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.

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

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 proliferation of virtual and augmented reality technologies into society raise significant questions for judges, legal institutions, and policy makers. For example, when should activities that occur in virtual worlds, or virtual images that are projected into real space (that is, augmented reality), count as protected First Amendment 'speech'? When should they instead count as a nuisance or trespass? Under what circumstances would the copying of virtual images infringe intellectual property laws, or the output of intelligent virtual avatars be patentable inventions or works of authorship eligible for copyright? And when should a person (or computer) face legal consequences for allegedly harmful virtual acts? The Research Handbook on the Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality addresses these questions and others, drawing upon free speech doctrine, criminal law, the law of data protection and privacy, and of jurisdiction, as well as upon potential legal rights for increasingly intelligent virtual avatars in VR worlds. The Handbook offers a comprehensive look at challenges to various legal doctrines raised by the emergence - and increasing use of - virtual and augmented reality worlds, and at how existing law in the USA, Europe, and other jurisdictions might apply to these emerging technologies, or evolve to address them. It also considers what legal questions about virtual and augmented reality are likely to be important, not just for judges and legal scholars, but also for the established businesses and start-ups that wish to make use of, and help shape, these important new technologies. This comprehensive Research Handbook will be an invaluable reference to those looking to keep pace with the dynamic field of virtual and augmented reality, including students and researchers studying intellectual property law as well as legal practitioners, computer scientists, engineers, game designers, and business owners. Contributors include: W. Barfield, P.S. Berman, M.J. Blitz, S.J. Blodgett-Ford, J. Danaher, W. Erlank, J.A.T. Fairfield, J. Garon, G. Hallevy, B. Lewis, H.Y.F. Lim, C. Nwaneri, S.R. Peppet, M. Risch, A.L. Rossow, J. Russo, M. Supponen, A.M. Underhill, B.D. Wassom, A. Williams, G. Yadin

This comprehensive, three-volume set reprints the most important published articles in an area that is attracting increasing controversy - the political economy of intellectual property rights. Christopher May - a leading authority in the field - has selected material that provides important insights on the global governance of intellectual property. This will be essential reading for anyone wishing to come to grips with the major policy issues emerging in the new millennium. Professor May has also provided an introduction that will serve as an authoritative and comprehensive guide to the main issues under discussion. This three-volume set will be an invaluable reference source for scholars and practitioners seeking an in-depth understanding of the main issues in this important field.

Metaphors, moral panics, folk devils, Jack Valenti, Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, predictable irrationality, and free market fundamentalism are a few of the topics covered in this lively, unflinching examination of the Copyright Wars: the pitched battles over new technology, business models, and most of all, consumers.
In Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars, William Patry lays bare how we got to where we are: a bloated, punitive legal regime that has strayed far from its modest, but important roots. Patry demonstrates how copyright is a utilitarian government program--not a property or moral right. As a government program, copyright must be regulated and held accountable to ensure it is serving its public purpose. Just as Wall Street must serve Main Street, neither can copyright be left to a Reaganite "magic of the market."
The way we have come to talk about copyright--metaphoric language demonizing everyone involved--has led to bad business and bad policy decisions. Unless we recognize that the debates over copyright are debates over business models, we will never be able to make the correct business and policy decisions.
A centrist and believer in appropriately balanced copyright laws, Patry concludes that calls for strong copyright laws, just like calls for weak copyright laws, miss the point entirely: the only laws we need are effective laws, laws that further the purpose of encouraging the creation of new works and learning. Our current regime, unfortunately, creates too many bad incentives, leading to bad conduct. Just as President Obama has called for re-tooling and re-imagining the auto industry, Patry calls for a remaking of our copyright laws so that they may once again be respected.

Lipton considers the balance between trademark policy, free speech and other pressing interests in domain names, such as privacy and personality rights and cultural and political interests.

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.

