This unique and comprehensive collection investigates the challenges posed to intellectual property by recent paradigm shifts in biology. It explores the legal ramifications of emerging technologies, such as genomics, synthetic biology, stem cell research, nanotechnology, and biodiscovery. Extensive contributions examine recent controversial court decisions in patent law such as Bilski v. Kappos, and the litigation over Myriad's patents in respect of BRCA1 and BRCA2 while other papers explore sui generis fields, such as access to genetic resources, plant breeders' rights, and traditional knowledge. The collection considers the potential and the risks of the new biology for global challenges such as access to health-care, the protection of the environment and biodiversity, climate change, and food security. It also considers Big Science projects such as biobanks, the 1000 Genomes Project, and the Doomsday Vault. The inter-disciplinary research brings together the work of scholars from Australia, Canada, Europe, the UK and the US and involves not only legal analysis of case law and policy developments, but also historical, comparative, sociological, and ethical methodologies. Intellectual Property and Emerging Technologies will appeal to policy-makers, legal practitioners, business managers, inventors, scientists and researchers.

The first report in a new flagship series, WIPO Technology Trends, aims to shed light on the trends in innovation in artificial intelligence since the field first developed in the 1950s.

This book explores the challenges that emerging technologies and technology driven practices pose for traditional notions of intellectual property (IP) law and policy. Chapters offer perspectives from across the IP law spectrum and address questions such as; is the law evolving in the right direction and is the regulation of emerging technology supported by sound policy objectives? Covering a diverse range of topics, this book exposes the intimate relationship between IP and technology.

3D printing (or, more correctly, additive manufacturing) is the general term for those software-driven technologies that create physical objects by successive layering of materials. Due to recent advances in the quality of objects produced and to lower processing costs, the increasing dispersion and availability of these technologies have major implications not only for manufacturers and distributors but also for users and consumers, raising unprecedented challenges for intellectual property protection and enforcement. This is the first and only book to discuss 3D printing technology from a multidisciplinary perspective that encompasses law, economics, engineering, technology, and policy. Originating in a collaborative study spearheaded by the Hanken School of Economics, the Aalto University and the University of Helsinki in Finland and engaging an international consortium of legal, design and production engineering experts, with substantial contributions from industrial partners, the book fully exposes and examines the fundamental questions related to the nexus of intellectual property law, emerging technologies, 3D printing, business innovation, and policy issues. Twenty-five legal, technical, and business experts contribute sixteen peer-reviewed chapters, each focusing on a specific area, that collectively evaluate the tensions created by 3D printing technology in the context of the global economy. The topics covered include: • current and future business models for 3D printing applications; • intellectual property rights in 3D printing; • essential patents and technical standards in additive manufacturing; • patent and bioprinting; • private use and 3D printing; • copyright licences on the user-generated content (UGC) in 3D printing; • copyright implications of 3D scanning; and • non-traditional trademark infringement in the 3D printing context. Specific industrial applications – including aeronautics, automotive industries, construction equipment, toy and jewellery making, medical devices, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine – are all touched upon in the course of analyses. In a legal context, the central focus is on the technology’s implications for US and European intellectual property law, anchored in a comparison of relevant laws and cases in several legal systems. This work is a matchless resource for patent, copyright, and trademark attorneys and other corporate counsel, innovation economists, industrial designers and engineers, and academics and policymakers concerned with this complex topic.

"This book evaluates issues and challenges emerging from the interaction between Intellectual Property (IP) and new technologies, namely artificial intelligence (AI), big data, social media, internet of things (IoT), metaverse, blockchain, video gaming, and voice cloning. New technologies have not only shaken the current IP system, but show the limits of a framework which was designed more than three centuries ago. As technological innovations have rendered some established IP rules and principles difficult to apply, new approaches to are required to adequately respond to ensuing challenges. This book uses existing case studies and prevailing court decisions to underline the dynamic of the current system. It proposes adjustments to accommodate new technologies within the current IP structure. With a focus on the need to embrace open innovation, the book reflects on the challenges created by new technologies and explores alternative ways to respond to those issues. This book will assist IP experts, academics, professionals, and policy makers in their undertakings to understand various issues generated by new technologies. The book will also be of interest to researchers in the field of IP law and the law of emerging technologies"--

. . . the book is a well-presented collection of scholarly articles on diverse, stimulating topics. . . The levels of explanation and detail vary from chapter-to-chapter and so the reader will probably find the book most helpful to consult for key topics of interest. . . The breadth of the book means that students, academics and interested practitioners should find areas that will appeal. Frederick Chen, European Intellectual Property Review Together the essays cover some of the most topical issues in IP and related fields, and should therefore be of immense interest and value to any serious student of the subject. The Commonwealth Lawyer It is an extremely thought-provoking book, crammed full of excellent papers which are genuinely original, and push forward the boundaries of their retrospective topics. . . the book is without doubt worth purchasing for anyone interested in IP theory, pharmaceuticals or traditional knowledge. . . the papers are of incredibly good quality. . . a few of those alone make the book worth purchasing. My impromptu rating system will therefore award it 5 out of 5 stars. James Griffin, Communications Law This book covers an extensive range of critical issues in modern Intellectual Property (IP) law under three broad headings: Technology, Market Freedom and the Public Domain; Intellectual Property and International Trade; Traditional Knowledge, Technology and Resources. Uniting contributions at the cutting edge of IP research, the authors, all former or current members and associates of the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute, University of London, address a number of diverse topics in relation to existing copyright, trademark and patent law. They examine political and juridical issues in fields such as geographical indications and traditional knowledge, agriculture and information technology, pharmaceuticals and access to medicines, human rights and IP strategy. The book will appeal to academics, researchers, students, and to practitioners concerned with all areas of intellectual property.