This authoritative report analyzes IP activity around the globe. Drawing on 2019 filing, registration and renewals statistics from national and regional IP offices and WIPO, it covers patents, utility models, trademarks, industrial designs, microorganisms, plant variety protection and geographical indications. The report also draws on survey data and industry sources to give a picture of activity in the publishing industry.
The history of patent harmonization is a story of dynamic actors, whose interactions with established structures shaped the patent regime. From the inception of the trade regime to include intellectual property (IP) rights to the present, this book documents the role of different sets of actors – states, transnational business corporations, or civil society groups – and their influence on the structures – such as national and international agreements, organizations, and private entities – that have caused changes to healthcare and access to medication. Presenting the debates over patents, trade, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), as it galvanized non-state and nonbusiness actors, the book highlights how an alternative framing and understanding of pharmaceutical patent rights emerged: as a public issue, instead of a trade or IP issue. The book thus offers an important analysis of the legal and political dynamics through which the contest for access to lifesaving medication has been, and will continue to be, fought. In addition to academics working in the areas of international law, development, and public health, this book will also be of interest to policy makers, state actors, and others with relevant concerns working in nongovernmental and international organizations.
This report examines the importance of intellectual property (IP), ranging from patents, copyright, design and trade marks, and whether in the age of globalization, digitization and increasing economic specialization it still creates incentives for innovation, without unduly limiting access to consumers and stifling further innovation. The report does recommend a radical overhaul of the system, with the review concentrating on three areas, and setting out the following recommendations: (i) strengthening enforcement of IP rights, whether through clamping down on piracy or trade in counterfeit goods; (ii) reducing costs of registering and litigating IP rights for businesses large and small; (iii) improving the balance and flexibility of IP rights to allow individuals, businesses and institutions to use content in ways consistent with the digital age.
2020 marks the 50th year of the coming into force of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Convention 1967 and the formal establishment of WIPO. This unique and wide-ranging Research Handbook brings together eminent scholars and experts who assess WIPO's role and programmes during its first half-century, as well as discussing the challenges facing the organization as it enters its second.
This book provides an original systematic assessment of China's twenty years in the WTO. Combining insights from law, economics, political science, and international relations, it offers rich, multifaceted analyses of the opportunities and challenges China presents to the world trading system and the responses from other WTO Members. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Compiled by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) with the support of the WIPO China Funds-in-Trust, this book gives students a basic yet comprehensive understanding of IP. Using a question-and-answer format, it covers the general rules of the IP system as well as the essentials of patents, copyright, trademarks and other forms of IP, such as industrial designs, geographical indications and traditional knowledge.
This book examines the processes, evolution and consequences of China’s rapid integration into the global economy. Through analyses of Beijing’s international economic engagement in areas such as trade, investment, finance, sustainable development and global economic governance, it highlights the forces shaping China’s increasingly prominent role in the global economic arena. Chapters explore China’s behavior in global economic governance, the interests and motivations underlying China’s international economic initiatives and the influence of politics, including both domestic politics and foreign relations, on the country’s global economic footprint.
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.
