Across the world, developing countries are attempting to balance the international standards of intellectual property concerning pharmaceutical patents against the urgent need for accessible and affordable medicines. In this timely and necessary book, Monirul Azam examines the attempts of several developing countries to walk this fine line. He evaluates the experiences of Brazil, China, India, and South Africa for lessons to guide Bangladesh and developing nations everywhere. Azam's legal expertise, concern for public welfare, and compelling grasp of principal case studies make Intellectual Property and Public Health in the Developing World a definitive work. The developing world is striving to meet the requirements of the World Trade Organization's TRIPS Agreement on intellectual property. This book sets out with lucidity and insight the background of the TRIPS Agreement and its implications for pharmaceutical patents, the consequences for developing countries, and the efforts of certain representative nations to comply with international stipulations while still maintaining local industry and public health. Azam then brings the weight of this research to bear on the particular case of Bangladesh, offering a number of specific policy recommendations for the Bangladeshi government—and for governments the world over. Intellectual Property and Public Health in the Developing World is a must-read for public policy-makers, academics and students, non-governmental organizations, and readers everywhere who are interested in making sure that developing nations meet the health care needs of their people.
The researchers in this study examine the issue of reforming intellectual property rights systems in developing countries through the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The study is divided into seven main parts that discuss the nature of intellectual property rights and protection needs within the framework of TRIPS' main provisions and goals. The study also reviews the various types of intellectual property rights systems and the costs of implementing different levels of protection. This comes in addition to the benefits and economic effects of protection, as well as general policies related to intellectual property rights. In this study, the researchers sought to analyze - on one hand - the potential costs of intellectual property rights protection over the short term. On the other hand, they tried to analyze the long-term benefits, such as access to foreign direct investment, technology transfer, and growth, that might go down the drain if developing countries resist intellectual property rights protection.
As technological developments multiply around the globeâ€"even as the patenting of human genes comes under serious discussionâ€"nations, companies, and researchers find themselves in conflict over intellectual property rights (IPRs). Now, an international group of experts presents the first multidisciplinary look at IPRs in an age of explosive growth in science and technology. This thought-provoking volume offers an update on current international IPR negotiations and includes case studies on software, computer chips, optoelectronics, and biotechnologyâ€"areas characterized by high development cost and easy reproducibility. The volume covers these and other issues: Modern economic theory as a basis for approaching international IPRs. U.S. intellectual property practices versus those in Japan, India, the European Community, and the developing and newly industrializing countries. Trends in science and technology and how they affect IPRs. Pros and cons of a uniform international IPRs regime versus a system reflecting national differences.
Over the course of history, different legal instruments for protecting intellectual property have emerged. These instruments differ in their subject matter, extent of protection, and field of application, reflecting society's objective to balance the interests of creators and consumers for different types of intellectual works. These legal instruments are just one of the pieces that form a national system of intellectual property protection. Also crucial to the system's overall effectiveness are the institutions administering these instruments, the mechanisms available for enforcing IPRs, and the rules regarding the treatment of non-nationals. To address some of the issues concerning IPRs, this paper defines what they are and attempts to evaluate the relationship between the protection of intellectual property and economic activity in developing countries. It also summarizes the economic effects of IPRs in terms of creation and diffusion of knowledge and information; and market structure and prices. Furthermore, it discusses the reformation of IPRs regimes and makes recommendations for their administration and enforcement. This paper consolidates some of the research from the 'World Development Report 1998/1999: Knowledge for Development' and some contributions made at an Internet-moderated conference conducted by the Bank's TechNet program. It will be of interest to governments, investors, and international organizations.
The book ends with a comprehensive selection of the relevant bibliography. This part is all the more valuable to the reader as Ghidini does not simply list the relevant literature but puts it in it general context and comments on it. Ghidini s book is a fascinating trip through the system of IP laws. Beatriz Conde Gallego, Intellectual Property and Competition Law Intellectual Property and Competition Law by Gustavo Ghidini provides a persuasively presented descriptive analysis of a distinctively European perspective on intellectual property law and its relationship to competition law. Professor Ghidini expertly presents the evolution of intellectual property laws and its contemporary manifestations with respect to the expansion copyright law in technological fields and the inevitability conflict with patent law, the attempt at creating monopolies (such as in biotechnology), and so much more. A seminal work of impressive and articulate scholarship, Intellectual Property and Competition Law should be considered mandatory reading for students and researchers in the field of intellectual property rights and a very strongly recommended addition to academic library International Economics and Judicial Studies reference collections. The Economics Shelf, Midwest Book Review . . . the provocative nature of this book is one of its great strengths, as are its cohesiveness and erudition. Mel Marquis, European Competition Law Review We in the United States have much to learn not only from Gustavo Ghidini s careful analysis of modern trends in the European IP regime but also from his thoughtful development of the thesis that free competition should be understood as the overarching principle guiding both IP protection and what we call antitrust law. Rudolph J.R. Peritz, New York Law School, author of Competition Policy in America and American Antitrust Institute, US 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.
This Encyclopedia brings together jurists, computer scientists, and data analysts to map the emerging field of data science and law for the first time, uncovering the challenges, opportunities, and fault lines that arise as these groups are increasingly thrown together by expanding attempts to regulate and adapt to a data-driven world. It explains the concepts and tools at the crossroads of the many disciplines involved in data science and law, bridging scientific and applied domains. Entries span algorithmic fairness, consent, data protection, ethics, healthcare, machine learning, patents, surveillance, transparency and vulnerability.
The series of papers in this publication were commissioned from renowned international economists from all regions. They review the existing empirical literature on six selected themes relating to the economics of intellectual property, identify the key research questions, point out research gaps and explore possible avenues for future research.
One of the alleged benefits of the recent global movement to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPRs) is that such reforms accelerate transfers of technology between countries. Branstetter, Fisman, and Foley examine how technology transfer among U.S. multinational firms changes in response to a series of IPR reforms undertaken by 12 countries over the 1982-99 period. Their analysis of detailed firm-level data reveal that royalty payments for intangibles transferred to affiliates increase at the time of reforms, as do affiliate research and development (R & D) expenditures and total levels of foreign patent applications. Increases in royalty payments and R & D expenditures are more than 20 percent larger among affiliates of parent companies that use U.S. patents more extensively prior to reform and therefore are expected to value IPR reform most. This paper--a product of Trade, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the global impact of stronger intellectual property rights.
This book is meant to provide a ... collection of commentaries on the topic of intellectual property. [The] goal has been to bring together ... influential writings on patent, copyright, trademark and design protection, beginning with early material from the seventeenth century and continuing into the contemporary law review literature. -Pref.