In a rapidly changing world, the underlying philosophies, the rationale and the appropriateness of patent law have come under question. In this insightful collection, the authors undertake a careful examination of existing patent systems and their prospects for the future. Scholars and practitioners from Japan, the US, Europe, India, Brazil and China give detailed analyses of current and likely future problems with their respective systems, and outline possible responses to them.With detailed and extensive contributions, this book will greatly appeal to students, practitioners, policymakers and academics who are interested in the problems of current patent system in the world and their future. Contents: T.G. Agitha, G. Carmichael, S. Elahi, Y. Futoshi, N.S. Gopalakrishanan, K. Karachalios, J.P. Kesan, M.A. Lemley, C. McGinley, K. Motohashi, N. Nakayama, C. Neppel, Y. Omori, Z. Ping, B. Rutz, R. Shimanami, V. Yumy Mitsuuchi-Kunisawa

Intellectual property (IP) rights impact innovation in diverse ways. This book critically analyses whether additional rights beyond patents, trademarks and copyrights are needed to promote innovation. Featuring contributions from thought-leaders in the field of IP, this book examines the check and balances that already exist in the IP system to safeguard innovation and questions to what extent existing IP regimes are capable of catering to new paradigms of innovation and creativity. Taking a multi-angled view of the topic, this book questions whether IP rights by definition encourage innovation and explores the role of exceptions and limitations to IP rights as well as the application of competition law to promote innovation. Chapters analyse diverse topics within the field of IP such as plant varieties protection, geographical indications and 3D printing. Taken as a whole this book advocates that a pro-innovation rationale must be applied when new IP legislation is designed. This book will be an engaging source of information for researchers and policy-makers with an interest in the direction of IP legislation and the promotion of innovation. It will also be relevant for scholars of competition law who are seeking information on the relationship between competition and IP.

While franchising promotes economic and social welfare objectives, Elizabeth Crawford Spencer argues that monitoring and regulation are needed to address potential areas of abuse of the form that can result in costly market inefficiencies. This unique study surveys franchise-specific legislation worldwide as a starting point for a thorough examination and analysis of the role of both private and public regulation of the sector in the context of current theoretical approaches to regulating contractual relationships. The book concludes that properly calibrated regulation can minimize inefficient allocations of power and risk and lead to maximum economic and social benefits by promoting the development of small business, enabling the growth of entrepreneurial skills, and facilitating economic well-being and independence among SMEs.This comparative survey will prove to be invaluable for academics in franchising marketing, management, law and practice. The Regulation of Franchising in the New Global Economy will also appeal to franchise law practitioners, consultants, policymakers and those wishing to influence policy on all sides of the debate in the many jurisdictions that are engaging in the processes of adopting, or reviewing, franchise regulation.

The effective management of knowledge assets is a key requirement for securing competitive advantage in the emerging information economy. Yet the nature of knowledge assets, however, remains poorly understood. In this new work, Max Boisot provides a conceptual framework for managers and students that will help them explore and understand how knowledge and information assets differ from physical assets, and how to deal with them at a strategic level within their organizations.

This work gives an overview of the current state of the law of unfair competition for the protection of the intellectual creations and industrial assets in the EU, the USA and other major Anglo-American jurisdictions. Despite the growing interest in this area of law in recent years, little attention has been given to the varying legal and economic paradigms that underlie and shape it. This need for a comparative, theoretical examination is heightened by the advent of the information age, coupled with the desire to integrate markets. These developments pose a challenge to the current regimes of intellectual property protection since these are increasingly becoming out of step with the paradigms that shaped the traditional patent, copyright and trademark regimes. In this work, the author explores the alternative to a protective regime based on unfair competition doctrines, and examines the themes of economic justification, shaping legal boundaries, finding a legal justification, practical application, and harmonization of national laws.

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.

