national sovereignty and transnational legal structures; how to determine legitimate and illegitimate association online; and the implications for privacy and data protection. The book presents a theoretical analysis combined with empirical research to demonstrate the difficulty of combatting internet use by terror organizations or individuals and the range of remedies that might be drawn from national and international law. The work will be essential reading for students, researchers and policy makers in the areas of Constitutional law; Criminal Law, European and International law, Information and Technology law and Security Studies.

Universities everywhere are increasingly being encouraged to translate their research findings into practical applications that will further the common good through technology transfer, a process in which intellectual property (IP) laws and systems play a central role. This Research Handbook skilfully places IP issues in technology transfer into their historical and political context whilst also exploring and framing the development of these intersecting domains for innovative universities in the present and the future. Written by leading experts from across the world, this Research Handbook offers new insights into our understanding of this area and its practical implications, situating IP and technology transfer within larger dialogues concerning the future of the research university. It illuminates a complex ecosystem in which the stakes are high and best practices are nuanced. Not overlooked are the most timely and controversial topics in the field, including inter partes review proceedings, conflicts of interest, patent enforcement and the public good, 3D printing, and university treatment of data. This Research Handbook will prove critical reading for scholars of both technology transfer and IP, as well as for practitioners working in these fields. Stakeholders such as university presidents and governing boards and members of higher education organizations will also find it insightful and useful. Contributors include: D.R. Cahoy, J. Carter-Johnson, Z. Chu, J.L. Contreras, M. Costa, J.A. Cunningham, C.L. Dahl, R. Feldman, T. Firpo, B.L. Frye, S. Ghosh, P. Guarda, C.S. Hayter, P. Lee, M.A. Lemley, B.J. Love, M.J. Madison, M.S. Mireles, M. Nicotra, E. Oliver, B. Pilz, M. Rimmer, M.D. Rinehart, M. Romano, J.H. Rooksby, C.J. Ryan, J.A. Sebeok, T. Sherer, L. Vertinsky, J.B. Warshaw, S. Xiaoxue

As the publishing, film and music industries are dominated by Big Media conglomerates, there is often recourse to simplistic ideological and conspiratorial readings of industry dynamics. Copyright, Creativity, Big Media and Cultural Value: Incorporating the Author explains why copyright is much more than a creator's private property right or a mechanism through which corporations control cultural production and influence mass consumption choices. The volume is grounded in extensive, painstakingly detailed and colourful original archival research into business histories of major successful artists including Conan Doyle, Hall Caine, Margaret Atwood, Dame Nellie Melba, Radiohead and Banksy, and the industries and genres that grew up around their activities. Chapters address big questions about how copyright generates income and how distributions of profits are allocated in the publishing, film and music industries. It includes discussion of the creation of new formats, the interplay between old media and new technologies, international copyright reform and cross-industry relations. Copyright, Creativity, Big Media and Cultural Value is a wide-ranging and important resource for students and practitioners of law and policy, media studies, cultural studies and literary history.

The enforcement of TRIPS-plus standards on Intellectual Property (IP) has become one of the most significant challenges for developing countries in recent years. This book is the first initiative linking IP enforcement and development, which fundamentally differs from the approach and perspective of developed countries.The editors encourage developing countries to address the emerging challenges in IP enforcement initiatives at various international forums, and to devise appropriate national policies and legislation on IP enforcement, in accordance with international treaties. The book examines the trend towards increasing global IP enforcement, recent case law developments, abuse of IP enforcement procedures, and provides strategic considerations and recommendations for developing countries. With an interdisciplinary approach Intellectual Property Enforcement will be a must-read for scholars, experts and students of international relations, government officials and negotiators and companies engaged in IP enforcement activities.

Intellectual Property and Agriculture addresses the important but largely neglected question of intellectual property's relationship to the production, processing, marketing, and circulation of agricultural inputs, products, and practices. This comprehensive literature review assesses the work of scholars from law, history, anthropology, science and technology studies, economics, and plant science on plants and plant genetic resources, late twentieth century international intellectual property agreements, and geographical indications of origin.

Course Notes is designed to help you succeed in your law examinations and assessments. Each guide supports revision of an undergraduate and conversion GDL/CPE law degree module by demonstrating good practice in creating and maintaining ideal notes. Course Notes will support you in actively and effectively learning the material by guiding you through the demands of compiling the information you need. * Written by expert lecturers who understand your needs with examination requirements in mind * Covers key cases, legislation and principles clearly and concisely so you can recall information confidently * Contains easy to use diagrams, definition boxes and work points to help you understand difficult concepts * Provides self test opportunities throughout for you to check your understanding * Illustrates how to compile the ideal set of revision notes * Covers the essential modules of study for undergraduate llb and conversion-to-law GDL/CPE courses.

