Elgar Intellectual Property and Global Development Series

Rapid global economic integration and the increasing importance of technology and information goods have created the need for a broader, deeper and more critical understanding of intellectual property laws and policies.  This uniquely-designed book series provides an interdisciplinary forum for advancing the debate on the global intellectual property system and related issues that intersect with transnational politics, international governance, and global economic, social, cultural and technological development.  The series features the works of established experts and emerging voices in the academy as well as those practising on the frontlines.  The series’ high-quality, informed and accessible volumes include a wide range of materials such as historical narratives, theoretical explanations, substantive discussions, critical evaluations, empirical analyses, comparative studies, and formulations of practical solutions and best practices.  The series will appeal to academics, policy makers, judges, practitioners, transnational lawyers and civil society groups as well as students of law, politics, culture, political economy, international relations and development studies.

Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development: Development Agendas in a Changing World

Edited by Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz and Pedro Roffe, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development

Intellectual property (IP) has gained an unprecedented importance in a globalizing world where knowledge and innovation are key drivers of growth and prosperity. At the same time, the role of IP in relation to public policy objectives and development goals has come to the forefront of a vigorous policy debate.

This book considers a number of new and emerging IP issues from a development perspective. Case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America examine the impact of IP on the pharmaceutical sector, the protection of life forms and traditional knowledge, geographical indications, access to knowledge and the role of competition policy. The challenges developing countries face in the TRIPS-Plus world are also addressed. The experiences revealed, as well as cyclical attitudes toward IP, show that there is ultimately no universal model of IP protection.

More information is available at ICTSD's website.

Internet Domain Names, Trademarks and Free Speech

Jacqueline Lipton, Case Western Reserve University School of Law

As the first form of truly rivalrous digital property, Internet domain names raise many challenges for law and policy makers. Analyzing the ways in which past disputes have been decided by courts and arbitrators, Jacqueline Lipton offers a comprehensive, global examination of the legal, regulatory and policy issues that will shape the future of Internet domain name governance. This comprehensive examination of domain name disputes involving personal names and political and cultural issues sheds light on the need to balance trademark policy, free speech and other pressing interests such as privacy and personality rights. The author stresses that because domain names can only be registered to one person at a time, they create problems of scarcity not raised by other forms of digital assets. Also discussed are the kinds of conflicts over domain names that are not effectively addressed by existing regulations, as well as possible regulatory reforms. Internet Domain Names, Trademarks and Free Speech brings pivotal new insights to bear in intellectual property and free speech discourse. As such, policymakers, scholars and students of intellectual property, cyber law, computer law, constitutional law, and e-commerce law will find it a valuable resource. 

Shaping China’s Innovation Future: University Technology Transfer in Transition

John L. Orcutt, University of New Hampshire School of Law--Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property, and Hong Shen, Longan Law Firm, Beijing, China

Shaping China’s Innovation Future employs a thorough analysis of a combination of factors including: the role of law and China’s legal system; economic theory and the development of China’s economy; China’s educational, intellectual property, and financial systems; China’s innovation capacity; and Chinese culture. Though the recommendations on how to improve China’s technology commercialisation system are unique for China, the scope of the research makes the conclusions found here applicable to other countries facing similar challenges.

Copyright and the Public Interest in China

Guan Hong Tang, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China

Guan Hong Tang expertly highlights how the multidimensional concept of public interest has influenced the development and limitations of Chinese copyright. Since 1990 China has awarded copyright--individual rights--but also provides for public, non-criminal enforcement. The author reveals that pressures of development, globalisation and participation in a world economy have hastened the loss of public interest from copyright. However, for a socialist country, placing the common ahead of the individual interest, the public interest also constitutes a phenomenological tool with which to limit copyright. The author also discusses how the rise of the Internet, which has had major social and economic impact on China, raises problems for Chinese copyright law. Comparing the Chinese copyright law with the USA and the UK, topical issues are presented in this unique book including those arising within education, library and archives sectors.

Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge: Case Studies and Conflicting Interests
Edited by Tania Bubela, University of Alberta and E. Richard Gold, McGill University

This fascinating study describes efforts to define and protect traditional knowledge and the associated issues of access to genetic resources, from the negotiation of the Convention on Biological Diversity through to The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Nagoya Protocol. Because traditional knowledge was understood in early negotiations to be subject to a property rights framework, these often became bogged down due to differing views on the rights involved. New models, developed around the notion of distributive justice and self-determination, are now gaining favor. The book suggests--through a discussion of theory and contemporary case studies from Brazil, India, Kenya and Canada--that a focus on distributive justice best advances the interests of indigenous peoples while also fostering scientific innovation in both developed and developing countries.

The Global Governance of HIV/AIDS: Intellectual Property and Access to Essential Medicines

Edited by Obijiofor Aginam, United Nations University, John Harrington, University of Liverpool, and Peter K. Yu, Drake University Law School

This important book brings together leading scholars from multiple disciplines, including intellectual property, human rights, public health, and development studies, as well as activists to critically reflect on the global health governance regime. The Global Governance of HIV/AIDS explores the implications of high international intellectual property standards for access to essential medicines in developing countries. With a focus on HIV/AIDS governance, the volume provides a timely analysis of the international legal and political landscape, the relationship between human rights and intellectual property, and emerging issues in global health policy. It concludes with concrete strategies on how to improve access to HIV/AIDS medicines. This interdisciplinary, global, and up-to-date book will strongly appeal to academics of law, international relations, health policy and public policy, as well as students, policymakers and activists.

Elgar Law, Technology and Society Series

The information revolution and the advent of digital technologies have ushered in new technological developments, social practices, business models, legal solutions, regulatory policies, governance structures, communication techniques, consumer preferences, and global concerns. This uniquely-designed book series provides an interdisciplinary forum for studying the complex interactions among law, technology and society. It examines the broader and deeper theoretical questions concerning information law and policy, explores its latest developments and social implications, and seeks to provide new ways of thinking about new media and changing technology.

Copyright Law and the Progress of Science and the Useful Arts

Alina Ng, Mississippi College School of Law

The American Constitution empowers Congress to enact copyright laws to ‘promote the progress of science and the useful arts’. This book offers the first in-depth analysis of the connection between copyright law as a legal institution and the constitutional goal of promoting social and cultural advancement. Focusing on the relationship between this explicit purpose and the normative uses and production of creative works, Alina Ng argues that a robust copyright system that embodies moral and ethical principles is necessary to protect the different values and expectations of authors, publishers and users of creative works. The author demonstrates that a more nuanced understanding of property rights and statutory privileges, as bearing different types of entitlements, is critical to the sustainable development of society and culture at both national and international levels. She posits that as communication technologies become ubiquitous and facilitate greater connectivity between authors and their readers, the notion of authorship as a creative endeavor producing works with significant influence upon society and culture must form the central tenet of the copyright system. This unique approach to copyright law will be of interest to legal, cultural and literary scholars as well as others interested in the relationship between creativity, authorship and progress.

Transnational Culture in the Internet Age
Edited by Sean A. Pager and Adam Candeub, Michigan State University

Digital technology has transformed global culture, connecting and empowering users on a hitherto unknown scale. Existing paradigms from intellectual property rights to cultural diversity and telecommunications regulation seem increasingly obsolete, confounding policymakers and provoking wide-ranging debate. This volume draws on numerous disciplines to examine new approaches to regulating communications and cultural production. Common challenges emerge from these essays: regulating in the face of the Internet’s overwhelming scale, establishing jurisdictional clarity, and responding to global communication’s power to dissolve and recreate identities.