"What was the state of the law and how states managed to fulfil their international legal obligations under the law of nations with respect to intellectual property protection? 13 contributors show how the transition of intellectual property from private rights holders and their non-state patrons evolves into state lawmaking. The book presents these transitions through international legal perspectives and the history of intellectual property rights in late modern societies in Europe, the United States, Asia and Colonial States in Africa. Contributors are: Daniel Acquah, Ainee Adam, Louise Duncan, Johanna Gibson, Philip Johnson, Jyh-An Lee, Yangzi Li, P. Sean, Morris, Peter Munkacsi, Zvi Rosen, Devanshi Saxena, Johannes Thumfart, and Esther van Zimmeren"--

This collection presents new narratives on the emergence of intellectual property rights in the law of nations during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The collection reveals the extent to which various forms of intellectual property protection eventually shaped contemporary international law.

Intellectual property has become a dominant feature of our knowledge based economy in recent years, but how has property rights in intangible items developed? This book brings together for the first time exemplary scholarship with diverse approaches to the history of United States intellectual property protection, including trade secrets, trademark, copyright, and patent law. These articles, written by leading experts in the field and often challenging conventional narratives, underscore the importance of historical perspectives for understanding how an extensive, evolving framework for the regulation of knowledge emerged in the modern period. By tracing intellectual property from an historical perspective - not merely providing justifications in philosophy or economics in the abstract - this book draws upon the past to address contemporary debates over such varied topics as: access to knowledge; policing copyright infringement; whether employees should own the products of their minds; the role of national borders in an age of digital information; and the very future of intellectual property as stakeholders and consumers contest the extent of its legal protection.

Reforming Intellectual Property brings together 19 of the world’s leading scholars in the field to offer their unique insight into the future of intellectual property. Providing a diverse array of perspectives on the most pressing reforms needed in the current IP regime, whether in terms of legislation at national and international levels, or interpretation of existing law, this exceptional book highlights the key issues in this area and sets out an agenda for future research and policy.

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This historic document constituted a transformative 'plan for action for people, planet and prosperity' with regards to the sustainable development efforts of all countries. The Sustainable Development Goals serves as an expert compendium, the most authoritative ready-reference tool for anyone interested in the SDGs. Each chapter comprises a detailed target-by-target analysis of one of the SDGs, including a methodical analysis of the preparatory proceedings that shaped each goal in its present form, an exhaustive examination of their content, and a critical assessment from an international law perspective. This commentary provides readers with the most up-to-date information on normative and legal questions arising from the incorporation of the SDGs into the international economic, social, and environmental legal frameworks, and on their implementation status. Scholars, practitioners, and those interested in the fields of law, politics, development, economics, environmental studies, and global governance will find this book a must-read.

This volume offers a detailed account of the development of national patent systems, and then moving on to the international sphere to discuss the factors which provided the impetus for the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883).