Recent developments in trade marks law have called into question a variety of basic features, as well as bolder extensions, of legal protection. Other disciplines can help us think about fundamental issues such as: What is a trade mark? What does it do? What should be the scope of its protection? This volume assembles essays examining trade marks and brands from a multiplicity of fields: from business history, marketing, linguistics, legal history, philosophy, sociology and geography. Each chapter pairs lawyers' and non-lawyers' perspectives, so that each commentator addresses and critiques his or her counterpart's analysis. The perspectives of non-legal fields are intended to enrich legal academics' and practitioners' reflections about trade marks, and to expose lawyers, judges and policy-makers to ideas, concepts and methods that could prove to be of particular importance in the development of positive law.

This important study brings together some of the best current research on Kaempfer (author of the History of Japan, also published by Curzon) for the first time and includes a close analysis of 6 key topics from the writing of the History to an interpretation of the interpreter himself.

Intellectual Property Issues in Nanotechnology focuses on the integrated approach for sustained innovation in various areas of nanotechnology. The theme of this book draws to a great extent on the industrial and socio-legal implications of intellectual property rights for nanotechnology-based advances. The book takes a comprehensive look not only at the role of intellectual property rights in omics-based research but also at the ethical and intellectual standards and how these can be developed for sustained innovation. This book attempts to collate and organize information on current attitudes and policies in several emerging areas of nanotechnology. Adopting a unique approach, this book integrates science and business for an inside view of the industry. Peering behind the scenes, it provides a thorough analysis of the foundations of the present day industry for students and professionals alike.

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.

Brands and brand management have become a central feature of the modern economy and a staple of business theory and business practice. Contrary to the law's conception of trademarks, brands are used to indicate far more than source and/or quality. This volume begins the process of broadening the legal understanding of brands by explaining what brands are and how they function, how trademark and antitrust/competition law have misunderstood brands, and the implications of continuing to ignore the role brands play in business competition. This is the first book to engage with the topic from an interdisciplinary perspective, hence it will be a must-have for all those interested in the phenomenon of brands and how their function is recognized by the legal system. The book integrates both a competition and an intellectual property law dimension and explores the regulatory environment and case law in both Europe and the United States.

Once regarded as an esoteric and arcane area of legal studies,intellectual property law is now recognised as a key foundation of the information society. Part of the legal system's response to the challenges of human creativity, intellectual property law seeks to balance rewards for innovation against the broader public interest. The contributors to this volume address some of the emerging controversies in this expanding area of law, including: property rights in data; cross-border infringement of copyright; dilution of trade marks; the expansion of the law of patents; and the interface between intellectual property law and the regulation of unfair competition. CONTRIBUTORS: The Hon Justice WMC Gummow, John Robinson, Thomas Marci Hamilton, John Simllie, Brian Fitzgerald, Sir Nicholas Pumfrey, Louise Longdin, John Adams, Graeme Austin, Susy Frankel, Sam Ricketson, Ian Eagles. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 International Intellectual Property Law and the Common Law World - Introduction by The hon Justice W.M.C. Gummow Part 1: Intellectual Property and the Information Society 2 Database Protection and the Circuitous Route Around the United States Constitution - Marci A. Hamilton 3 Commodifying and Transacting Informational Products Through Contractual Licences: The Challenge for Informational Constitutionalism - Brian Fitzgerald 4 Shall We Shoot a Messenger Now and Then? Copyright Infringement and the On-line Service Provider - Louise Longdin 5 Copyright Across (and Within) Domestic Borders - Graeme W. Austin Part 2: Developments in Industrial Society 6 Dilution and Confusion: The Bases of Trade Mark Infringement or the new Australian Trade Marks Anti-dilution Law 1999 - Sam Ricketson 7 New Challenges for the Law of Patents - John Robinson Thomas 8 Patentability in Australia and New Zealand Under the Statute of Monopolies - John Smillie 9 The Protection of Designs - The Hon Sir Nicholas Pumfrey 10 Industrial Property in a Globalised Environment: Issues of Jurisdiction and Choice of Law - John N. Adams Part 3: Competition and Market Regulation 11 Unfair Competition 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