Patents, including pharmaceutical patents, enjoy extended protection for twenty years under the TRIPs Agreement. The Agreement has resulted in creating a two-tier system of the World Trade Organisation Member States, and its implementation has seen the price of pharmaceutical products skyrocket, putting essential medicines beyond the reach of the common man. The hardest hit populations come from the developing and least developed countries, which have either a weak healthcare system or no healthcare at all, where access to essential and affordable medicines is extremely difficult to achieve. Pharmaceutical Patent Protection and World Trade Law studies the problems faced by these countries in obtaining access to affordable medicines for their citizens in light of the TRIPS Agreement. It explores the opportunities that are still open for some developing countries to utilise the flexibilities available under the TRIPS Agreement in order to mitigate the damage caused by it. The book also examines the interrelationship between the world governing bodies, and the right to health contained in some of the developing country's national constitutions.

Debates about Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) have moved on in recent years. An initial focus on the legal obligations established by international agreements like the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the form of obligations for collecting physical biological materials have now moved to a far more complex series of disputes and challenges about the ways ABS should be implemented and enforced: repatriation of resources, technology transfer, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions; open access to information and knowledge, naming conventions, farmers' rights, new schemes for accessing pandemic viruses and sharing DNA sequences, and so on. Unfortunately, most of this debate is now crystallised into apparently intractable discussions such as implementing the certificates of origin, recognising traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expression as a form of intellectual property, and sovereignty for Indigenous peoples. Not everything in this new marketplace of ABS has been created de novo. Like most new entrants, ABS has disrupted existing legal and governance arrangements. This collection of chapters examines what is new, what has been changed, and what might be changed in response to the growing acceptance and prevalence of ABS of genetic resources. Biodiversity, Genetic Resources and Intellectual Property: Developments in Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources addresses current issues arising from recent developments in the enduring and topical debates about managing genetic resources through the ABS regime. The book explores key historical, doctrinal, and theoretical issues in the field, at the same time developing new ideas and perspectives around ABS. It shows the latest state of knowledge and will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students in the fields of intellectual property, governance, biodiversity and conservation, sustainable development, and agriculture.

In the history of British patent law, the role of Parliament is often side-lined. This is largely due to the raft of failed or timid attempts at patent law reform. Yet there was another way of seeking change. By the end of the nineteenth century, private legislation had become a mechanism or testing ground for more general law reforms. The evolution of the law had essentially been privatised and was handled in the committee rooms in Westminster. This is known in relation to many great industrial movements such as the creating of railways, canals and roads, or political movements such as the powers and duties of local authorities, but it has thus far been largely ignored in the development of patent law. This book addresses this shortfall and examines how private legislation played an important role in the birth of modern patent law.

The fate of the dead is a compelling and emotive subject, which also raises increasingly complex legal questions. This book focuses on the substantive laws around disposal of the recently deceased and associated issues around their post-mortem fate. It looks primarily at the laws in England and Wales but also offers a comparative approach, drawing heavily on material from other common law jurisdictions including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. The book provides an in-depth, contextual and comparative analysis of the substantive laws and policy issues around corpse disposal, exhumation and the posthumous treatment of the dead, including commemoration. Topics covered include: the legal frameworks around burial, cremation and other disposal methods; the hierarchy of persons who have a legal duty to dispose of the dead and who are entitled to possession of the deceased's remains; offences against the dead; family burial disputes, and the legal status of burial instructions; the posthumous use of donated bodily material; and the rules around disinterment, and creating an appropriate memorial. A key theme of the book will be to look at the manner in which conflicts involving the dead are becoming increasingly common in secular, multi-cultural societies where the traditional nuclear family model is no longer the norm, and how such legal contests are resolved by courts. As the first comprehensive survey of the laws in this area for decades, this book will be of use to academics, lawyers and judges adjudicating on issues around the fate of the dead, as well as the death industry and funeral service providers.

