This book examines the social impact of intellectual property laws. It addresses issues and trends relating to health, food security, education, new technologies, preservation of bio-cultural heritage and contemporary challenges in promoting the arts. It explores how intellectual property frameworks could be better calibrated to meet socio-economic needs in countries at different stages of development, with local contexts and culture in mind. A resource for policy-makers, stakeholders, non-profits and students, this volume furthermore highlights alternative modes of innovation that are emerging to address such diverse challenges as neglected or resurgent diseases in developing countries and the harnessing of creative possibilities on the Internet. The collected essays emphasize not only fair access by individuals and communities to intellectual property – protected material, whether a cure, a crop variety, clean technology, a textbook or a tune – but also the enhancement of their own capabilities in cultural participation and innovation.

This book explores the role played by Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in articulating concerns at the TRIPS Council, the WIPO, the WHO, the CBD-COP and the FAO that intellectual property rights can have negative consequences for developing countries.

"The relevance of intellectual property (IP) law has increased dramatically over the last several years. Globalization, digitization, and the rise of post-industrial information-based industries have all contributed to a new prominence of IP law as one of the most important factors in driving innovation and economic development. At the same time, the significant expansion of IP rules has impacted many areas of public policy such as public health, the environment, biodiversity, agriculture, information, in an unprecedented manner. The growing importance of IP law has led to an exponential growth of academic research in this area. This Book offers a comprehensive overview of the methods and approaches that can be used to address and develop scholarly research questions related to IP law. In particular, this Book aims to provide a useful resource that can be used by IP scholars who are interested in expanding their expertise in a specific research method or seek to acquire an understanding of alternative lenses that could be applied to their research. Even though this Book does not claim to include all existing research methodologies, it represents one of the largest and most diverse compilations, which has been carried out to date. In addition, the authors of this Book comprise an equally diverse group of scholars from different jurisdictions, backgrounds, and legal traditions. This diversity, both regarding the topics and the authors, is a fundamental feature of the Book, which seeks to assist IP scholars worldwide in their research journeys." --

This book explores the interface between intellectual property and human rights law and policy. The relationship between these two fields has captured the attention of governments, policymakers, and activist communities in a diverse array of international and domestic political and judicial venues. These actors often raise human rights arguments as counterweights to the expansion of intellectual property in areas including freedom of expression, public health, education, privacy, agriculture, and the rights of indigenous peoples. At the same time, creators and owners of intellectual property are asserting a human rights justification for the expansion of legal protections. This book explores the legal, institutional, and political implications of these competing claims: by offering a framework for exploring the connections and divergences between these subjects; by identifying the pathways along which jurisprudence, policy, and political discourse are likely to evolve; and by serving as an educational resource for scholars, activists, and students.

Research Handbook on Human Rights and Intellectual Property is a comprehensive reference work on the intersection of human rights and intellectual property law. Resulting from a field-specific expertise of over 40 scholars and professionals of world re

This book comprises chapters by leading international authors analysing the interface between intellectual property and foreign direct investment, development, and free trade. The authors search for a balance between the conflicting interests that inherently coexist in intellectual property law. The chapters dig deep into the subjects and notions that have become central in international intellectual property legal developments: i) flexibility, public interest and policy-space for implementation; ii) interfaces between the intellectual property regime and other legal regimes; and iii) the development of international intellectual property law and its influence on national legal orders, which includes the implementation of intellectual property undertakings.

The book describes how intellectual property law is framed by theories about incentives, trade, health, development, and human rights.