This book examines the relationship between the legal extension of copyright duration as an enduring means of copyright protection and the growth of the UK book publishing industry as a typical creative industry reliant on copyright. The book draws on Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction to analyse the implications of copyright law and policy on the book industry and illustrate the dynamic interaction between copyright expansion and the growth of the creative industries. The book reviews the historical development of UK copyright expansion and also considers copyright in the digital age. It explores the legal and economic concerns about copyright protection in general, and the expansion of copyright duration in particular. Using an innovative empirical method, it explores whether the expansion of the duration of copyright promotes or precludes the growth of book publishing industry. It goes on to suggest changes to copyright policy which would have an impact on the economics of innovation in the creative industries. This book will be of particular interst to scholars and students of Intellectual Property Law.

With contributions from some of the leading experts in international trade, law, and economics, Joel P. Trachtman and Chantal Thomas have compiled a comprehensive volume that looks at the positioning of developing countries within the WTO system. These chapters address some of the most pressing issues facing these countries, while reflecting on Robert E. Hudec's groundbreaking book, Developing Countries in the GATT Legal System. In his landmark contribution, Hudec argued against preferential and non-reciprocal treatment for developing countries. He did so on the basis of a combination of economic, political and legal insights that persuasively demonstrated that non-reciprocal treatment would not benefit developing countries. It is a testament to Hudec's legacy that his analysis is still the object of scholarly discussion more than 20 years later.
The first part of this book evaluates the general situation of developing countries within the WTO. The second part examines market access and competition law within these countries. Lastly, it discusses the special arrangements these countries have with international financial institutions, the developing country's capacity to litigate, and an analysis of the country's level of participation in WTO dispute settlements.

In this book, Benjamin Farrand employs an interdisciplinary approach that combines legal analysis with political theory to explore the development of copyright law in the EU. Farrand utilises Foucault's concept of Networks of Power and Culpepper's Quiet Politics to assess the adoption and enforcement of copyright law in the EU, including the role of industry representative, cross-border licensing, and judicial approaches to territorial restrictions. Focusing in particular on legislative initiatives concerning copyright, digital music and the internet, Networks of Power in Digital Copyright Law and Policy: Political Salience, Expertise and the Legislative Process demonstrates the connection between copyright law and complex network relationships. This book presents an original socio-political theoretical framework for assessing developments in copyright law that will interest researchers and post-graduate students of law and politics, as well as those more particularly concerned with political theory, EU and copyright law.

Recent years have seen a number of pressing developments in copyright law: there has been an enormous increase in the range and type of work accorded protection; the concept of the 'original work' has entered into national copyright acts; and intangible entities are now entitled to protection by copyright. All these are consequences of legislative and technological developments that can be traced back over two centuries and more. the result. This book presents an interdisciplinary study of the growth of copyright law, largely based on archival research and on archival materials only recently made available online. The new history here articulated helps to explain why print is no longer today the sole or even the chief object of copyright protection. Taking its key examples from British, French and Danish copyright law, the book begins by exploring how the earliest copyright laws emerged out of the technological understanding of a printed 'copy,' and out of the philosophical notions of originals and copies, tangibles and intangibles. Dr Teilmann-Lockgoes on to examine the concept of the 'work' as it develops both conceptually and legally, as the object of protection, and then explains how, in a curious consequence, 'the work' turns the 'copy' into the 'mere' material instantiation of the intangible 'original'. The book concludes by addressing the considerable and complicated problems now emerging in copyright law following the inclusion of design within the scope of its protection. In this field Danish law, striving to protect Danish design, has been setting the trend for over a hundred years. In its examination of terminological exchanges between the diverse legal traditions and philosophical discourse, and in its thorough investigation of particular terms central to copyright legislation, this interdisciplinary book will be of great interest to scholars and students of copyright and intellectual property law; it also makes an important contribution to literary studies, legal history and cultural theory.