The joint challenges of population increase, food security and conservation of agrobiodiversity demand a rethink of plant breeding and agricultural research from a different perspective. While more food is undeniably needed, the key question is rather about how to produce it in a way that sustains biological diversity and mitigates climate change. This book shows how social sciences, and more especially law, can contribute towards reconfiguring current legal frameworks in order to achieving a better balance between the necessary requirements of agricultural innovation and the need for protection of agrobiodiversity. On the assumption that the concept of property can be rethought against the background of the 'right to include', so as to endow others with a common 'right to access' genetic resources, several international instruments and contractual arrangements drawn from the plant-breeding field (including the Convention on Biological Diversity, technology exchange clearing houses and open sources licenses) receive special consideration. In addition, the authors explore the tension between ownership and the free circulation and exchange of germplasm and issues such as genetic resources managed by local and indigenous communities, the ITPGRFA and participatory plant-breeding programmes. As a whole, the book demonstrates the relevance of the 'Commons' for plant breeding and agricultural innovation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) now infiltrates our culture. After a couple of difficult winters, AI today is a word on everybody's lips, and it attracts everyone's attention regardless of whether they are experts or not. From Apple's Siri to Amazon's Alexa, Tesla's auto-driving cars to facial recognition systems in CCTV cameras, Netflix's film offering services to Google's search engine, we live in a world of AI goods. The advent of AI-powered technologies increasingly affects people's lives across the globe. As a tool for productivity and cost-efficiency, AI also shapes our economy and welfare. AI-generated designs and works are becoming more popular. Today, AI technologies can generate several intellectual creations. Fashion is one of the industries that AI can profoundly impact. AI tools and devices are currently being used in the fashion industry to create fashion models, fabric and jewellery designs, and clothing. When we talk about AI-generated designs, we instead focus on the fruits of innovation - more best-selling apparels, more fashionable designs and more fulfilment of customer expectations - without paying heed to who the designer is. Designers invest a lot of talent, time and finances into designing and creating each article of clothing and accessory before they release their work to the public. Pattern drafting is the first and most important step in dressmaking. Designers typically start with a general sketch on paper; add styles, elements and colours; revise and refine everything; and finally deliver their design to dressmakers. AI accelerates this time-consuming and labour-intensive process. Yet the full legal consequences of AI in fashion industry are often forgotten. An AI device's ability to generate fashion designs raises the question of who will own intellectual property rights over the fashion designs. Will it be the fashion designer who hires or contracts with the AI programmer? Will it be the programmer? Will it be the AI itself? Or will it be a joint work of humans and computers? And who will be liable for infringement deriving from use of third-party material in AI-generated fashion designs? This book explores answers to these questions within the framework of EU design and copyright laws. It also crafts a solution proposal based on a three-step test and model norms, which could be used to unleash the authors, rights holders and infringers around AI-generated fashion designs.

This book radically rethinks the philosophical basis of copyright in the arts. The author reflects on the ontology of art to argue that current copyright laws cannot be justified. The book begins by identifying two problems that result from current copyright laws: (1) creativity is restricted and (2) they primarily serve the interests of large corporations over those of the artists and general public. Against this background, the author presents an account of the ontology of artworks and explains what metaphysics can tell us about ownership in the arts. Next, he makes a moral argument that copyright terms should be shorter and that corporations should not own copyrights. The remaining chapters tackle questions regarding the appropriation of tokens of artworks, pattern types, and artistic elements. The result is a sweeping reinterpretation of copyright in the arts that rests on sound ontological and moral foundations. Radically Rethinking Copyright in the Arts will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in aesthetics and philosophy of art, metaphysics, philosophy of law, and intellectual property law.

There is much current controversy over whether the rights to seeds or plant genetic resources should be owned by the private sector or be common property. This book addresses the legal and policy aspects of the multilateral seed management regime. First, it studies in detail the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the Treaty) in order to understand and identify its dysfunctions. Second, it proposes solutions - using recent developments of the "theory of the commons" - to improve the collective seed management system of the Treaty, a necessary condition for its member states to reach the overall food security and sustainable agriculture goals. Redesigning the Global Seed Commons provides a significant contribution to the current political and academic debates on agrobiodiversity law and governance, and on food security and food sovereignty, by analyzing key issues under the Treaty that affect the design and implementation of regulatory instruments managing seeds as a commons. It also examines the practical, legal, political and economic problems encountered in the attempt to implement these obligations in contemporary settings. In particular, it considers how to improve the Treaty implementation by proposing ways for Contracting Parties to better reach the Treaty's objectives taking a holistic view of the human-seed ecosystem. Following the tenth anniversary of the functioning the Treaty's multilateral system of access and benefit-sharing, which is currently under review by its Contracting Parties, this book is well-timed to examine recent developments in the field and guide the current review process to design a truly Global Seed Commons.

It has become a commonplace that there has been an information revolution, transforming both society and the economy. In 1995 the Trade Related Intellectual Property (TRIPs) agreement aimed to harmonise protection for property in knowledge throughout the global system. This book considers the contemporary disputes about the ownership of knowledge resources - as in the cases of genetically modified foods, the music industry or the internet - and the problematic nature of the TRIPs agreement. In this highly topical book, Christopher May reveals that, because of such problems, at present the balance in intellectual property rights between public good and private reward is more often than not weighted towards the latter.

The Supreme Court of the United States in Feist v. Rural (1991) required that databases must have a minimal degree of creativity for copyright. The judgment was highly significant and the subsequent period is understood as the post-Feist era. It has been globally influential. However, the decision is extremely complex and remains unsatisfactorily interpreted. In particular, it has been impossible to illuminate the creativity requirement. The book gives an account of the decision's conceptual structure, focusing on its full delineation of the opposite to creativity. In a radical and unprecedented innovation, it is correlated with an automatic computational process. Creativity itself is understood as non-computational or directly human activity concerned with meaning. Determining the presence of creativity is reduced to a four-stage test. This work then has acute practical current relevance to property in data in the digital age; it will also be of theoretical interest to, and is aimed at, researchers in, practitioners, and students of intellectual property worldwide.